LOS ANGELES — Occidental (5-6-5, 3-4-4) played Whittier (5-5-7, 4-4-3) to a 2-2 tie on Wednesday at W.C. Patterson Field at Jack Kemp Stadium.
Yordan Marinov scored from
Gianni Simamora at 77:48 to bring Occidental even at 2-2. Occidental scored both of its goals in the second half and finished with 12 shots, including seven on goal.
Occidental absorbed a Whittier push midway through the first half, keeping the match scoreless from 15:11 to 20:14 with a
Carlos Abram save, a team save and two other Whittier shots off target around a corner kick.
The half turned physical, with Occidental committing four fouls and Abram receiving a yellow card before Kevin Bravo scored for Whittier at 27:04 to put Occidental down 1-0. Occidental answered with attacking pressure of its own, earning back-to-back corner kicks in the 36th minute before
Elijah Edelman put a shot on goal and later sent another attempt high.
Abram added saves at 29:51, 36:23 and 40:29 to keep Occidental within one, and Whittier carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Marinov brought Occidental level twice in the second half, including a 77:48 finish from Simamora that made it 2-2 after Whittier had gone back in front. Earlier, Occidental opened the half down 0-1 and generated four shots and a corner in the first 10 minutes, with Marinov, Edelman and
Alex Yu all taking attempts.
Marinov tied the match at 1-1 in the 67th minute off assists from
Diego Segovia and Yu, and Abram added saves in the 73rd and 86th minutes to help keep Occidental within reach. After the late equalizer, Occidental continued to press with a corner and saved shots from Edelman and
Eddie Siladie, and the match finished 2-2.
Occidental Top Performers
Yordan Marinov
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- two goals
- four points
- four shots, three on goal
Carlos Abram
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- six saves
- 90 minutes played
Elijah Edelman
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- six shots
- two shots on goal
Alex Yu
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- one assist
- one shot on goal
Gianni Simamora
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- one assist
Occidental is now 5-6-5 overall and 3-4-4 in conference play while Whittier is 5-5-7 overall and 4-4-3 in conference play. The Tigers travel to Pasadena for the final regular season game of the year against the Caltech Beavers on Saturday, October 31st at 11:00am.
