THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On a night where the Cal Lutheran offense couldn't quite get it going, goalkeeper Kristin Bailey came to the rescue with a last minute save to preserve the 1-0 victory over Occidental Wednesday night.
Bailey's save not only helped CLU stay undefeated in SCIAC play but also gave the sophomore her 11th shut-out of the year which ties a school record for a single season.
"Our defense has been really strong as unit this season," Bailey said. "[The defenders] deserve the credit. We wouldn't have as many shut-outs without them back there.
"We all work really well together and tonight that showed," Bailey said.
In the early stages of the first half, it looked as if it would be a banner-night for the CLU offense, who fired off five shots in the game's first seven minutes.
Cal Lutheran threatened first when Kristen DiPippo sent a through ball in the seventh minute over an Oxy defender's head to an oncoming Kristina Hulse. Hulse was able to win the foot race to the ball and chipped it over the Oxy goalkeeper for what looked like the first goal of the game but Oxy defender Kelsey Hung saved the goal, making a sliding kick to clear the ball away for a CLU corner kick.
CLU would on that corner-kick when DiPippo found Lindsey Armenta, who headed it past the Oxy goalkeeper and into the net for the game's only goal.
The Regals nearly had two more goals in the 23rd minute when Taylor Will played Bailey Marquez through on a diagonal run with Marquez firing on goal but Oxy goalkeeper Tayler Renshaw came through with a clutch deflection. Mayra Virgen chased down the deflection and sent a cross-field pass to Hulse, who took two dribbles and she fired a left-foot shot that ricocheted off the far post and out of play.
The 1-0 score would stand for the rest of the first half.
The first fireworks of the second half started in the 54th minute when Virgen muscled her way just past an Oxy defender to flick a cross to Nicole Rains. Rains collected the ball in front of a wide-open goal but sent her shot over the cross bar for an unlucky finish.
CLU would be on the unlucky side of things again when only one minute later, Mallory Carcich sent a cross the back of the box that found Stephanie Gilbert, who headed a shot that just sailed over the cross bar.
In the 73rd minute, Melissa Abdelkerim won a 50-50 ball with an Oxy defender and threaded in a pass to Virgen, who sent a shot on that sailed just wide.
CLU and Occidental would play to a deadlock until the 88th minute when Bailey made the play of the game. Oxy defender Grace Bender corraled a corner-kick from just outside the box, took one on dribble and fired a shot that seemed destined for the top of the net but Bailey was able to get a fist on it at the last second to deflect over the net.
"Honestly, I just saw [the ball] going over my head and knew that I couldn't catch it," Bailey remarked. "So I just hoped I could tip it over … I guess it worked."
The Regals were able to clear out the following cross as time ran out and give CLU their eight-straight victory.
Cal Lutheran outshot Occidental 19 to seven. The Regal defense allowed just two shots in the second half.
Bailey and her defensive mates of DiPippo, Gilbert, Carcich, Jenna Malinowski and Anna Medler have now just allowed two goals in their last 10 games.
With the win, Cal Lutheran improves to 15-2 overall and 11-0 SCIAC. Occidental falls to 4-9 overall and 3-8 in the SCIAC. Tonight's victory for CLU also means the Regals have clinched at least a share of the SCIAC regular season championship. This marks the program's third consecutive conference championship.
Cal Lutheran returns to action this Saturday Oct. 20, when they travel to Whittier College to take on the Poets. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 1 Occidental 0
