Posted on July 19 2011 by Sam Unwin

Tigers advance to their first SCIAC Semi Finals after thrilling victory over Poets

(April 27, 2011)  After getting the opportunity to host the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s lacrosse tournament, Occidental used their home field advantage to pull off an exciting victory over Whittier College.

The energy in the stadium was high and full of enthusiasm from the moment the first draw whistle blew.  Occidental came out quick and scored the first goal of the game within 40 seconds.  The goal was quickly answered in the following minute by Whittier.  At that moment, it was obvious this game was going to be a fight to the finish.

Whittier jumped out to a 4-2 lead ten minutes into the game.  Oxy would then find the momentum to go on a 3-0 run taking back the lead at 5-4 with 18:39 left in the first half.  Whittier College, followed with two back-to-back goals regaining the lead at 6-5.

Occidental would go on a 6-0 run over the next 14 minutes, led by sophomore Sarah Kessler  and freshman Tori Larson, creating a dominating 11-6 lead for the Tigers.  Whittier and Occidental would both trade goals to end the half, with the Tigers taking a 12-7 lead into the intermission.

The first half saw impressive performances from many of the Tigers.  Isabel Osgood-Roach, Larson & Kessler each obtained hat tricks within the first half with Osgood-Roach securing her fourth hat trick of the season at the 18:39 mark, Larson got her ninth hat trick at the 4:05 mark & Kessler grabbed her seventh with 16 seconds left.   Each of the players would end the day with five goals, season high’s for both Osgood-Roach and Kessler.

The second half would get the fans on the edge of their seats, as the Poets would take control early.  An 8-1 run would give the Poets their first lead of the game since the 16 minute mark of the first half.  The run would be dominated by Poet draw control, which Whittier led in the second half, obtaining 10 compared to the 7 the Tigers secured. 

After it looked as though the momentum had been completely on the Poets side, the Tigers would gain their lead back and creating a two point differential on a 4-0 run with 6:46 left in the game.  But, the Poets were not done fighting as they would find their way to the back of the goal, evening the score at 17 with 2:34 left in regulation.

Lauren Wemple would come in huge for the Tigers, securing a much needed draw control with 2:30 left in the game and the score at 17 all.  The last two minutes, Occidental would keep possession of the ball, moving the ball around waiting for the best opportunity to score.  As the fans stood in the stands, the athletes on both teams appeared to have great composure and patience as the time continued to come of the clock. 

As Wemple directed the team from behind the goal, it was not until 11 seconds were left on the clock that Osgood-Roach would find a lane towards the crease.  Off of a great assist by Wemple, Osgood-Roach would score the game winning goal, giving the Tigers another game on their season.  Wemple had three assists on the night, as she helped direct the Tigers offense to their first SCIAC semi-finals in program history.

Freshman Abigail Williams had one of the best games of her season, securing six draw controls for the Tigers.  The Tigers led the game in draw controls 20-16.  The Tigers also tied their previous season low 11 turnovers.

Goalie Kylie McPherson had six saves on the game with a couple clutch saves during free position attempts by the poets.

After being a varsity team for only their second season, the Tigers are entering into the SCIAC tournament semi-finals seeded fourth and taking the momentum of a clutch win with them.

The fourth seeded Tigers (6-11, 3-6 SCIAC) will be playing first seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the University of Redlands, Saturday April 30.  The first draw is set for 11:30 a.m., as the Tigers look to continue to make history for their program.

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