The SCIAC first-place Claremont-Mudd- Scripps women’s soccer team (10-4-1, 7-2, SCIAC)
faced a tough defeat against California Lutheran University (9-4-2, 6-2-1,
SCIAC) on Oct. 11, but bounced back with a colossal 5-0 victory
against Whittier College (1-12-1, 0-9, SCIAC) on Oct 15.
Three
weeks ago, CMS managed to take away an easy 4-1 win from California Lutheran. However, the last
time the Athenas saw Cal Lu, they resembled an entirely different team.
“We
beat them pretty handedly last time, but that could have been a bit of a fluke,”
Darrah Shields CM ’16 said. “They had
lost 12 players since last year, so they had almost a completely new
roster.”
Cal
Lu traveled to Claremont with four consecutive wins under its belt, taking
the field with the newfound strength the team was lacking during its last face-off with the Athenas. Within the first minutes of the game, the Regals’ tenacity
was undeniable.
“They were out for blood,” Shields said.
Neither
team made it up on the scoreboard for the majority of the first half. CLU first-year Olivia Leyva eventually broke the
silence in the 34th minute, giving the Regals the 1-0 lead.
Cal
Lutheran continued to display a potent offensive attack, outshooting CMS 8-1 in
the first half of the game.
During
the half, CMS took advantage of the few minutes of rest to recuperate and
regroup.
“Cal Lu came out much more aggressive in terms of how they defended us
and it took us almost the entire first half to figure out and adjust to it,” coach Keri Sanchez said. “We had a moment during halftime where we said, hold
on, we can handle this, and we know what we have to do.”
In
the second half, CLU’s Katie Moyer fielded a deflection in the box and shot
past CMS defense to stretch the lead to 2-0.
The
momentum of the game quickly swung back into the hands of the Athenas as
Katelyn Faust CM ’17 scored an unassisted goal in the box off a goalie
deflection, finally placing CMS up on the board.
The
Athenas picked up their game during the remaining portion of the second half, attaining
possession of the ball and taking almost a dozen shots. Faust’s goal raised the
team’s spirit, despite the Regals’ lead.
“Every
shot you get is an energy boost,” Sanchez said. “It keeps you wanting to
attack more and more.”
The
game ultimately ended shortly after CLU’s Nicole Campbell ran into the box and
scored the Regals’ third goal of the game in the 83rd minute.
Despite
the loss, the Athenas looked ahead to their game against Whittier as a way to
learn from their mistakes on the field and regain their momentum.
“Overall,
when we are trying to win our conference, we need to be careful what kind of
goals we let in,” Sanchez said. “I think the goals we gave up are ones
that we have got to learn from and are ones that we are not going to give up
again.”
On Wednesday, the Athenas took the
field against Whittier with a game plan, eager to be under their own lights
once again.
“We
wanted to come out strong, showing them that nobody has a chance on our field,”
Shields said.
The
Athenas executed their plan of attack, taking the lead in the 20th
minute of the game and never relinquishing it.
CMS
exploited every free kick opportunity, with Shields knocking in a goal later in the
first half after a perfect pass from Samantha Kunz CM ’15. Shields
went on to score the first goal of the second half with a header on a ball sent
in from Isabel Lester CM ’15. The
fifth and final CMS goal came from Sara Tweedy HM ’15, who buried it deep in the net for her first goal of the season and a victorious win for the
Athenas.
Despite their epic triumph over
Whittier, the Athenas look forward to staying grounded and strengthening their
team in the remainder of their season.
“It is important for us to not get complacent,” Shields
said. “We have to remind ourselves that University of La Verne is going to be
very challenging. They are a much more technical team and we need to play our
best against them to get the results we need.”
CMS
hopes to continue the team’s momentum when the Athenas take on the University of
La Verne (5-7-1, 3-5-1 SCIAC) on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m.