LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Sept. 26, 2009) – The Occidental College Tigers defeated the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens today on the Lower Soccer Field in their fourth match of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season. The 2-0 shutout victory over the Sagehens, led by freshmen forwards Lei Song and Rebecca Verstraete, improved Occidental's record to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in SCIAC play.

A hard fought win, Pomona-Pitzer and Occidental were evenly matched throughout the match; the Tigers and Sagehens accumulated a total of 21 shots, 10 and 11 respectively, while Oxy committed seven fouls compared to Pomona's four. However, despite the evenly matched statistics, the Tigers capitalized on their opportunities and, thanks to eight saves by keeper Robin Feldman, the Sagehens remained scoreless the entire game.

The first goal, at the 38^th minutes of the first half, was scored by Song, with an assist by sophomore Alex McHenry. Immediately following that goal, classmate Verstraete entered on behalf of Song.  At the 40^th minute, she received the ball and dribbled to confront the goalie one-on-one. As the keeper stepped out to stop Verstraete, the Tiger shot the ball past the Sagehens' goalie and into the back of the net to put the Tigers up 2-0.

The second half proved frustrating for the Sagehens as defenders Marci Kang and Season Falkler-Rodriguez once again proved invaluable in their ability to stifle any opposing team's offense.

Occidental players stepped up when called upon as starter Corinne Winkler was out of the lineup for the game.

Up next, the Tigers will travel to Claremont, Calif. to face the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas on Saturday, Oct. 3^rd at 11:00 a.m.

Article: Marco Castanos, Student Reporter