CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Soccer team picked up a huge win on the road Wednesday night beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2-1 to open up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.
After a trio of losses to open the season the Maroon and Grey have now made their way into the win column improving to 1-3, 1-0 SCIAC. The last time the Bulldogs came away with a win on the road over the Athenas was back in 2018 when they won 3-1.
The Bulldogs got to work quickly to start the game going ahead in the 4th minute. Tori Zielinski (Sunnyvale, CA) was playing deep in the flank and attempted a cross, which was blocked. She got her own rebound and then crossed it into the box a second time, which found Peyton Fendrich (Clackamas, OR) who was unmarked finishing inside the six. Redlands took just one shot in the first half as they were outshot 9-1 across the period, but they were able to convert.
Three minutes into the second half UR added on the eventual game-winner. This time it was Charlie Baum (Hesperia, CA) out wide who played a ball to the right back Alessandra Echauri (Gilroy, CA) who had pushed forward. She crossed it from 26-yards out off a breakaway over the back line for Sami Salinas (Foothill Ranch, CA) to run onto it, where she took one touch and finished above the keeper's head.
This 2-0 advantage held until the 78th minute when CMS cut the lead in half. Riley Zitar was at the right place at the right time when Kaitlyn Helfrich found her following a short pass in the box. After that the Athenas continued to pressure looking for the equalizer down the stretch as another three shots would be unleashed, but none were able to get on frame allowing the Bulldogs to come away with the road victory.
Redlands was outshot 14-5, but held a 4-3 advantage on corner kicks, which included a 4-1 advantage in the first half. Courtney Stewart (San Jose, CA) played all 90:00 minutes between the posts finishing with five saves. Fendrich, Salinas, Zielinski, Alex Zerbel (Redlands, CA), and Natalie Turiace (San Dimas, CA) all finished with shots.
"I am so proud of how the team battled back from the pair of losses over the weekend," explained Head Coach Suzette Soboti. "Claremont-M-S is a quality team and they pressed us all night. We had a specific tactical plan and the team executed. They are starting to gel as a team."
Redlands looks to win their second in a row this Saturday, September 17 when they host Caltech at Farquhar Field beginning at 11:00am.