LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb. 27, 2010) - In the inaugural NCAA home
women's lacrosse game at Occidental College, the Tigers came out
fired up and put on a spirited performance, before falling 16-12 to
the Whittier College Poets.
The Poets scored on the first draw of the game but Occidental
quickly reciprocaed when Lucy Vallejo-Anderson
scored on the first shot ever taken by the Tigers at D.W. Patterson
Field.
WC then jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead as the Tigers looked
nervous and were a little sloppy.
Once they settled down, it was an even game, as the Black and
Orange started attacking offensively with much crisper passing and
a relentless defense.
The Tigers outscored the Poets 5-4 over the final 15 minutes of
the half, going into the locker room down 9-6, but with momentum on
their side.
Whittier came out trying to put Oxy away, rattling off three
straight goals, but once again the Tigers settled down and
outscored the Purple and Gold 6-4 to finish off the game and
outscored WC 7-6 in the second half.
Sarah Kessler led the Tigers with five goals
and one assist while Lauren Wemple finished with
three goals and one assist.Charla Holdren made
four saves for Oxy.
For Whittier, Trillium Santin and Emily Mukai scored five goals
apiece.
Prior to the game both Occidental College Director of Athletics,
Jaime Hoffman, and Mrs. Carolyn Miller joined the team on the field
during a ceremony to commemorate the first intercollegiate women's
lacrosse game on campus. Miller and her husband Charles were an
integral part of allowing Occidental the opportunity to sponsor the
sport. She was asked to place the ball for the first draw before
action got underway.
Occidental (0-2, 0-2 SCIAC) will have more than a week off to
prepare Ohio Wesleyan, who will visit Patterson Field on Wednesday,
March 10th, with the faceoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
