Photo by samsphotoservices.com

Los Angeles, CA – Oxy was on fire last Wednesday against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps lacrosse team. Even though they lost to the Athenas 21-14, they put up a fight and made the Athenas work for their win. In fact, the Tigers even won the third quarter against the Athenas six to five and lost the fourth quarter by only one goal, with both teams scoring 10 goals in the second half. The score of this game proves the immense hard work and determination the Tigers have shown this season and the improvement that has sprung from that.

Of their 14 goals, first-year midfielder Olivia Okamoto had the most. Okamoto put four in the net for the Tigers. One of those four was a remarkable buzzer beater goal. With less than ten seconds left in the game junior attacker and captain Halle Knutson chased the ball and won it back after it had gone out of bounds. Then, with only three seconds left on the clock, Knutson passed it to Okamoto who placed it around the goalie and scored! It was an exciting end to the back and forth game with the Tigers getting the last word. Notably, Knutson herself had two goals along with sophomore attacker Gabriella Acker and sophomore midfielder Ella Skoglund. Knutson and Okamoto are currently tied for seventh for the amount of goals they have scored in the SCIAC conference.

The Tigers would like to give a big shoutout to all of their supporters that day. The crowd's energy helped them keep fighting against the Athenas. It was such an exciting game: Athenas scored the first goal, then the Tigers answered, Athenas scored another, and again, the Tigers responded: 2-2! Olivia Okamoto scored the first two goals for Occidental and kept them in the game!

Additionally, Ella Skoglund had three assists, which was the most for the Tigers. When asked what her favorite moment from the game was, she described her assist to her teammate Bella Kwan, a junior midfielder and captain. In the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kwan scored off of Skoglund's assist. The goal was a beautiful twizzler which landed in the bottom left corner of the goal. When talking with both Skoglund and Okamoto, they placed an emphasis on "the team's effort," rather than their own accomplishments, showing the unity and trust this team has. 

When they weren't scoring goals, the Tigers were making plays in the midfield and behind the defensive restraining line. Sophomore goalie Andie Angelacci led the team in ground balls with six. Behind her was first-year defender Sydney Acol (3), first-year defender Ellie Mahoney (2), and Bella Kwan (2). Acol and Angelacci also led the team in caused turnovers with three. Following their lead was sophomore defender Abilene Prewitt with two. Angelacci had 17 saves in goal and successfully orchestrated most of the Tigers clears! Occidental completed 100% of their clears against the Athenas.

The Tigers also had amazing success on the draw circle winning 20/38 draw controls (two more than the Athenas). Leading the charge was first-year midfielder Maeve Moylan with five. Behind Moylan, Okamoto had four draws, first-year midfielder Ava Whelan had three, and Halle Knutson also had three.