WHITTIER, Calif. (April 14, 2010) – The Tigers played a sensational game, coming within seconds of the programs first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, as they held a 14-13 lead with just under two minutes left in regulation. The scoreboard had just 32 seconds between Oxy and the victory, but that's when Whittier College found the back of the net. It then took the Poets almost two overtime periods to knock off the Black and Orange, by the final score of 15-14.
The Tigers came out focused and executed well, forging ahead 5-3, in a low scoring first half. The teams traded goals to start, as Shannon Docherty opened the scoring for the Black and Orange, and after a Poet score Sarah Kessler put Oxy back in front with an unassisted goal.
Whittier responded, tying the game back up at 2-2, but then watched as the Tigers went on a run to seize control. Over a ten minute span, Isabel Osgood-Roach sandwiched two goals around another Kessler score, and Oxy was in control 5-2. The home squad tacked on one more before halftime to cut the lead to two, but that's as close as they would come, going into halftime trailing 5-3.
Defense was the order of the day for the first thirty minutes of this game, but then the offense decided to show up in, as the teams combined for 20 goals in the second half.
Both squads answered each run with flurry of their own, as Whittier scored two quick goals, only to have Kessler, Osgood-Roach and Docherty put together another three goal answer.
The Poets battled back to tie the score at eight, but the Black and Orange had plenty left, scoring four of the next five, capped off by a Lucy Vallejo-Anderson free position goal to retake control at 12-9.
But no lead was safe all night, as Whittier surged ahead 13-12, and in most cases an inexperienced team would fold after falling behind this late in the game. But another sign of how far these Tigers have come was on display, as they did not wilt, rallying back as Osgood-Roach started the comeback with her sixth goal of the night. The Tigers then capitalized on a Poet miscue, as Docherty scored on a free position shot, and Oxy was back in front.
The Tigers could not hold on, though, as they surrendered a goal with just seconds to play and then dropped this heartbreaker in the double overtime with just 1:19 left in the period.
Oxy (1-11, 0-6) have a week to regroup as they come home for their final two SCIAC games, starting with a rematch against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday, April 21st, with the opening draw scheduled for 7pm.
