ORANGE, Calif. – A late rally by the Chapman University women's lacrosse team was not enough as visiting Occidental College pulled out an 18-17 victory at Wilson Field on Friday night. The result forces a three-way tie for second place as the first half of the SCIAC schedule draws to a close.

Chapman (4-2 overall, 3-2 SCIAC), Occidental and Pomona-Pitzer all have the same conference record and trail first-place Redlands by a game in the standings.

Occidental (4-2 overall, 3-2 SCIAC) senior M Isabel Osgood-Roach scored the game-winner snapping a 17-17 tie with 5:04 remaining in the second half. The Tigers then put together a strong defensive stand against Chapman, which had opportunities to pull even late, including three shots in the final 1:14 of the game. Oxy freshman G Kirsten Hee made three second-half saves (11 in the game), but none bigger than stopping Chapman junior M Victoria Wilkinson in the final 74 seconds.

Chapman had rallied from as many as four goals down in the second half to knot the score at 17. The Panthers notched four consecutive tallies within a five-minute span, including the equalizer by freshman M Kelsey Mackin with 6:57 left – her second of the game.

The first half featured a back-and-forth struggle throughout the 30-minute period with the teams trading leads throughout. Chapman took its first lead of the game at 6-5 on an 8-meter shot by junior M Lauren Mah. For the Panthers, Wilkinson scored five of her team-high six goals in the first half before the Tigers began double- and triple-teaming her in the second, keeping her in check.

Occidental broke open a 9-9 game early in the second half, scoring five of the next six goals to give the Tigers a 14-10 lead with 21:39 remaining. Junior M Tori Larson scored three of her six goals during the Tigers' run and finished with five goals in just the second half alone.

The combined 35 goals is the most in a Chapman game this season and marks the third consecutive game the Panthers have scored 17 or more.

Chapman now begins a string of six consecutive non-conference matches beginning with hosting King's College at Wilson Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wlax/2012-13/boxscores/20130301_38zf.xml

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