Athenas Pick Up Win Over Chapman in Midweek SCIAC Matchup
ORANGE, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's water polo team picked up their 12th win of the season on Wednesday night after defeating the Chapman University Panthers by a final of 9-4. The Athenas held the Panthers to just one goal in the first half and Aracelia Aldrete (CMC) led the offense with four goals.
It was all CMS through the first half of the contest in Orange. The Athenas got on the board in a hurry, just 30 seconds into the opening period, when Jessica Gaffney (CMC) found Aldrete who put the ball in the net to give CMS a quick 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Gaffney scored a goal of her own to double the lead.
The second quarter was a strong defensive battle with both teams being held scoreless until the Panthers struck with 1:51 remaining in the half to cut the CMS lead to 2-1. The Athenas answered back with just one second to play in the period with a goal from Amelia Ayala (CMC) to give CMS a 3-1 advantage heading into halftime.
The momentum stayed with the Athenas to open the second half. Aldrete scored her second goal of the game at the 6:47 mark, pushing the lead to 4-1. Gaffney chipped in her second off an assist from Anna Fry (HMC) a minute later to further pad the lead. Chapman found a hole with 45 seconds to play in the third and the quarter closed with CMS leading 5-2.
Roxy Kiessling (CMC) wasted no time in the fourth frame, sneaking a goal in just one minute into the final period. Back-to-back goals from Aldrete, separated by just 30 seconds, pushed the Athenas' advantage to 8-2 with 5:13 to go in the final quarter. A Chapman goal with 3:52 to play was answered to by Haley Gibbs (SC) scoring the Athenas' ninth goal of the night. The Panthers scored one more before time ran out, but it was not enough to overcome the CMS lead as the Athenas went on to win 9-4.
With the win, CMS improves their record to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in SCIAC play. As mentioned, Aldrete led the scoring efforts with four goals. Kiessling dished out two assists and Ayala had a team-leading three steals. Chandlyr Denaro (CMC) made seven saves in goal for CMS.
The Athenas continue conference play on Saturday when they host Cal Lutheran in Axelrood Pool at 11:00 a.m.