REDLANDS, Calif. –The magical run continues for the Chapman University men's soccer team as the Panthers upset Redlands on penalty kicks to advance to the SCIAC Tournament Championship Match. The fifth-seeded Panthers pulled off their second upset of the tournament to knock out the top-seeded Bulldogs.
Chapman struck just before halftime when Cormac Galvin headed in a free kick from Cooper Haley to go up 1-0. Galvin's goal was one of just seven in the match for the Panthers, who spent nearly the entire second half defending.
With the 1-0 lead, the Panthers dug in and withstood a furious Bulldog attack for the entirety of the second half. Alex Glynn made four of his 10 saves in the second half after making six in the first. Fellow All-SCIAC selection Jackson Busby helped keep the Bulldogs off the board when he bodied down a shot off a corner kick while holding the near post.
As the clock wound down, Redlands desperately pushed forward. For 44-plus minutes, Chapman withstood the attacks and limited the scoring opportunities. In the final 10 seconds, a ball was crossed in but headed down in the box to the waiting feet of Zach Darmanyan. He buried the opportunity with seven seconds remaining to force overtime.
While the Bulldogs held on to momentum in the two overtime periods, they weren't able to find the back of the net again and the match went into penalty kicks to decide who would play for the SCIAC title.
Alex Glynn turned away Redlands' first try, keeping the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year out of the goal for an early Chapman advantage in PKs. Evan White, Garrett Lindfelt and Diego Perez all converted their PKs. A save by the Redlands keeper momentarily tied the teams at one PK apiece but the next Redlands attempt went off the crossbar.
With a chance to clinch the victory, Reed Leidlein stepped up to the spot and fired a shot into the upper right corner and sent the Panthers into the Championship match.
Redlands outshot the Pantehrs 20-7 in the semifinal and earned 10 corner kicks while only surrendering two.
The Panthers will look for one more upset to send them into the NCAA Tournament as they face second-seeded CMS on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the SCIAC Tournament Championship Match.
