REDLANDS, Calif. – After a pair of 2-2 draws with Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) earlier this season, the University of Redlands Men's Soccer team (9-6-4) beat the Sagehens 2-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Semifinal at Farquhar Field as they advance to face Occidental College on the road in the SCIAC Tournament Championship Game Saturday night.
Following a pair of yellow cards early on Benjamin Evans (Bend, OR) sent a long throw into the box where it hit off a defender's shoulder and fell to the feet of Zachary Darmanyan (San Diego, CA) who took a touch and found the far-right corner of the net for a 1-0 Bulldog lead in the 20th minute.
Other notable scoring opportunities came from Taylor Bell (Highland, CA) who hit the post and Anders Beckton (Seattle, WA) who had a pair of shots saved as the two sides went into half with the score still 1-0 U of R.
Thirty-eight seconds into the second half the Sagehens forced Brady Bachman (San Diego, CA) into his first save. Less than two minutes later Bachman had to make another stop, this time it was more dangerous as he kept the 1-0 lead.
Neither team had any good looks until the 76th minute when Yusef Mayet (Redondo Beach, CA) picked up an errant pass sending it forward towards midfield. Just inside the center circle Jacob White (Fontana, CA) controlled it moving it forward in the direction of Nicolas Janssen (Park City, UT) who got a transition chance thanks to a Sagehen defender slipping on the grass.
Janssen took a few touches at full speed, and with the P-P keeper and another defender closing in from the right, he took the shot and kept it low on the ground, beating the keeper who was not fast enough for what became the eventual game-winning goal.
That would become a huge tally because :18 seconds after play restarted, P-P earned a free kick from just outside the box forcing Bachman into another save opportunity this time getting him fully outstretched to his right. But he kept the attempt out as he made a one-handed save.
Through the beginning of the 90th minute the Sagehens had seven looks on goal, but only one made it through the Bulldog defense. Then with :33 seconds left Pomona-Pitzer sent a long ball from the left side to the back post where a header across the goal found its way home that cut the deficit to one, 2-1.
With only a few seconds remaining, the Sagehens got one final corner, but time expired just after taking the set piece and the final whistle blew.
The Bulldogs will play No. 1 Occidental College on the road this Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. The winner will get SCIAC's automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Tournament, while the loser awaits to see if they earn an At-Large bid.
