PASADENA, Calif. (Sep. 28, 2022) - On the strength of a goal scored by sophomore forward Jennifer Solgaard (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto) in the 88th minute, the Caltech women's soccer team defeated the Occidental College Tigers, for the first SCIAC win in program history. With the historic result, Caltech improves its 2022 campaign record to 3-3-2, 1-3-0 SCIAC while the Tigers fall to 2-3-3, 0-2-3 SCIAC.

The evenly played match on North Field between long standing conference rivals highlighted the progress the Beavers have made. With a conscious effort to continually improve, Caltech has dug into the growth mindset, and built upon the progress of each possession, half and game.

"I could not be more proud of our team," Head coach Jen Clark said. "They have accepted a new approach and bought in. We are committed to improving each and every game and we are confident that we will have additional great results this season and in the years to come."

In the first half, the two evenly matched sides traded possession on an incredibly hot day for late September, with gametime temps exceeding 90 degrees. But the quality of the match was not compromised due to the conditions, as both teams built up runs pushing the ball through and trying to get on the backend as they attacked, probing in the final third.

The shots on goal were two each at halftime, as junior goalkeeper Megan Robertson (Nashville, Tenn. Harpeth Hall) was forced to come up big for the Beavers shortly after coming on for senior goalkeeper Eve Fine (Locust Valley, N.Y. / Friends Academy) in the 32nd minute.  Once again, the trio of netminders for Caltech, including winning keeper freshman Sophia Steven (Broomfield, Colo. / Peak to Peak Charter) who subbed in for Robertson in the 63rd minute, combined on the clean sheet, saving all 5 of the Occidental shots on the afternoon. 

Scoreless at halftime, both sides used the intermission to rest and hydrate while strategizing the best way to fight through the fantastic marking and defense that signified the first half. While there were shots on goal that required each team's keepers' attention, it wasn't until Caltech stole the ball deep in the contest when Solgaard came up with the ball on the right edge of the penalty box and fired a shot past the approaching goalkeeper and into the left side of the cage with only 64 seconds remaining. The best opportunity that Occidental had, took place just three minutes prior when they snuck behind the Beavers defense and walked in on Stephen, only to have her make a save and get the support of her defense to clean up the loose rebound.

When the final whistle was blown and the horn sounded on the scoreboard, Caltech had earned the epic victory while improving on its young season.

Next up for the Beavers is a road match on Saturday, October 1 at 11:00 AM  when they travel to take on the Athenas of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.