By defeating fourth-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Thursday's semifinal showdown, the top-seeded University of Redlands men's soccer team advances to the final of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament for the third-consecutive season. Following their recent 2-0 win over the Stags, the Bulldogs look forward to hosting the third-seeded Chapman University Panthers, who upset the No. 2 University of La Verne Leopards in a 2-0 decision in the other semifinal.
Redlands and Chapman face off on Saturday, November 5, at 7 p.m. on Farquhar Field to determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
Students and employees with current ID from a SCIAC school as well as children under 12 will be granted free admission to Saturday's game. General admission is $10 at the gate, with senior citizens (55 and older) and military personnel with ID receiving a discounted price of $5.
Fans unable to attend the match may follow along via live stats and live streaming, pending any technical difficulties.
During the regular season, the familiar foes split results with each team winning at home. The Bulldogs recorded a 1-0 win on September 26, when sophomore defender Spencer Scott (Beaverton, OR) recorded the first goal of his Redlands career, which ultimately became the game-winner.
About a month later, the Panthers prevailed at home against Redlands by a score of 2-1, after senior midfielder Jake Sarmiento (Downey, CA) and senior midfielder Sam Rudich (Rossmoor, CA) combined efforts on both goals.
Redlands enters Saturday's contest with a 15-5 overall record that includes a 10-2 showing at home on Farquhar Field. In Thursday's match, junior midfielder Casey ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) knocked in the Bulldogs' first goal off of a pair of assists by junior forward Chase Boone (Beaverton, OR) and sophomore midfielder Jesus Avalos (Indio, CA). Overall this season, Boone leads the team and the conference in points (35) and goals (15). ChubbFertal follows among the Bulldogs with 24 points off of eight assists and eight goals, with four serving as game-winners.
Defensively, the Bulldogs continue to rely on the quality contributions of senior Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV), juniors Ben Thompson (Spokane, WA) and Keoni Yates (Kailua-Kona, HI), and Scott, along with junior goalkeeper John Melito's (Keller, TX) strong presence between the posts. Melito owns a goals-against average of 0.50 and a save percentage of 0.868 in more than 900 minutes thus far.
Following Thursday's win over La Verne, Chapman now owns an overall record of 14-4-2 and a 6-2-1 mark on the road. Most recently, the Panthers have fired off five-straight wins, including victories over each team in the tournament field. Chapman relies on a well-balanced offensive attack that is led by senior midfielder Marco Saglimbeni (San Jose, CA) with eight scores and four assists. In addition, junior midfielder/defender Elliot Braund (Winchester, England) and Sarmiento have combined for 13 goals this season. Junior midfielder Zev Gollis (Irvine, CA) serves as the Panthers' primary facilitator with six assists.
On the other end of the field, junior goalkeeper Sean Augustine (Anaheim Hills, CA) boasts more than 1,600 minutes between the pipes this season, earning a goals-against average of 1.06 off of 76 saves. Junior Kannon Kahn (Granite Bay, CA), freshman Jarod Matteoni (San Jose, CA), and senior Connor Tobia help to anchor the Panther defense.
The winner of Saturday's game will punch its ticket to the NCAA Championships, which begin November 12-13 at a site to be announced.
