THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.– The California Lutheran University women's soccer team earned their second straight victory after goals from Mandy Crawford and Alexandra Fagerberg led the Regals to a 2-0 win over Occidental.
"I thought we did well early in the game to create a chance and get a goal early," said Head Coach Frank Marino. "Give [Occidental] a ton of credit. They played super hard from the time our first goal was scored until the end of the game. Getting the second goal to give us some distance was key tonight. To get three points tonight the way the league is going…it's crucial."
The Tigers held the advantage in the shot column (17-11) but the Regals were much more clinical with their chances and created most of scoring opportunities inside the penalty area while Occidental were kept out of the dangerous areas.
CLU struck right from the start after winning a corner in the 6th minute. Fagerberg whipped in a nice corner from the right corner flag and it found the foot of Crawford who only needed one touch with her left foot to lob the ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net to give her team an early 1-0 lead.
This was the freshman's fourth goal of the season as she has now scored a goal in three consecutive contests.
Despite Cal Lutheran's early dominance, it was Occidental who were on the front foot for the rest of the first half. The Tigers had eight shots in the first 45 minutes and held the Regals to just two.
Solid defending from the defensive backline of Zandra Stewart, Katie Weaver, Trinity Martinez and Aly Legrand kept another clean sheet for CLU. This was the second consecutive shutout for the Regals and the sixth of the season.
The Violet and Gold regrouped and quickly found a second goal after the halftime whistle. In the 56th minute, Danielle Vis made a brilliant run on goal and managed to use her strength and win the ball off an Occidental defender. Vis did well to create a goalkeeper mistake as she attempted to take the ball off the forward's feet and Fagerberg was quick to pounce on the loose ball and pass the ball into the back of the net and double the Cal Lutheran lead.
Fagerberg has now recorded a goal and an assist in two consecutive matches and is tied for the team lead in goals with four.
After some more solid defending, the Regals would seal the 2-0 score line and another important three points in SCIAC play.
Alexa Soto was extremely solid between the posts, making an incredible double save in the first half and extending a strong hand to a point-blank opportunity just before the halftime whistle. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. native was incredible in goal as her quality was instrumental in the clean sheet.
Recording shots on target for CLU were Sam Cornejo, Cate Boller, Sonia Chan, Fagerberg and Crawford (3).
Cal Lutheran extends their unbeaten streak to five games and will look to make it three straight wins when they head back on the road to take on Redlands Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.
Box Score: CLU 2, OC 0
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director