LOS ANGELES — Occidental (5-10-2, 5-5-1) played Chapman (6-8-3, 6-5-1) to a 0-0 draw during regulation and two overtime halves on Monday at W.C. Patterson Field at Jack Kemp Stadium before the game would go to penalty kicks to decide who would advance to take on the Cal Lutheran Regals. The Panthers would win the game on penalty kicks by a score of 3-2 as the Chapman goalie Sienna Gomez came up with three big stops.
Occidental held Chapman scoreless during a late stretch that included six Chapman attacking actions from 101:02 to 109:37. The Tigers finished with 19 shots, including eight on goal, while Chapman had 20 shots and eight on goal.
Melanie Rodriguez kept Occidental level early, saving a Chapman penalty kick at 2:28 and stopping another shot at 4:27 during the visitors' opening pressure. Occidental answered with a run of chances, as
Mia Merkelbach put one shot on frame and another over the top before
Sophia Weigt and
Alessia Sacchi forced saves around a corner kick midway through the half.
Chapman pushed back with shots and a corner between the 17th and 29th minutes, but Occidental got through that stretch without conceding, including a team save in the 22nd minute. Sacchi and
Maile Fukushima added late looks for Occidental, with Fukushima's shot saved in the 43rd minute, and the first half ended scoreless.
The Tigers put together the most sustained attacking stretch of the second half while the match was tied 0-0, generating repeated looks from the 70th minute through an 88th-minute corner but not finding the net. Earlier, Rodriguez handled Chapman's best pressure, saving a shot in the 61st minute as Occidental came through a stretch that included two Chapman corners and multiple attempts.
Occidental then pushed forward with shots from Sacchi,
Bella Calemine,
Zakrie Smith and
Diana Reyes-Sanchez, including a Reyes-Sanchez effort saved in the 83rd minute.
Mia Steadman hit the left woodwork in the 86th minute, and after Occidental earned another late corner, Rodriguez made one more save in the 90th minute to close a scoreless second half.
Occidental kept Chapman off the board in the first overtime, with Rodriguez saving Maddie Vasquez's shot at 92:12.
The Tigers answered with pressure of their own, earning a corner kick at 92:55 before Reyes-Sanchez put a shot left in the 94th minute. Chapman followed with a Pilar Vanheusden shot and a corner kick, but Occidental came through the stretch without allowing a goal. The 10-minute overtime finished scoreless.
Occidental kept Chapman off the board through the second overtime, with Rodriguez saving shots at 101:02 and 104:43 as the segment remained tied 0-0. The Tigers created their own stretch of pressure between those stops, getting a shot from Calemine, a corner kick, and a Weigt shot that was saved by Sienna Gomez.
Occidental earned another corner at 106:27 and followed with a Sacchi shot at 107:31. Chapman created the final chances, including two shots, a corner and another attempt in the last three minutes, but Occidental finished the second overtime with the score still 0-0.
Steadman and Weigt converted Occidental's first two shootout attempts, but Chapman answered with makes on its first three tries. After
Zakrie Smith and
Jordyn Tribus missed for Occidental, Rodriguez faced a fourth Chapman attempt that Maddie Vasquez missed. Sacchi was unable to convert Occidental's fifth attempt, and the shootout ended with Chapman ahead 3-2 while the match score remained 0-0.
Occidental Top Performers
Melanie Rodriguez
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- seven saves
- one shutout
- 110 minutes in goal
Alessia Sacchi
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- four shots
- one shot on goal
Diana Reyes-Sanchez
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- four shots
- one shot on goal
Sophia Weigt
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- two shots, both on goal
- one shootout goal
Mia Steadman
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- one shootout goal
