Comeback falls short in NCAA Second Round rematch

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's lacrosse team fell to regional rival, Colorado College, in the Second Round of the NCAA Championships with the score of 15-12. The game was tight throughout the first half, but then when the Tigers scored three in a row to start off the second half, the Athenas' late rally was not enough to pull out the tournament victory.

CMS ends this season with an impressive 16-2 record. Because of the First Round bye and the opportunity to host, all four members of the Class of 2017 were able to participate in commencement ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.

In the first half alone, there were five lead changes. The Athenas got on the board first with a quick shot by Zoe Pinczower (CMC) not even five minutes into the game, but Colorado College quickly answered with the first of many by Annie DeFrino.

The Athena defense initially played well together around junior Teresa Despres (HMC) in the cage. Juniors Evan Murphy (CMC) and Katie Hill (CMC) set the tone in the crease with their aggressive defending and created opportunities for sophomore Corie Hack (CMC) to transition the offense.

Hack went coast to coast to tie up the game at 2-2 and then CMS built momentum as freshman Emily Cohen (CMC) scored on the next possession to take the narrow lead. As the half wore on, the Athenas looked to the tireless defending of freshman Juliana Clark (SC) in the wing.

Cohen found senior Cara Cancelmo (CMC) in front of the net and once again tied up the game, this time at 4-4. The final Athena goal in the half came from Hack after CMS won the draw following a Tiger goal from Natalie Shishido. The statistics and score were practically identical for each team going into the break.

Colorado College looked to find its stride in the second half as CMS struggled to maintain possession. The tall Tiger defense had success breaking up CMS' attacks while Colorado's offense strung together crisper passes than the Athenas.

Fueled by a player-down goal scored by the dynamite combination of Lauren Clubb (CMC) and Allie Hill (CMC), CMS started to mount a comeback from the 12-7 deficit. Cohen then found the back of the net for the third time on the day with 15:33 still left in the half.

Ultimately, the time ran out before the Athenas could tie up the score again, ending with the 15-12 final.

Box Score

By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director

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