CMS Women's Soccer Plays to Second Straight Scoreless Tie

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Sophomore goalie Claire Hamson had five saves for her ninth shutout of the season, including a key one late in regulation, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team played to a 0-0 tie with Cal Lutheran on Wednesday evening at Pritzlaff Field.

Senior center back Sydney Talmi (pictured) also helped the Athenas earn the shutout by clearing a slow rolling shot off the line in the first half to keep the game scoreless. With the tie, CMS is now 7-4-3 overall and 5-3-3 in the SCIAC, while Cal Lutheran moves to 8-2-5 overall and 6-2-4 in conference play. 

Hamson's big save came in the 82nd minute, as Cal Lutheran's Danielle Vis was played in alone behind the defense on the left side of the penalty area. Hamson came off her line and went down to block the shot attempt from Vis, making herself big and getting a small piece of it to slow it down before the CMS defense was able to recover and clear it away. 

Cal Lutheran goalie Gabby Flores had three of her 10 saves in the first overtime, the last coming when junior midfielder Rhiann Holman nearly shook free for the game-winner in the final five seconds of the overtime. However, Flores was able to knock the ball down and cover up the rebound before any Athenas could get to it. 

The Regals nearly got on the board in the opening minutes of the game, as Vis got on the back end of a cross and was able to toe-poke the ball in traffic at the top of the six-yard box towards the vacated net. She didn't get much pace on it, though, and Talmi was able to hustle back and clear it away to keep the game in a 0-0 tie. 

The Athenas asserted themselves late in the first half, outshooting Cal Lutheran 7-0 over the final 15 minutes. Holman created an excellent chance after beating two defenders but had her shot saved by Flores for a corner kick. Freshman Nicole Oberlag also got in behind the Cal Lutheran defense and beat Flores to a ball at the top of the 18, but Flores went down to block Oberlag's shot with a vacated net behind her. 

Overall, CMS finished with a narrow 18-17 edge in shots and a 6-5 edge in corner kicks. Holman had six shots to lead the way for the Athenas, while sophomore midfielder Katrina Ostrom had four. 

CMS will be back in action at home on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest against Whittier.