Late penalty proves costly in Panthers' 1-1 tie with Santa Cruz
ORANGE, Calif. – In its last non-conference match of the season, the Chapman University women's soccer team tied the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, 1-1 at Wilson Field on Monday night. A late red card penalty by GK Marissa Fehrman left the door open for the Slugs to even the game in the 78th minute, but the short-handed Panthers held off Santa Cruz in two overtime periods to earn the tie.
Early in the contest, both squads struggled to move the ball past midfield as only four shots on goal were taken in the first half. Chapman capitalized on their limited opportunities, however, as junior M Jordan Fremmerlid put a header into the back of the net in the 38th minute. Fremmerlid's goal, her first of the season came on an assist from freshman F Rosie Kerstetter, who leads the team with three assists on the season.
A physical second half produced 13 fouls, but opened up the pitch allowing eight shots on goal. With Santa Cruz on a fastbreak in the 77th minute, Fehrman left the goal in an attempt to stop the charging Slugs, but instead tripped her opponent resulting in the red card ejection. Santa Cruz F Justine Dougherty took the free kick from 20 yards out, sneaking it past GK Kristin Kleinow for the equalizer.
Monday's contest marked the second straight overtime meeting between the two teams. The Panthers, who held off Santa Cruz in the remaining 32 minutes despite playing shorthanded, have not lost to UC Santa Cruz since 2009, posting a 5-0-2 record in the last seven matches.
The Panthers will play their next two matches on the road, heading to La Verne on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. matchup before visiting Claremont on Saturday.
Box score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wsoc/2013-14/boxscores/20131007_okms.xml
by Ryan Cavinder
Sports Information Assistant
Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#CUPanthers