CMS Women's Lacrosse Pulls Away from Oneonta for 21-13 Win

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Cate Lewison had five goals and two assists, and Rachel Leonardi had four goals and three assists, while dominating the draw control circle during a key second-quarter stretch, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's lacrosse team took a 21-13 win over Oneonta on Sunday at Zinda Field.

With the win, CMS moves to 3-1 on the season, while Oneonta slips to 1-2. 

The score was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, but CMS exploded for nine goals in the second, including a rapid-fire sequence of five goals in 1:04 that gave the Athenas control. Lewison scored on a free position shot to break a 4-4 tie with 10:33 left in the half, then won the ensuing draw control taken by Leonardi and fed Grace Minturn for a goal 13 seconds later. 

Just 22 seconds later, Catherine Murphy scored after Leonardi won her own draw, forcing an Oneonta timeout. But the break did little to stop the momentum, as Lewison took the next draw and scored nine seconds later. Another draw resulted in a free position attempt, and Leonardi buried it to make it 9-4 in favor of the Athenas with 9:29 left in the half, ending a 5-0 run that took just four seconds more than a minute. 

Oneonta kept trying to battle out of the deficit the rest of the way, and got as close as 15-12 at the start of the fourth quarter. CMS responded, though, with a quick 3-0 run as Lewison scored on a free position shot, and then Leonardi fed Murphy for one goal and scored her own to make it 18-12. Kelsey Heffernan helped seal it with back-to-back goals late, before Minturn closed out the scoring to make the final score 21-13. 

Minturn added four goals for CMS, while Murphy had two goals and two assists. Lewison's overall stat line included six draw controls, five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while scoring on all five of her shots. 

Hannah Conte, Ainsley Basic, Emme McMullen and Maggie Griffis also had goals for CMS, while Holly Shankle (six) and Kendall Chapko (four) combined for 10 saves in goal. 

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday when it takes on No. 10 Wesleyan for a 4 p.m. contest.