REDLANDS, Calif. – For the first time during the 2021 season, the University of Redlands Men's Soccer team has gone to overtime and played to a draw as the Bulldogs finished with a 1-1 tie against California Lutheran University at Farquhar Field.
The U of R moves to 5-1-1, 2-1-1 SCIAC, while Cal Lutheran improves to 4-2-2, 1-1-1 SCIAC. With the tie, the Maroon and Grey pick up a point in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings and currently sit third with seven points, trailing Pomona-Pitzer (9) and Claremont-M-S (12).
It was a back-and-forth first half with a combined 13 shots, two corner kicks, and eight saves between the two teams. Bulldog goalkeeper Aidan McSweeny (San Diego, CA) was put to work early and came up with two big saves to start off the game. The first shot attempts for UR came in the 25th minute from Ethan Kovach (Las Vegas, NV) and Arian Mogharei (Hayward, CA). Kovach got a shot off that was blocked, with the ricochet finding the feet of Mogharei, who took a strike that hit the crossbar.
Collin ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) and Jonathan Cheung (Hong Kong, China) got into the mix soon after, with each putting shots on frame, but were turned away by CLU keeper Ivan Lumbrano. The final looks in the half for the Bulldogs came with under five minutes to play, when ChubbFertal headed a shot in the box that was saved by Lumbrano, followed immediately by Mogharei's blast that was again denied by Lumbrano.
Out of the break, Cal Lutheran applied the pressure by putting two shots on frame early and forcing new keeper Seth Lawrence (Redlands, CA) to come up with some amazing diving stops. Shorley thereafter, it was Redlands' turn, taking seven shots over the next 20 minutes. In the 76th minute, UR gained the go-ahead goal from ChubbFertal. After Avery Jacobson (Seattle, WA) beat his defender to the endline, he provided a cross on the ground that pulled the CLU keeper. ChubbFertal was there to slip past the backline and put away the finish.
But this lead wouldn't hold, as CLU answered on their next possession just a minute later by putting in a deep ball that was carried by Chris Pelaez into the box. He crossed it in front of the goal to a waiting Jackson Endsley, who one-timed it past a diving Lawrence for the equalizer.
In the first extra time segment, the Bulldogs didn't waste anytime by getting two shots from Quinn Richards (San Clemente, CA) and Peyton Menti (Seattle, WA). Then, in the second extra stanza, Redlands earned a corner kick that found Menti in the box, but his shot was blocked. Then, with time winding down, CLU had one final look with Preston Fleming beating the backline and carrying a ball into the box with five seconds remaining. He was pressured by Jacobson but was able to get off one final shot that would hit off the side of the goal, as the game ended in a draw.
McSweeny and Lawrence combined for the draw, each playing 45 minutes. McSweeny finished with four saves and Lawrence added another three.
Redlands held the advantage on shots at 19-16, but was edged on corner kicks, 5-3. ChubbFertal finished with four shots, three of which were on frame. Kovach added three shots and Menti, Mogharei, Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA), and Jamie Dulle (St. Louis, MO) each added two.
Redlands returns to the pitch next Wednesday, September 29, when it travels to take on Pomona-Pitzer, beginning at 4 p.m.