Athenas split 2-2 at Convergence
CLAREMONT, Calif. – In the annual women's water polo Convergence Tournament hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer, CMS won two games but also lost two. During the four games, sophomore Brittany Arneson was the team's leading scorer with seven goals followed closely by freshman Jessica Gaffney who had six. Fourteen Athenas found the back of the net during the tournament.
UCSD 14, CMS 3 - Box Score
In the Athenas' opening game at Convergence, they faced a tough opponent in UC San Diego. CMS only scored three times with goals by Arneson, Roxy Kiessling and Rose Koper.
The Tritons took an early 7-2 lead by halftime and then held the Athenas scoreless in the third period with stifling defense. Koper's goal in the fourth quarter broke the drought and then the Athena defense, led by Allison Hu in the cage, only allowed two goals in the final period.
The Tritons went on to beat Cal Lutheran and La Verne later in the weekend.
CMS 9, George Washington 8 - Box Score
CMS came out victorious in the nightcap under the lights at Axelrood pool against George Washington. Neither team had more than a one goal lead except for the first two goals of the game. The game saw the score tied on seven occasions.
After going up 2-0 in the first three and half minutes with goals by Arneson and Gaffney, the Athenas did not have the lead again until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Claire Baxter won the sprint and Arneson scored in CMS' first possession for the 6-5 advantage. GW quickly tied it up at 6-6.
Both coaches strategized during a handful of timeouts in the quarter and then the Athenas scored twice in the last minute and 12 seconds, both by Gaffney. The CMS defense held GW scoreless for the final four and a half minutes of the game to secure the win.
UC Monterey Bay 8, CMS 7 - Box Score
In the Athenas' first game of the day on Saturday, they had to rally back from an early deficit, ultimately coming up just short of forcing an overtime period.
Monterey Bay jumped out to 5-1 lead at halftime but CMS fought back, scoring six goals in the second half. This time, the Athenas were on the other end of a one-goal game as CSUMB scored with 2:38 on the clock in the fourth quarter and CMS was unable to counter.
All seven of the Athenas' goals were scored by different players. Koper found the back of the net first, followed by Gaffney, Shannon Golden and Ellen Perfect in the third quarter. The fourth period saw goals from Baxter, Arneson, and Haley Conner.
CMS 16, Caltech 5 - Box Score
The Athenas' final game of the Convergence Tournament was played against SCIAC opponent, Caltech. The game saw new faces in the pool and scoring goals. Helen Thomason led with four goals with Sarah Gonzalez scoring three. Christine Hu added two during the first half and Kiessling scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter. Nicole Orozco and Erin McCarthy also each scored in the first period. Finally, Camille Zelinger and Arneson put balls in the net during the second half.
CMS players won the sprint all four quarters, three of them going to Kiessling and one to Zelinger.
The Athenas improve to 3-10 overall and head to Cal Baptist for the annual Lancer Invitational Mar. 14 to play Iona and Fresno Pacific. CMS begins SCIAC competition Mar. 21 at La Verne.
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