Sophomore forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute on Monday afternoon as the University of Redlands men's soccer team edged Occidental College in an exciting contest, 2-1.  The win marked the second-consecutive road-victory for the Bulldogs and their second over the Tigers during the 2012 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) campaign. 

In a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs out-shot the Tigers, 6-2.  Redlands also held the advantage in corner kicks during the first 45 minutes, 2-1.

The Maroon and Gray took the lead just two minutes after the halftime break when senior forward Alex Laughton (Pleasanton, CA) flicked a long thrown-in to Izydorek, who found freshman midfielder Peter Marsden (Woodside, CA).  Marsden then rose up and headed the ball past the Occidental goalkeeper, giving the Bulldogs the one-goal advantage.

Occidental, however, wouldn't go down without a fight.  Just 10 minutes later, Tiger senior midfielder Jeffrey Najjar (Santa Fe, NM) connected with sophomore forward John Richardson (Palo Alto, CA) with a long ball over the top.  Richardson narrowly beat Redlands junior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) to the 50-50 ball and one-timed it into the back of the net.

Not wanting to head to another overtime contest, the Bulldogs pushed up the tempo of the match and got a golden opportunity late in the second half after being fouled just outside the box.  Senior midfielder Gabe Ramirez (Pasadena, CA) bent the free kick toward the right-side netting and just missed out on giving Redlands the lead when it clanked off the post.

Finally, just two minutes from time, Izydorek looked to be free to goal on a breakaway before being taken out from behind by a Tiger defender.  On the ensuing free kick, senior midfielder Nick Eary (Las Vegas, NV) lofted in a perfectly-placed cross to Izydorek, who out-jumped the Tigers' defense and buried the game-winning header into the top-left corner.  The goal was his third in the last two games and fourth on the campaign.

After taking the lead, Redlands held on for the final two minutes, securing the crucial conference triumph.

On the game, the Bulldogs out-shot the Tigers, 15-6.  Marsden and Ramirez led the team in shots, tallying four apiece.

Redlands (6-4-3, 5-2-2) looks forward to returning to Farquhar Field on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it plays host to Cal Lutheran University.