REDLANDS, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2008) –
Occidental results from day two of the Inland Empire Tournament
were the same as the first, but today both games came down to a
goal despite the Tigers being on the losing end both times.
In the first battle of the day, Oxy dropped an
11-10 game to Concordia University of Irvine. It was a back and
forth match with the Tigers getting the first score of the game
from senior Cameron Brahmst (who finished with a
game high three goals) just two minutes into the first frame.
The teams then traded three goals before
Concordia tied the score at four on the final possession of the
first quarter.
Both teams put on a strong defensive display
in the second quarter holding each other to just one goal apiece to
send the game into the half knotted at five.
The game remained close for the rest of
regulation with neither team ever leading by more than two
goals.
In the fourth quarter sophomore Austen
Oliver closed the Concordia lead to one goal with a score
on the Tigers first possession, but neither team would muster so
much as a shot on goal over the next six minutes.
Concordia took an 11-9 lead with a goal in the
final minute, but Oxy senior Abiel Garcia
responded with his first goal of the 2008 campaign to cut the
Eagles lead back to one.
Occidental managed to gain one more possession
but failed to convert on a last second attempt.
Despites the loss, Occidental showed improved
balance on the offensive end. Oliver and seniors Andrew
Valdes and Sean Inoue all finished with
two goals each. Oliver and Adam Kantor each had
two assists.
Defensively Oxy tallied eight steals. In front
of the goal Max Kelly made five blocks while
Blair Bergsteinsson made seven saves.
The second game of the day was another close
one, with the Tigers again falling short by an 8-7 margin at the
hands of the Chapman University Panthers.
Chapman opened the match by scoring three
unanswered goals before Oxy got on the board with a last second
score from Valdes to end the first quarter.
The Tigers came roaring back in the second
frame with back-to-back goals from Valdes and Brahmst to tie the
score at three.
The Panthers quickly returned the favor by
scoring two consecutive goals of their own, taking a 5-3 lead at
the half.
During the first four minutes of the third
quarter both teams were scoreless, before Chapman regained a three
goal lead by scoring on a 6-on-5 advantage.
Once again Oxy fought back with two quick
goals to cut the Chapman lead back to one. The teams would each
trade a goal to give the Panthers a one goal advantage heading
into the final quarter.
Brahmst opened the fourth stanza with a goal
for Occidental to tie the game at seven, but a Chapman score with
just over one minute to play sealed the Tigers fate.
Along with his game high four goals, Brahmst
led the team with two steals. Oliver dished out a team high
three assists while senior John Wensman added two
assists in the game. Inoue rounded out the Oxy scoring with
his fourth goal of the tournament.
Again Bergsteinsson and Kelly shared time in
goal making five and four saves, respectively.
Overall in the tournament Valdes scored 11
goals with four assists and three steals while drawing five
exclusions. Brahmst scored eight goals and drew eight exclusions.
Inoue and Oliver each contributed four goals. Oliver led all Tigers
with five assists and a pair of field blocks. Brahmst and
Jake Santelli each stole the ball four times and
Greg Benz drew five exclusions for the Tigers.
Oxy will be back in the pool on Saturday,
Sept. 20-21 at the Cal Lutheran Invitational.
