5 Things to Know: SCIAC Semifinals

The Matchup

The Chapman University women's soccer team (11-3-3, 7-3-2 SCIAC) travels to Cal Lutheran University (11-2-3, 8-2-2 SCIAC) to face off against the Regals for just the second time this season. In the last matchup, the two sides played to a scoreless draw in which the Panthers out-shot Cal Lutheran 19-11. Regals' goalkeeper Alexa Soto came up clutch for Cal Lutheran, tallying 12 saves in the shutout. Chapman is 9-22-4 all-time against the Regals.

Postseason Action

The Panthers have not made a SCIAC Postseason Tournament appearance since the 2016 season, when three of the five seniors were freshmen. Chapman earned a No. 3 seed after posting a 7-3-2 ledger in SCIAC play. The Regals posted an 8-2-2 record on their way to a No. 2 seed and have made it to the postseason every season since Chapman joined the conference in 2012. Cal Lutheran's longest postseason run came in the 2017 season when they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Regals advanced to the third round of the tournament before falling to Williams College.

Shutout Season

The Panthers have posted 10 shutouts this season, ranking fifth all-time in program history. That is all thanks to a rock-solid defense and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Bland. Bland is on pace to break the single-season Chapman record with an impressive 0.899 save percentage, ranking second in the conference behind Cal Lutheran-foe Soto. She is also on pace to break into the top-3 in goals-against average, ranking third in the conference with a 0.53 average. The Panthers currently rank sixth in the nation with a team-0.899 save percentage.

Leading Goal Scorer

Junior Anna Montemor has burst onto the SCIAC scene since transferring from Vanguard prior to the start of the 2019 season. The striker leads the Panthers with seven goals this season and tallied her first career hat trick in a 5-1 victory over Caltech in October. Six of her seven goals have come against SCIAC opponents and she has helped Chapman to wins over Redlands, La Verne and Caltech. Cal Lutheran's leading goal scorer, junior Alexandra Fagerberg, has scored nine goals on her way to a career-best season. Seven of her nine goals came against conference opponents, including the game-winner in a 4-0 win against Redlands.

The Faith Factor

Two-time team captain Faith Holloway has been a staple on the back line for Chapman since she entered as a freshman in the 2016 season. Holloway helped the 2016 team to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Final, starting all 20 matches the Panthers played in that season. After four years of dedication to the program, the Academic All-American and three-time All-SCIAC selection has missed just three matches in her entire career. She has scored a career-high three goals this season, including the game-winner against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps that sent the Panthers to the 2019 SCIAC Postseason Tournament.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

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