Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday, April 17th, the Occidental Tigers faced off against their rivals, the Panthers, on their home turf and were able to claim a victory over Chapman for the first time since February of 2020. The Tigers came into the game determined to gain a win and contest the Panthers' third place seed in the SCIAC postseason tournament. The final score was 13-10 Tigers.
From the beginning of the season, the Tigers had a goal to beat the Panthers. The two teams always play a close game and the margin between them has been shrinking since the sport's return to play after COVID-19 hit. While the teams were even in the second quarter (each scoring four goals), the Tigers managed to score the first seven goals of the game and never lost their lead. Therefore, by the time Chapman started to outscore the Tigers in the third (2-0) and fourth (3-2) quarters, it was too late.
Occidental's early momentum led to their success and allowed them to remain on top even after their starting goalie, junior Andie Angelacci, got injured in the third quarter. Sophomore midfielder Maeve Moylan, earned a hat trick in the first quarter of the game and assisted one of her teammates, contributing to four of the Tigers' first seven goals. Attackers Halle Knutson (a senior captain) and Dylan Herbert (a junior) both had two assists in this critical period as well.
Moylan earned one more goal in the fourth quarter and ended the game with three ground balls, five draw controls, two caused turnovers, three assists, and four goals. She is a force! Herbert and Knutson finished the game with two assists each and junior attacker Gabriella Acker also had one; eight of the Tigers' 13 goals were assisted by these four players! Additionally, eight different players scored for Occidental with Moylan leading the charge, followed by Acker (2) and sophomore attacker Olivia Okamoto (2). Additionally, first-year defender Evie Kim had eight draw controls, leading the Tigers to win 16/27 draws.
While the Tigers had an unstoppable first half, four minutes and 54 seconds into the second half, Angelacci tried to save a shot and got whiplash. She was unable to finish the game in goal and had to exit the field. Given that Occidental's other goalie is injured, junior midfielder, Ella Skoglund, volunteered to save the day and played in goal for the Tigers for the remainder of the third quarter. Skoglund's immense bravery heightened Occidental's intensity, and the Tigers held the Panthers for the rest of the quarter (all ten minutes and six seconds). During this time period, the Tigers won the ball back seven times and prevented Skoglund from seeing the ball.
After Skoglund's entrance, Moylan won the draw control and carried the ball into Occidental's attacking end. Later though, Chapman caused a turnover and carried the ball below their restraining line – Occidental was on defense. First-year defender Ellie Einstein made a phenomenal play as the Panthers tried to feed the ball into the middle of the critical scoring area. Einstein read them immediately, knocked down the ball, and picked it up right in front of the goal. The next time the ball came down the field towards Skoglund, Moylan caused a turnover and picked the ball up near the top of the eight meter. Then, after the Tigers lost the ball on attack, first-year defender Evie Kim prevented the Panthers from crossing the restraining line onto the Tigers' defensive end by winning a 50/50 ground ball. Again, Herbert and Knutson worked together on the next ride and stopped the Panthers before they could clear the ball past the 50! And again! Chapman tried to clear the ball a few minutes later and had an unforced turnover. Junior attacker, Emma Cho, carried the ball and facilitated a successful clear by connecting with her teammate in the midfield. Finally, after stopping the Panthers three times in the midfield, Chapman managed to get the ball back into their attacking end, but after a crucial chase from Skoglund after a wide shot, the Tigers' got the ball back and junior defender and captain, Abbie Prewitt, ran the ball all the way up the field! With six seconds left in the third quarter, Chapman finally got a shot off, but BOOM! Skoglund save! Sophomore defender, Sydney Acol, raced after the ground ball and was clearing it up the field as the quarter ended. Skoglund now has a 100% save percentage and is the top ranked goalie in the conference for both goals against and save percentage.
During these intense ten minutes, sophomore goalie, Grace Morrow, got cleared to play by an on-site trainer and entered the game for the final quarter. Given that Morrow has been injured all season, this was their first entrance of the year. What crazy circumstances!
After their previous game against Chapman, when the team was unable to get a win even with an early lead, Occidental was so happy to finally break their streak against the Panthers. After the game, Assistant Coach, Boz Crowler, exclaimed, "I am so proud of you guys. That's a level-up win, no doubt. You should all pat yourselves on the back for the hard work this season."
Both teams were equal in turnovers, percent of successful clears, and free position shots (1 for 3). But, the Tigers were able to overcome emotional circumstances and persevere to finally show Chapman what they're made of.
