The University of Redlands men's soccer team hit the road for Wednesday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against the No. 22 Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Despite twice earning the lead, the Bulldogs battled a relentless CMS squad for 110 minutes and came home from Pritzlaff Field with a 2-2 tie.
After a back-and-forth start to the game, sophomore forward Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA) and junior midfielder Collin ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) each connected on good looks for the Bulldogs midway through the first half. The momentum leaned in CMS' favor late in the stanza, as the Stags orchestrated more offensive opportunities, but Redlands' defense kept them off the board. After 45 minutes, the teams headed into the break amidst a scoreless tie.
Early in the second half, Redlands' chances came at a premium until a shuffling of the lineup led to its first goal of the night. In the 71st minute, Acuña rocketed a bomb of a goal from 30 yards out into the upper-left corner of the net off a short pass from sophomore midfielder Jonathan Cheung (Hong Kong, China) for the Bulldogs' 1-0 lead.
However, the advantage quickly faded away, as CMS answered less than 90 seconds later.
Another influx of fresh feet inspired the Maroon and Gray to uncork three save-demanding shots over a four-minute span, with the final one resulting in a goal. Senior midfielder Dylan Carlyle (San Jose, CA) and junior midfielder Derrin Valeri (Atlanta, GA) initiated the barrage before first-year forward Ethan Kovach (Las Vegas, NV) sent an excellent header toward the net. Although the CMS goalkeeper made the initial stop, he was unable to corral the ball and ChubbFertal was there to knock it in for the Maroon and Gray's 2-1 lead at the 80:47-mark
Despite the Bulldogs' best efforts to lock down on defense, the Stags once again found a way to score the equalizer. After CMS unleashed a shot that forced first-year goalkeeper Adrian Muñoz (Pasadena, CA) to make a huge save, the home team converted on the ensuing corner kick with about five minutes left in the second half.
Redlands worked to sneak in the game-winner before time expired, with three players firing off shots but none scored. First-year midfielder Joseph Parra's (West Covina, CA) blast sent the CMS goalkeeper diving to make the save in the 89th minute.
With the game now in overtime, the Bulldogs tested the Stag defense with two shots and a pair of corner kicks while allowing none in the process.
During the second extra period, Redlands produced four shots, including ChubbFertal's header off of sophomore midfielder Avery Jacobson's (Seattle, WA) late corner kick but it flew just wide as the clock wound down.
Ultimately, Redlands held a slight 23-20 shot advantage in a high-caliber match. The teams finished dead-even in corner kicks with five apiece.
Redlands (2-4-2, 2-2-1 SCIAC) returns home to Farquhar Field on Saturday, October 5, for an 11 a.m. match against the Beavers of Caltech.