LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 3, 2009) – The Occidental
College Tigers hosted Claremont-Mudd-Scripps today, but suffered a
2-0 loss against the Stags. The match, played on Patterson Field in
a light morning breeze, was Oxy's sixth match in the Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this year leaving
the Tigers with a 2-4 record in season and a 3-6 record overall.
Starting in the mid-field for the first time were Reid
Sakamoto and Rob Tuttlebee. Typically a
defender, Sakamoto played well in the mid-field, preventing the
Stags from attacking up the middle as well as creating several
opportunities for the Tigers. Tuttlebee also played well in the
mid-field but the CMS defense stopped many of his opportunities.
The speed of the CMS offense also seemed to leave the Tigers
struggling to maintain their marks. Immediately following the
kick-off, the Stags began their attack, scoring their first of two
goals at the first minute. A defensive error along the right
sideline allowed the CMS mid-fielder to cut the ball inside before
crossing it to his open teammate for the goal.
Thirteen minutes later the Stags returned to the Tiger net for
their second goal. Ian Powell, the Tiger keeper,
dove for the overpowering shot from outside the penalty area but
couldn't reach the well-placed ball. Following the second
goal, back-up goalkeeper Andrew Larkin entered the
game to maintain his shut out streak, racking up 5 saves throughout
the rest of the game.
Despite the Stags' two goals, both teams had nearly the
same amount of goal scoring opportunities. The Tigers ended the
game with 16 shots, only one less than the Stags' 17.
Kosa Goucher-Lambert, playing mid-fielder as well
as defender, had three spectacular shots against the CMS goalie,
all of which the keeper saved, adding to his eight saves throughout
the game. First year forward, Ben Murray, had
three shots of his own as well, including one on a wide-open net,
but none of the Tiger forwards couldn't seem to place the
ball in the net.
During the second half of the game, the frustration began to
show in the Tigers as well as the Stags as both teams began
committing fouls, combing for 23 fouls, 10 for the Tigers and 13
for CMS. four of the Oxy fouls led to yellow cards for the Tigers
and the CMS received two or their own.
The Whittier College Poets will host the Tigers for their next
SCIAC match on Wednesday, October 7th at 4:00 pm. The
Poets are 3-2-1 in SCIAC play and 4-4-1 overall.
Article: Marco Castanos, Student Reporter
