After finishing out the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season with an exciting 2-1 overtime victory against Whittier College on Saturday evening, the University of Redlands men's soccer program looks forward to hosting a SCIAC Postseason Tournament semifinal match. The second-seeded Bulldogs face off against the third-seeded Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Thursday, November 1, at 7 p.m. under the lights at Farquhar Field.
Tickets are required for Thursday's match, with all employees and students of member SCIAC schools admitted free with identification. Children 12 and under are also free. All other general admission tickets are $5 per person.
Directions to the field are available at http://goredlands.com/Fan_Central/Maps_directions. Fans unable to attend the game may follow the action via live stats at http://livestats.prestosports.com/redlands/ or watch the live video feed at http://livestats.prestosports.com/redlands/msoc/?e=bdt2yujygq53iymw.
The SCIAC looks forward to selling tournament t-shirts, including short-sleeved for $15 and long-sleeved for $20. In addition, tournament programs will be available at the entrance to the field for free.
Redlands (12-5-3, 11-3-2) enters the tournament for the sixth straight season, having advanced to the event in each year of its existence. Early in the 2012 campaign, the Bulldogs tied top-ranked Trinity University (TX), 1-1, in a non-conference contest. The Maroon and Gray rattled off seven straight victories and won eight of its final nine games during the regular season.
Sophomore forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) leads the Redlands attack with eight goals and three assists during conference competition. Senior midfielder Gabe Ramirez (Pasadena, CA) and sophomore midfielder Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV) complement Izydorek's goal-scoring production, each having tallied four goals in addition to combining for 11 assists.
Defensively, the squad has been solid in SCIAC play and leads the conference with a 0.78 goals-against-average, highlighted by seven shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) owns the starting role for the Maroon and Gray, notching 67 total saves during the 16 conference matches.
CMS (11-6-2, 10-5-1), which finished in third place in the conference standings, is led by seniors David Taylor and Harrison Doyle. Taylor ranks first in the conference with 13 goals, while Doyle found the back of the net eight times during SCIAC play.
Daniel Roberts acts as the team's primary goalkeeper, having tallied a 1.11 goals-against-average in conference action.
Redlands defeated CMS in both meetings during the SCIAC regular season. The teams faced each other first on September 22 at Farquhar Field, when the Bulldogs finished as the victors in a 1-0 decision. Ramirez scored the lone goal of the game, ripping a volley out of the air from 18 yards out, into the top-left corner of the net. The Stags looked to avenge the early-season loss when the Maroon and Gray traveled to Claremont on October 17, but Redlands came out on top again, earning a 1-0 overtime triumph. Izydorek converted a penalty-kick opportunity in the first extra period to win it for the Bulldogs.
The last time these two teams matched up in a SCIAC Postseason Tournament semifinal was in 2008, with Redlands coming away with a 1-0, double-overtime victory at Farquhar Field.
Thursday's other semifinal match includes the No. 1 Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and the No. 4 Poets of Whittier College in a 2:30 p.m. showdown at Pomona-Pitzer. The semifinal winners will play at the highest remaining seed on Saturday at a time to be determined.
