LOS ANGELES, Calif. (March 28, 2009) –
In the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
opener Occidental College had no trouble notching their first win
of the season with a 17-1 thrashing of the University of La Verne.
Six-goal first and third quarters were too
much for the Leopards to handle as Occidental allowed just a single
goal in the game.
The Tigers jumped on the Leopards early and
often as they raced to a 6-0 first quarter lead. Four
different Tigers scored consecutively in the opening stanza with
freshman Corrine Casey opening the game with a
counter attack goal in the first minute. Sophomore
Karie Nickle followed with Oxy's second goal just
30 seconds later. Two minutes after that sophomore
Rebecca Hofer and freshman Tessa
Bailey-Findley scored within a minute of each other to
give Oxy an early 4-0 lead. Nickle, who finished with four
goals, added two more in the first period.
Occidental maintained a strong defensive
presence in the second quarter, despite a slow offensive period.
The lone goal of the quarter came on a perimeter shot by Nickle, to
take a 7-0 half-time lead.
In the third Oxy revved up the engines again,
using a strong press defense and counter attack to score six times,
with Hofer leading the charge with three goals in the quarter.
Hofer's four goal total marked her first
hat-trick of the season. Bailey-Findley also notched a
hat-trick with a three goal effort in the game, adding an
incredible season high 11 steals for the Tigers. Sophomore
Delia Haynes also made a strong impact with two
goals, an assist and three steals. She was joined by the only
other multi-goal scorer, sophomore Julie
Monday. Senior Haley Rosehill
rounded out the Tigers' scoring with a goal, while freshman
goalie Andrea Savage was stellar in cage for the
Tigers, recording eight saves in the game.
The win runs Occidental's over all
record to 10-8 as they remain the No. 2 ranked team in the
Collegiate Water Polo National Poll.
The Tigers return to Taylor pool next
Wednesday, April 1, for a SCIAC match against Caltech with the game
scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
