The University of Redlands men's soccer team continued Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday night by squaring off against the Chapman University Panthers in an important rematch. In a chirpy contest that left the pitch with high-strung emotions, the Bulldogs reigned supreme in a 2-0 victory on a beautiful night under the lights at Farquhar Field.
The Bulldogs got off to a fiery start, as sophomore midfielder Vidal Ornelas (Corona, CA) and senior defender Peter Marsden (Woodside, CA) fired off a combined four shots in the opening 16 minutes of action.
In the 29th minute, senior defender Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA) nearly found the back of the net on a battered ball in the Panther goalkeeper's box with a strong header, but was rejected by a Chapman defender in the most unlikely place at the right time. Junior midfielder Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV) tried his foot moments later on a vicious strike, but to no avail.
In the 41st minute, sophomore midfielder Casey ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) took a throw-in on the near side of the field and found junior forward Ryan Davis (Seattle, WA) with spacing. Davis worked a header back to freshman forward Kayvon Parsa (West Hills, CA), who promptly buried the score to grab the 1-0 advantage.
Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Haskill (Lakewood, CA) was a busy man in the first half, as he made three crucial saves to secure the goose egg at the midway point of the game.
The Bulldogs wasted no time in the second half, as Marsden was able to expand the Bulldogs' lead after a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Cody Dunham (Fountain Hills, AZ) in the 53rd minute. Dunham found Marsden streaking near post and fired a line drive right to Marsden, who rose up and one-touched the pass for the score, expanding the lead to 2-0.
The defensive brigade of junior Colin Zaccagnio (Phoenix, AZ), sophomore Keoni Yates (Kailua-Kona, HI), freshman Spencer Scott (Portland, OR), and Marsden limited the Panthers to four chances in the second half en route to the home team's 2-0 victory.
The freshman midfielder duo of Jesus Avalos (La Quinta, CA) and Arman Mogharei (Danville, CA) chipped in quality minutes off the bench, while sophomore Isaac Bogart (Lyden, WA) and Davis did the same.
Marsden led the way with four shots, while a handful of players, including sophomore forward Chase Boone (Portland, OR), fired off three.
Haskill earned the win by hauling in four saves in a complete-game effort.
The Bulldogs (9-2-2, 7-2-1 SCIAC) head to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (5-4-3, 5-3-2 SCIAC) on Monday, October 12, for a 7 p.m. match against the Stags.