CMS Women's Water Polo Takes Huge 5-4 Road Win over Cal Lutheran

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cooper McKenna scored three goals and Mia Adsen added two as the third-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's water polo team earned a hard-fought 5-4 win over second-ranked Cal Lutheran on Saturday morning in a key SCIAC contest.

With the win, CMS moves to 9-1 in league play with its seventh straight win, and completes a season sweep of Cal Lutheran, both of which were one-goal wins. The first was an 8-7 on a McKenna goal with one second left, and this time, her third goal gave CMS a 5-3 lead over the Regals and they were able to hold on for their fourth one-goal win in league play. 

The season sweep also puts CMS in the driver's seat for a top two seed and the right to host at least a SCIAC Semifinal game. The Athenas are still a half-game behind undefeated Pomona-Pitzer, which gave them their only loss, but they have a rematch coming up on April 13 at Axelrood Pool and a win there could give the Athenas a chance at earning the top seed. 

McKenna and Adsen scored goals in the first quarter to stake CMS to a 2-0 lead. After Jessica Diaz scored for the Regals to open the second, Adsen answered right back 44 seconds later to make it a 3-1 lead going into halftime. 

McKenna extended the lead to 4-1 on a goal 20 seconds into the second half, before Cal Lutheran closed to within 4-3 at the end of the third. McKenna finished off her hat trick with 2:31 to go, before the Regals answered 22 seconds later, but CMS was able to close the door defensively down the stretch and hold on for the one-goal win. 

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday when it travels to Occidental for a 7 p.m. contest.