LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Occidental (4-5-0, 4-1-0) defeated Redlands (2-8-0, 1-4-0) 2-0 on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Occidental scored twice in the second half and held Redlands scoreless through a late stretch of five attacking actions between 76:16 and 79:58. Occidental finished with a 28-5 shot advantage, put 11 attempts on goal and recorded the shutout with one save.
Occidental generated the bulk of the first-half attack, recording 16 shots and three corner kicks while limiting Redlands to three shots, but the half ended without a goal. Occidental opened with a corner at 1:17 and five shots in the first 10 minutes, including two
Mia Merkelbach attempts saved by Nicole Immoos. After Redlands put together two attempts in the 13th and 14th minutes, Occidental answered with another attacking stretch, with
Alessia Sacchi,
Mia Steadman, Merkelbach,
Jordyn Tribus and
Tess Adlam all taking shots before the 26-minute mark; Merkelbach also hit the top woodwork at 17:21. Occidental kept pressing late in the half, adding a 39th-minute corner and saved shots from Adlam and Steadman in the final five minutes, but the teams went into halftime scoreless.
Occidental broke the scoreless match at 53:06, when Adlam had a shot saved and Merkelbach scored to put Occidental ahead 1-0. Earlier in the half, Occidental earned a corner at 46:39, and it kept creating chances after the goal with shots from Sacchi,
Natalia Perez and
Emerson Shirey, including Shirey's 67:03 attempt saved by Nicole Immoos. Redlands pushed back from 76:16 to 79:58, but
Melanie Rodriguez saved Kate Wagner's shot and Occidental got through two shots and three corners without conceding. Occidental then moved forward again, and
Diana Reyes-Sanchez scored at 82:49 off
Zakrie Smith's assist before the half ended with Occidental closing out a 2-0 win.
Occidental Top Performers
Mia Merkelbach
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- one goal
- game-winning goal
- five shots, three on goal
Diana Reyes-Sanchez
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- one goal
- two shots, one on goal
Melanie Rodriguez
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- 90-minute shutout
- one save
Tess Adlam
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- five shots, three on goal
Zakrie Smith
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- one assist
Occidental is 4-5-0 overall and 4-1-0 in conference play. Redlands is 2-8-0 overall and 1-4-0 in conference play.
