Men's soccer rallies, draws with Occidental

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University fell in an early hole but equalized in the second half and held on through two overtimes for a 1-1 draw with SCIAC-leading Occidental. Junior Marco Saglimbeni scored Chapman's goal – his sixth of the season.

Saglimbeni's equalizing goal came just over three minutes into the second half. He volleyed in a cross but Occidental's keeper Theo Atkinson was there to make one of his seven saves. Saglimbeni quickly corralled the rebound and drove it past Atkinson to knot the match at 1-1.

Both teams furiously pushed forward over the final hour as Occidental (7-0-3, 4-0-3 SCIAC) fired 10 shots in the second half and overtimes while Chapman (4-4-3, 3-3-1 SCIAC) shot 12 times. Both teams found the posts but neither could find the net.

The Tigers took the lead in the 21st minute when Michael Tonetti headed back Zack Conrad's cross to Keegan McChesney, who volleyed it in for the goal.

Senior Nick Berardi replaced Sean Augustine in goal after halftime and came up with four huge saves. He stopped one shot on target in the second half, another in the first overtime and two in the final overtime to preserve the tie. Atkinson put forth a superb effort on the other side of the field with three saves in each half and another in the first overtime. He withstood three shots in a matter of 10 seconds saving the bookends while the second shot found the crossbar.

Both teams nearly found game-winners in overtime as Occidental hit the post just over five minutes in to the first OT. Just over four minutes into the second OT period, sophomore Grant Fremmerlid found himself one-on-one with the goalie and fired a shot past Atkinson that hit the crossbar flush and bounced away.

The Panthers are back on Wilson Field on Saturday when they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 11 a.m. on Chapman's Homecoming Day.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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