Box Score LOS ANGELES – The Occidental College women's soccer team battled hard for nearly two hours and were constantly knocking on La Verne's door.
But La Verne's Katherine Careaga got a hold of a loose ball in the penalty box in the 107th minute and calmly put it in the back of the net for the golden goal to beat the Tigers 1-0 on Saturday at Jack Kemp Stadium.
Oxy's Kylie Takafuji had a couple of chances to end the game late. In the 85th minute, she collected a blocked shot and fired a low shot, but La Verne goalie Delanie Pacheco made a nice save. In the 102nd, the freshman launched a shot towards high left corner after a deflected corner kick, but Pacheco was again up to the task as she made a jump save.
The teams traded opportunities throughout the game. Oxy (3-3-1, 2-2 SCIAC) kept most of the ball, prodding and testing the La Verne (5-4-1, 2-1-1 SCIAC) back line, but the Leopards created quality chances of their own by utilizing quick counterattacks that pushed the pace with numbers on offense.
Oxy's top line of Julie Khil, Michaela Tsuha and Elissa Minamishin asked questions of La Verne's defense all night long but could not find the breakthrough goal. The trio combined for 10 shots and Khil was especially dangerous.
The freshman forward created some of the best chances for the Tigers throughout the game. In the first half, she hooked up with Minamishen for a give-and-go but poked her shot just wide. In the 77th minute, Khil weaved through four La Verne defenders from the left side but couldn't get nearly enough on the shot. Less than 10 minutes later, she came away with a loose ball after a scrum in the penalty box but rushed the shot and missed high.
Oxy got off 19 shots to La Verne's 14 and forced Pacheco to make 10 total saves. Oxy also created eight corner kick opportunities to La Verne's four.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Chapman to face the Panthers at 4 p.m.
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