Sunday Feature: Second Round Rematch, Athenas vs. Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
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Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (18-2) | 7 | 6 | 13 |
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Colorado College (15-4) | 8 | 9 | 17 |
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's lacrosse team will put their 18-game winning streak on the line on Sunday afternoon in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament when the Athenas travel to Colorado College for a rematch of last season's NCAA Second Round. Thanks to their 18-game winning streak, the Athenas earned a bye through the First Round of the Tournament and will square off with the Tigers in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. MT/12:00 p.m. PT.
The Tigers and Athenas are familiar foes with the two teams meetings twice last season and already once during the regular season this year. CMS holds a 2-1 record against the Tigers in the last three meetings, but Colorado College earned a 15-12 victory in the 2017 Second Round. This season, the Athenas and Tigers met on Mar. 18 in Colorado Springs, with CMS earning a 14-9 victory in the contest. In the meeting two months ago, five different Athenas scored multiple goals with Sally Abel (CMC) leading the team with three tallies. Evan Murphy (CMC) assisted on five of the CMS goals in the victory. Allie Thuet came off the bench in that game to lead the Tigers with three goals.
The winner of Sunday's game will advance to face the winner of the Franklin & Marshall vs. Tufts Second Round game in Lancaster, Pa. The Third Round game would be played next weekend at a site and time to be determined.
See below for a quick preview of the Athenas and Tigers ahead of the Second Round game on Sunday afternoon.
| No. 22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas |
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Location: Claremont, Calif. Head Coach: Lauren Uhr (7th Season) NCAA Appearances: 7th (3-6 overall Tournament Record) 2018 Record: 18-1, 10-0 SCIAC Last NCAA Result: 2017, Second Round: Lost to Colorado College 15-12 |
Games Against NCAA Tournament Teams 3/7 Rhodes - 20-8 W 3/14 Springfield - 12-8 W 3/18 at Colorado College - 14-9 W
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About the Athenas: The Athenas earned their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after compiling an 18-1 record on the year. Their only loss this season came at the hands of Division I UC Davis, meaning CMS is undefeated so far this year in Division III competition. The Athenas swept through SCIAC play, going a perfect 10-0 plus two wins in the SCIAC Tournament to earn the title. They allowed 10 goals in a game twice, once in the loss to UC Davis and once in their first win of the season against Occidental. Eight Athenas were named All-SCIAC, headlined by the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year, Corie Hack, and the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year, Evan Murphy. Hack and Murphy led six Athenas on the First Team, the most of any team in the conference. Joining the duo on First Team were Sally Abel, Kira Weiss, Katie Hill, and Allie Hill. Emily Cohen and Anna Gillespie earned Second Team accolades. The Athenas' offense has been dominate this season, averaging 16.21 goals per game. While Corie Hack led the Athenas with 56 goals this season, it has been a team effort on the offensive end with First Team honorees, Evan Murphy (40 goals) and Sally Abel (47 goals), also scoring at least 40 goals on the year. Hack scored in every game this season, including 15 multi-goal games. Murphy's Defensive Athlete of the Year honor shows the senior's versatility. Murphy led the Athenas in points this season with 78 (40 goals and 38 assists), but earns the Defensive Athlete of the Year honor thanks to her complete profile on the field. She also led the Athenas in ground balls (88), draw controls (58), and caused turnovers (72) during the regular season. Her 88 ground balls and 72 caused turnovers were also tops in the SCIAC this season. Between the pipes, Gillespie holds a perfect 13-0 record after splitting time in goal to start the season. The freshman allowed 5.71 goals per game over 735 minutes this season. She made 65 saves and holds a 48.1 save percentage on the season. |
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| Colorado College Tigers |
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Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. Head Coach: Susan Stuart (24th Season) NCAA Appearances: 10th (9-9 Overall Tournament Record) 2018 Record: 14-4 Last NCAA Result: 2017, Third Round: Lost to William Smith 18-13 |
Games Against NCAA Tournament Teams 3/2 at Illinois Wesleyan - 14-11 W 3/3 (N) Rhodes - 17-13 W 3/5 St. Johns Fisher - 17-9 L 3/18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - 14-9 L 4/19 at Cabrini - 19-8 W 4/22 at The College of New Jersey - 14-4 L 4/28 (N) Meredith - 20-18 W |
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About the Tigers: Colorado College received an at-large bid after completing the regular season with a 14-4 record. The Tigers closed out its regular-season with a pair of victories in Texas. CC defeated Southwestern University, 24-6, on April 27 and then hung on for a 20-18 win over Meredith College less than 24 hours later. The Colorado College offense features a pair of record-setting senior attackers.Steph Kelly leads the team with 79 points and is second with 45 goals and 34 assists. She ranks first in program history with 336 points, 160 assists and 481 draw controls. Annie DeFino owns a team-high 47 goals and is third with 60 points and 13 assists. She also holds the school record with 196 goals and ranks second with 253 career points. Sophomore attacker Eva King leads the Tigers with 41 assists, is second with 69 points and fourth with 28 goals. Cole Vanacore anchors the Colorado College defense and has team-highs with 54 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers, both of which are personal single-season highs. Freshman Alena Stern owns a 13-3 record in goal, along with an 11.37 goals-against average and a .461 saves percentage. |
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Please note that portions of this preview have been borrowed from the Colorado College NCAA Preview article.