Photo by samsphotoservices.com

Claremont, CA — The Occidental Tigers lost a close and hard-fought match 2-1 against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on Thursday in the SCIAC Semifinals. 

The Tigers had a strong first half showing and were rewarded with a goal in the final minute. Defender Isabella Bonomi's corner kick was met by midfielder Chloe Hetzel who headed the ball past the Sagehen defense and into the back of the net. However, the Sagehens responded quickly in the second half when midfielder Eliana Prosnitz hit a powerful shot from outside the penalty box that went into the goal. The Sagehens scored again in the 56th minute of the match off of a clever free kick play in which forward Anna Ponzio passed the ball to forward Kelsey Shintaku behind the wall of Oxy defenders that was set up for the free kick. This allowed Shintaku to take a shot from close range which she scored. The Tigers were unable to find the equalizer in the second half which would have forced the game into overtime. The Sagehens had a total of nine shots during the match while the Tigers had six. Oxy goalkeeper Maggie Baird made three saves throughout the game while Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper Taylor Kane made two.