CMS Women's Soccer Comes Away with 1-1 Road Tie at Cal Lutheran

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Senior midfielder Gabby Clouse scored an early second-half goal to give the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team a 1-0 lead, but Cal Lutheran was able to tie the score in the 83rd minute as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at William Roland Stadium.

With the tie, CMS moves to 5-1-2 on the season and 1-1-1 in SCIAC play, while Cal Lutheran moves to 3-1-3 and 1-1-2 in the conference.

After a scoreless first half, CMS struck in the opening minutes of the second stanza to take a 1-0 lead. Senior midfielder Rhiann Holman was fouled near the sideline outside the left edge of the penalty area and took the ensuing free kick. She drove a low cross through the box that found its way to the far post, where Clouse was able to tap it in from three yards out to put CMS ahead. 

The lead held until the closing minutes when Mandy Crawford won a ball near the endline to the left of the CMS goal and was able to keep it inbounds. She then cut back to the middle near the top of the six-yard box and was able to beat sophomore goalie Athena Manthouli, who was making her first career start in place of the injured Cam Hamson, from close range to leve the score up with 7:35 remaining.   

Cal Lutheran came close to striking again off a corner kick moments later, but Crawford's shot from 10 yards out missed just wide of the right post. The Athenas withstood some late pressure and brought the game into overtime when they headed away a long Regals throw-in as the final seconds of regulation ticked off. 

Cal Lutheran had a good chance for a golden goal in the second minute of overtime, but Danielle Vis had her shot from a sharp angle hit off the outside of the left post and head over the line for a goal kick. CMS then had the better of play in the second overtime, with a dangerous chance from Holman off a long throw-in thwarted by the Regal defense at the top of the six-yard box.-

CMS came out on its front foot and had the game's first three shots in the opening 11 minutes, all of which were on net. Senior midfielder Rhiann Holman had a shot saved by Cal Lutheran goalie Gabby Flores in the seventh minute, and then sophomore midfielder Nicole Oberlag was denied twice by Flores in a span of just over two minutes. 

Cal Lutheran withstood the early pressure and settled in before testing Manthouli in the 28th minute. Crawford had a shot on frame that Manthouli saved over the endline, and Manthouli then picked up a second save in quick succession on a shot from Kylie Garcia off the ensuing corner kick. 

The Athenas then buckled down and didn't allow another Cal Lutheran shot attempt over the final 17 minutes of the first half and the first 16 minutes of the second, before Manthouli made her third save off a 20-yard shot from Sonia Chan after another Regals corner kick in the 62nd minute. 

Flores had six saves for Cal Lutheran, as the Athenas put all seven of their shots on target on the day. The Regals had an overall 10-7 edge in shot attempts, with four on target, three of which were saved by Manthouli.

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday when it travels to Redlands for a 7 p.m. contest before returning home on Saturday to face Whittier at 7 p.m.