REDLANDS, Calif. — A Justin Almandinger strike in the second half saw the University of La Verne men's soccer team past Redlands, 1-0, on Saturday night at Farquhar Field.

La Verne finishes the SCIAC season 11-4-1 (15-4-1 overall) and will go into the SCIAC Postseason Tournament as the third seed. The Leopards will travel to second-seeded Chapman on Wednesday. Top-seed Redlands will host No. 4 Occidental on the other side of the bracket.

The Leopards had a good build up from the back on Almandinger's goal. "Dinger" initiated a give-and-go in the box with Nathan Gonzalez, got the ball back and chipped it over Chapman goalkeeper Josh Haskill to the far post for the game winner.

"Overall, it was an amazing effort from our guys," La Verne head coach Trevor Persson said. "Teamwork was great, energy was high, communication was on point and we looked really hungry."

It was a gutsy performance by the Leopards, who ended Redlands' streak of 13 straight games without a loss. Despite being outshot, 12-6, the Leopards stayed in shape defensively and Darrin Bangle made six saves in net to keep the team afloat.

And it got chippy after the goal as the Bulldogs turned physical and drew four cards, including two reds, in the game's final 35 minutes. The Leopards, however, stayed calm and finished the game without any incident.

"We stayed focused and responded in a positive manner," Persson said.

Gonzalez finishes the season as the SCIAC's points leader overall and in conference play. The junior tied for the league lead with 12 goals and dished out six assists, finishing with 30 points.

Casey ChubbFertal led the Bulldog's offensive effort with six shots with three of them on target.

More details about the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, including kickoff time, will be released on Monday.