Women's soccer upsets No. 22 Cal Lu, clinches SCIAC berth

ORANGE, Calif. –  For the Chapman University women's soccer team it was as simple as, "Win and you're in," except that first-place Cal Lutheran University, ranked No. 22 in Division III and unbeaten in SCIAC, stood in the way. No matter, the Panthers handed the Regals their first conference loss of the year, 1-0 on Wednesday night, clinching their first-ever berth in the SCIAC Tournament which begins next Wednesday.

Chapman (14-5 overall, 8-5 SCIAC) shut out the Regals despite an offensive barrage that included 26 shots, eight on goal and one that hit the post in the first half. Panthers' sophomore GK Marissa Fehrman was up to the task, making eight saves in relief of senior GK Rissa Andersen who got the start on 'Senior Night'. The two combined for Chapman's 10th shutout of the season – its most since 2001 (11).

Junior F Val Sobol – SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week – scored the game winning goal in the 12th minute on a header far post, up and over Cal Lutheran GK Kristin Bailey. Sobol received the pass from freshman M Haley Fedden who crossed it on an indirect kick. The goal was Sobol's team-leading 10th goal of the year and sixth game-winner, one shy of the Chapman record.

The Panthers' defense withstood heavy pressure from Cal Lutheran (16-3 overall, 12-1 SCIAC), which out-shot Chapman 17-2 in the first half. The second half was more balanced with the Regals edging Chapman in shots 9-8. Bailey made two saves in goal for Cal Lutheran.

Chapman clinched at least third place in the conference standings with one game remaining and seedings yet to determine home field advantage in the first round of the SCIAC Tournament. Cal Lutheran has already locked up the No. 1 seed with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Chapman fighting for the No. 2 seed heading into the final weekend of the season. The Panthers will travel to Occidental College on Saturday at 11 a.m. in their conference finale.

The win also made for a bittersweet ending for four Chapman seniors who were honored on 'Senior Night' prior to their final regular season home game: Andersen, Karina Cisneros, Aimee Evans and Carly Sanchez.

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wsoc/2012-13/boxscores/20121024_mv4d.xml

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Watch the postgame interviews with Marissa Fehrman and Val Sobol
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