LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Soccer team won their third straight game Wednesday night on the road taking out Occidental College 2-1 to remain undefeated within Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.
Since their trip to Hoboken, NJ the Bulldogs have been on a tear beating Claremont-M-S (2-1), Caltech (2-0), and now Occidental (2-1) placing themselves on top of the conference standings by themselves. The last time Redlands won three-in-a-row was back in 2019 when they beat No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan (2-1), Johnson & Wales University (4-1), and Willamette (2-1). They currently sit at 3-3, 3-0 SCIAC.
The Maroon and Grey found their offense early in the first half scoring two goals within the first 17:00 minutes coming from Tori Zielinski (Sunnyvale, CA) and Skylar Pogue (Simi Valley, CA).
Zielinski opened the scoring with a finishing header in the ninth minute coming off a corner kick from Sami Salinas (Foothill Ranch, CA).
The Bulldogs earned the eventual game-winning goal, thanks to Pogue in the 16th minute. UR had a free kick taken by Charlie Baum (Hesperia, CA) who found the head of Zielinski in front of the keeper. This service caused the ball to deflect out to Alex Zerbel (Redlands, CA) who then played it wide to Pogue who hit a one-timer past the keeper.
Trailing by two, the Tigers pushed forward with four unanswered shots after that, one that was saved by Courtney Stewart (San Jose, CA) and another that hit the crossbar.
Over the final five minutes of the half Celine Akroush (Pasadena, CA) unleashed a pair of shots, with the first going high and the second getting blocked as the Bulldogs took the 2-0 advantage into the break.
Out of intermission Stewart was tested quickly forced into a save situation two minutes in. She was able to make the first stop, but the follow-up however would land at the feet of Gigi Yamamoto who then finished cutting the deficit to one. This forced the Bulldogs to defend over the final 43:00 minutes, which they did holding off seven shots taken by the Tigers, three of which were on frame. Following the Oxy goal the game became very physical over the next 18 minutes with both teams combining for 14 fouls and two yellow cards.
Stewart came up with a win saving stop in the 86th minute, as the Bulldogs were able to avoid sharing the points on the road.
Zielinski scored her second goal of the season and her fifth of her career. Pogue opened her season and career scoring total. With an assist, Salinas got her second of the season as she now has six in 21 career games. Zerbel now has two assists in six career games to begin her collegiate career. Then in goal Stewart posted six saves and played the full 90:00 minutes.
In a physical and offensive back-and-forth game Redlands finished with ten shots and four corner kicks.
The Bulldogs continue this three-game road trip this Saturday, September 24 when they travel up to California Lutheran University for a doubleheader with the men's team. They kickoff at 5:00pm and with a win they would secure their first four-game winning streak since September 15-22, 2018.