Shutout puts men's soccer closer to SCIAC berth

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's soccer team remained red hot on Monday night, earning an important 2-0 win over visiting Occidental College at Wilson Field for its third consecutive victory. The Panthers have now won seven of their last eight matches and are 7-1-1 since Sept. 25.

With just three regular season matches left, the Panthers currently rank third among postseason eligible teams (Redlands is ineligible) and could clinch their first-ever spot in the SCIAC Tournament with two more wins and a Cal Lutheran loss.

Chapman (10-5-2 overall, 8-4-1 SCIAC) also clinched its fifth winning season in the past six years with the shutout – its seventh shutout of the season. Sophomore GK Nick Berardi made five saves in goal, including three in a span of 30 seconds during the first half, for his fifth shutout. Berardi improved his overall record to 9-4-1 this season.

Senior F Nick Echeverry got the Panthers on the board in the 15th minute, dribbling past two Occidental defenders to blister a shot past Tigers' GK Tristan Cooper. The goal was Echeverry's SCIAC-leading 13th of the season to give Chapman a 1-0 lead. Echeverry's 13 goals is the most for a Panther since Chris Marshall in 2006. No Chapman player since 2000 has had 14 or more goals.

Junior D Anthony Fernandez added another unassisted goal in the 72 minute to give the Panthers some much needed insurance with a 2-0 lead over Occidental (2-14 overall, 1-12 SCIAC). It was Fernandez's third goal of the year.

Chapman will play its final regular season home match on Saturday when it hosts Pomona-Pitzer at 1 p.m. at Wilson Field.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/msoc/2013-14/boxscores/20131021_n7zn.xml

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