Donaldson's Late Header Gives CMS 1-1 Tie, Keeps Stags Undefeated in Division III

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Senior center back Grant Donaldson headed in a long throw-in with 2:06 remaining in regulation to force overtime, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team remained undefeated in Division III competition with a 1-1 tie at Occidental on Wednesday evening. 

The tie also clinches the outright regular season SCIAC title for CMS, which moves to 12-1-3 overall and 9-0-2 in the SCIAC, with its only loss coming to Westmont of the NAIA in overtime back on Sept. 3. Redlands, which stands in second place, earned a win over Pomona-Pitzer to end its regular season at 9-2-1, currently one point behind the Stags. 

CMS would have had the tiebreaker with Redlands even if it lost the last two games, but the 1-1 draw eliminates the possibility of a first-place tie. The Stags, who are ranked No. 12 in the nation, are also now 12-0-3 against Division III teams this season

The tying goal came after Chase Keir took a second straight long throw-in after his first was cleared back to him by Occidental. Troy Lehenbauer got on the back end of the second try and flicked a header to the far post where Donaldson, coming up from his center back position late in the game, broke free from the Occidental defense and scored from just a few yards out for his second career goal.  

Occidental scored the game's first goal with 18:53 remaining after the Stags tried to clear away a corner kick. Nicolas Eble was able to chip the ball to himself along the left sideline and then send a cross into the middle, where Neython Streitz headed it into the upper-left corner.

CMS was outshot 7-2 in the first half, but both of its two shots were quality chances. Troy Lehenbauer got on the back end of a free kick midway through the half, but his header from the top of the six-yard box went high. The Stags then broke down the Occidental defense in the 39th minute, and Liam O'Reilly got free to shoot a 12-yarder, but Drazan tipped it over the bar to keep the game scoreless. With 3:45 left in the half, De Anda was tested off a CMS turnover in its own defensive third, but he was able to parry a shot from Joey Schwartz away.

CMS will be back in action on Saturday with its regular season finale at home against Chapman at 7 p.m., before serving as the top seed in the conference tournament, hosting a semifinal on Wednesday. The Stags will also have Senior Day on Saturday, as they honor their nine seniors prior to the contest, who will finish their careers a perfect 3-for-3 winning SCIAC regular season titles, with only the COVID-19 interruption their junior years preventing them from finishing in first.