LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 31, 2009) – This morning Occidental College visited Whittier College to play the Poets in their last game of the regular season. The 3-0 shut-out victory over the Poets, coupled with a Cal Lutheran University loss, clinched the third seed and a playoff spot for the Tigers as they prepare to continue on to Post Season play.

The Tigers' offense overpowered the Poets, taking 20 shots throughout the game, while Oxy's defense held Whittier to just five shots. The first goal was scored by Season Falker-Rodriguez from a penalty kick at the 36^th minute.

The Poets scored an own-goal at the 54^th minute of the second half to put the Tigers up 2-0. Following that, the Tigers scored their third and final goal of the match at the 84^th minute to ensure their victory. The goal came from an assist by first year forward, Lei Song, as her corner kick connected with first year Whitney Roline for the 3-0 lead and win. 

Starting keeper Robin Feldman recorded two saves throughout the game, and left at the 83^rd minute to make room for sophomore keeper Charla Holdren who maintained the shutout for the win.

The Tigers finished up the season with an overall record of 9-6 and 7-5 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Tigers next travel to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the SCIAC Champions, to take on the No. 2 seeded University of Redlands Bulldogs on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in the Semi Finals of the conference tournament. Both games against the Bulldogs this season have resulted in 2-0 losses for Occidental, yet the Tigers are hungry to earn a victory to advance further into post season action.

At 7:30 p.m. following the first Semi Final game between UR and Oxy the No. 1 seeded CMS squad will host the No. 4 seeded Cal Lutheran University Regals. The winners will play for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at a time yet to be determined.

Article: Marco Castanos, Student Reporter