Athenas and Leopards Battle to Stalemate on Pritzlaff Field

Athenas and Leopards Battle to Stalemate on Pritzlaff Field

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and La Verne women's soccer teams battled to a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes on Saturday night. The Athenas and Leopards each had chances late in the contest with the Leopards actually finding the back of the net at the end of regulation. The goal however, would not count as it crossed the goal-line after the horn sounded for the end of regulation.

The Athenas' best chance would come in the 99th minute when Rhiann Holman (CMC) ran onto a square pass from Kira Favakeh (HMC) inside the box and ripped a shot to the far post. An acrobatic diving save by the La Verne keeper pushed the ball away and kept the game scoreless.

In the 20 minutes of overtime, the Athenas took a total of four shots and put three attempts on frame, but were unable to tally the golden goal.

CMS opened the match with a pair of shots in the first six minutes by Rhiann Holman and Sarah Malott (CMC). Holman's attempt in the fourth minute was blocked and Malott's in the sixth minute was saved. After the early shots for the Athenas, the Leopards settled down and controlled possession for the next stretch of play.

Over the next 25 minutes, La Verne earned five corners and took three shots. While the Leopards were unable to cash in on their strong run of play, they did hold a majority of the possession. The tide began to turn late in the half with CMS shots in the 31st and 33rd minute, but the score remained 0-0 through the half.

At the break the two teams accounted for just seven shots, with CMS holding a slim 4-3 advantage after a pretty quiet half across the boards.

The action began to increase late in regulation. Over the final 10 minutes, both teams had dangerous chances with Megan Lo (CMC) firing a shot that snuck just wide of the post in the 88th minute. As mentioned, it looked as if the Leopards had won the match in the final seconds of regulation. With 18 seconds left on the clock, La Verne earned a corner. After taking a few moments to set up the corner, the Leopards got the service into the box with less than five seconds on the clock.

The ball bounced around the box for a moment before finding the back of the net, but it was after the clock ran out and the goal did not count.

In overtime, the Athenas outshot the Leopards 4-2 and forced the La Verne keeper, Jasmine Valadez to make three saves including the diving save in the 99th minute.

After two, 10-minute overtime periods the Leopards and Athenas remained scoreless and the contest ended in a draw. It is just the second draw of the season for the Athenas. CMS moves to 4-5-2 overall and 3-3-2 in the SCIAC.

In goal for the Athenas, Claire Hamson (CMC) made six saves for her third shutout in the last five matches.

The Athenas will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Pomona-Pitzer at 7:00 p.m. on Pritzlaff Field.