Cal Lutheran awaits on final day of SCIACs after CMS gets by Occidental

Release courtesy of SCIAC/Redlands Sports Information

REDLANDS, Calif. - On the heels of sophomore attack player Roxy Kiessling's (Honolulu, HI) six-goal showing, the No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Athenas earned their spot in Sunday's fifth-place match with a hard-fought 9-6 win over the No. 8 Occidental College Tigers.

The Athenas garnered a 2-0 lead after the first frame, as Kiessling initiated the scoring and sophomore attack player Claire Baxter (Riverside, CT) quickly followed suit. 

Following the defensive-heavy opening quarter, Oxy's offense got things rolling by tying the score at two apiece with goals by freshman utility player Claudia Oppermann (Fallbrook, CA) and senior utility player Lizzy Kosin (La Grange Park, IL).

However, CMS' Kiessling answered with a pair of goals to regain the Athena lead at 4-2. 

But the Tigers cut the deficit to one less than 20 seconds later, as Kosin fired off her second netter of the day.

Nonetheless, the Athenas stepped up once again by closing out the second stanza with a late goal by freshman attack player Krystal Sung (Windsor, CT).

Leading by 5-3 to start the third period, CMS cruised to an 8-4 lead and eventually held off a late push by the Tigers to snag the 9-6 victory.

Kosin finished with a hat trick for Occidental.

Sophomore goalkeeper Mariah Mastrodimos (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) registered five saves in a complete-game win for the Athenas. Junior goalkeeper Anna De Groot (Sunnyvale, CA) provided a quality showing for the Tigers by earning eight saves in the loss.

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