Third time is charming, Panthers headed for SCIAC LAX title game

ORANGE, Calif. – The third time was the charm for the Chapman University women's lacrosse team on Saturday. The Panthers earned a berth in the SCIAC Championships finals with a 13-10 comeback win over host Occidental College at Jack Kemp Stadium on Saturday morning.

Oxy had defeated Chapman twice during the regular season, including just a week earlier on the same field. But the Panthers had the last laugh, eliminating the Tigers with a stifling second half defense and leaving themselves one win away from the SCIAC title.

The No. 3 seed Chapman (14-5 overall, 8-4 SCIAC) will face the winner of top-seeded University of Redlands and No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC Championship next Saturday, May 4.

The Panthers had to come from behind to secure their berth in the conference finals, trailing for most of the first half and down 10-9 with 16:15 left in the second. But the Chapman defense silenced the Tigers over the final 16 minutes of the game, holding them scoreless while the offense rallied.

Sophomore M Abbey Messmer scored two of her team-high four goals during a 4-0 run by Chapman to close out the game and the Panthers turned a one-goal deficit into a three-goal victory. Freshman M Kelsey Mackin began the run by tying the game at 10 with her third goal of the game at the 14:01 mark in the second half. Junior M Allie Kontny then put Chapman on top for good with a goal 1:16 later on an assist from Mackin before Messmer put the game out of reach.

Earlier in the game, it was Messmer again in the middle of a Chapman comeback. Trailing by three scores late in the first half, the sophomore scored a pair of goals to spark a Panther rally which knotted the score at 7-7 heading into halftime.

Panthers' senior G Anjali Thota made seven saves in goal en route to the win.

If Redlands wins the semifinal matchup with Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night, it would host the Panthers next week. However, should Pomona-Pitzer pull of the upset, Chapman would host the Sagehens next Saturday in the title game.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wlax/2012-13/boxscores/20130427_wy68.xml

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