THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Taylor Will scored twice as Cal Lutheran women's soccer prevailed 3-1 over Redlands in the SCIAC Post-Season Tournament semifinals on Thursday night.
Box Score: CLU 3, UR 1 - F
It was an eerily similar regular season to that of the year prior. Cal Lutheran won both of the 2010 and 2011 regular season meetings by 1-0 and 3-0 scores.
Identical to the year prior Cal Lutheran earned a SCIAC title and the honor of hosting its conference tournament semifinal against Redlands. The Bulldogs shut out the Regals in that matchup and again on CLU's home field in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
Frank Marino and his Regals squad were given the opportunity to avenge those 2010 outcomes on Thursday night. They seized it during the first playoff game of any kind in William Rolland Stadium history.
Cal Lutheran had several early scoring opportunities over the opening 20 minutes including back-to-back shots in the penalty area from Kristina Hulse and Kaitlin Walters.
The Bulldogs escaped for just over 18 minutes before Will found open space and had only the goalkeeper to beat. Will dribbled around a charging Sabrina Grandke-Bawab and followed the ball home for the game's opening score.
Of the team's previous 16 matches the squad to score first had never lost (15-0-1). The streak was stretched to 17 on Thursday night but not before some tense moments.
Only 96 seconds later amidst a cheering CLU crowd did the Regals see flashbacks of last year's disappointing finish. UR's Fionna Connolly scored in both of last year's post-season victories over Cal Lutheran and she was back at it again.
From the far corner of the 18-yard box the inward curling attempt found the side netting over CLU goalkeeper Renee Standage for the equalizer. It is only the second goal Standage has allowed in nearly 900 minutes of action.
The score remained deadlocked heading into intermission and through the opening eight-plus minutes of the second half. Will again scored the go-ahead goal from an estimated 30 yards out using precision and touch to loft it over the Bulldogs goaltender.
She nearly completed her hat trick in the 66th minute single-handedly running through the Redlands defense before firing her attempt off the inside of the right post. Cal Lutheran held the slimmest of margins over Redlands and was looking to secure its spot into the tournament final.
CLU locked in its spot courtesy of Mayra Virgen with 11 minutes remaining in regulation. The feed from Nicole Rains bounced behind the Redlands back line and Virgen scooted through to finish off the scoring chance.
Marino earned the first post-season victory of his career and 51st win overall in his two-plus seasons at the helm of the Cal Lutheran program. The win ties him with George Kuntz (1989-92) for second on the all-time wins list in Regals history.
No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer 3-0 in the other Thursday night semifinal. The Regals and Athenas will meet for the tournament title and the conference's one automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Cal Lutheran will host CMS on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. inside William Rolland Stadium.
