Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Whittier College Women's Soccer team saw a 2-0 lead midway through the second half Saturday slip away as the Tigers of Occidental College would rally to add two themselves en route to a 2-2 draw.
Whittier needed the victory to clinch a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Post Season Tournament, which would be the program's first trip but they will need to wait till Halloween when they take on Claremont-M-S on Senior Night.
After a scoreless first half the SCIAC leader in goals, Madison Shipherd (Whittier, Calif.) got the scoring started in the 51st minute heading in a corner kick from Tess Peppis (Eugene, OR), who then found freshman Miranda Yzabal (Whittier, Calif.) on another cross six minutes later that put Oxy in a hole 2-0.
But the Tigers wouldn't quit with Alana Hillman sparking the comeback when she rebounded her own shot and found the net from the penalty area in the 61st minute. Then Julie Khil would get into the mix after a minute into the contest after returning from an injury, deflecting a left footed shot off of a Whittier's defender's head for Oxy's second score.
While Whittier would have done themselves a favor with three points, the tie keeps them in fourth place with 20 points giving them a slight edge over Cal Lutheran University who also has 20 points, while they trail Pomona-Pitzer who has 22 points in third.
In order to make playoffs the Poets will need a win over Claremont-M-S, Saturday, October 31 or a tie and a Cal Lutheran loss.
The game was deadlocked in shots with each team firing off 21 a piece, while Whittier held the edge on corner kicks at 7-2.
Alexi Cruz (Long Beach, Calif.) got the start in goal playing all 110:00 minutes finishing with 12 saves.
Shipherd led the offense with six shots with two being on goal, while Peppis registered four with two being on goal.
