Occidental College

GRANVILLE, Ohio — Occidental lost to No. 21 Denison 2-1 on Friday at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium. Occidental generated 15 shots and put nine on goal, while Denison finished with nine shots and four on goal. All three goals came in the first half, and neither team scored after halftime.

Occidental cut into Denison's lead late in the first half when Piero Falconi Pujalt scored his first collegiate goal at 43:33, sending the teams to halftime with Denison ahead 2-1. Falconi Pujalt provided quality offensive looks against Gordon last Sunday, but broke through in his second-career game played.

Earlier, Occidental fell behind on Eli Taylor's penalty kick in the fourth minute but immediately answered with pressure, creating five shots and two corners from 4:12 to 12:57, including saved attempts from Elijah Edelman, Andrew Lee and Alex Yu. 

The Tigers continued to create chances through the middle of the half, with Lee putting another shot on goal. The Big Red added insurance in the 28th, putting the Tigers at a disadvantage the rest of the way.

Occidental kept Denison off the board in the second half and pushed for an equalizer late, but the score stayed at 2-1 through the final whistle. 

Carlos Abram helped Occidental withstand Denison pressure with saves on Kaden Kist in the 55th minute and Emmett O'Brien in the 59th, while Occidental also generated a Lewis Park shot and corner kick during that stretch. 

Cooper Gersch put a shot on frame in the 63rd minute that Alex Provost saved, and Park added another attempt in the 69th. Occidental's late push included shots from Park, Charlie Miller, Gersch and Edelman between the 79th and 87th minutes, plus an 89th-minute corner, but Provost saved the on-target looks from Miller and Gersch as Denison finished off the 2-1 result.

Occidental Top Performers

Piero Falconi Pujalt
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- one goal
- two points
- one shot on goal

Elijah Edelman
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- four shots
- one shot on goal

Andrew Lee
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- three shots, all on goal

Occidental is 1-2-0 overall. Denison is 2-0-1 overall. Read Full Article