CMC75 Moments: 2019 Women's Lacrosse Wins Third Straight SCIAC Title
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2019 Women's Lacrosse: CMS 15, Pomona-Pitzer 3
The CMS women's lacrosse team hosted the SCIAC finals in May of 2019, with a nucleus that had grown accustomed to winning titles. The Athenas had gone undefeated through the league and won the SCIAC Tournament in each of the previous two full seasons, and held a 35-game conference win streak when neighboring Pomona-Pitzer came to visit for the 2019 finals.
The two teams played a tight game for the first 20 minutes, as the Athenas held a narrow 4-3 lead. But then, as they were prone to do in that three-year run, CMS kicked it into another gear. The Athenas rattled off the final three goals of the half to take the momentum, and a 7-3 lead into the break, and then kept peppering the Pomona-Pitzer net in the second half. When the final horn blew, the Athenas closed the game on an 11-0 run, pulling away for an emphatic 15-3 win for their third straight SCIAC crown.
Sally Abel finished with three goals, Alex Futterman had two goals and two assists, Corie Hack and Tessa Guerra each had two goals and one assist, Eloise Shields had two goals and Allie Hill had three assists. Defensively, Anna Gillespie had seven saves and allowed only three goals, while Kira Weiss had four caused turnovers and Zoe Ryan three. It was the fifth SCIAC title in the 10-year history of the league for the program as well, all five of which have involved undefeated 10-0 regular seasons and 2-0 postseasons (2010 and 2011 as well), including three straight for the Class of 2019 to close out their careers.
Ryan was named the SCIAC Tournament MVP after previously earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor. Hack captured the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year honor, while Abel, Futterman, Hill and Emma Goldfield were on the All-SCIAC first team, and Weiss and Sammie Cohen were named to the All-SCIAC second team.
Sally Abel:
Playing Pomona-Pitzer is always an interesting and tense matchup. Having classes with members of their team and passing them on campus daily can make the game both fun and highly competitive. Playing them for a SCIAC title my sophomore season was a memorable moment.
As it often does, the SCIAC final game fell on the same day as the infamous Pirate Party. Naturally, this overlap always makes for an interesting game, with students floating around the field and cheering en route to Green Beach and North Quad. I remember that the game started out pretty back and forth until we started to pull away. We began connecting a bit more and came up with some pretty nice assists. Our team always has such amazing chemistry on the field, and once we get going, it's hard to stop us.
We clearly weren't satisfied with our four-goal cushion coming out of halftime, which is when the momentum really started to shift. With two super quick goals, our offense was beginning to click and capitalizing on offensive opportunities. We made some awesome connections, moved the ball better through transition, and just generally cleaned up our game, making fewer silly mistakes throughout the second half. Our defense was literally a brick wall and came up with every possible stop, ultimately shutting out PP in the second half. SUCH an awesome feeling.
I remember as tensions began to rise in the final minutes, we did a great job of maintaining our composure and sportsmanship, and came up with such a gratifying win. CMS lacrosse definitely knows how to put on a show, and we really worked as a team for that win. I was particularly proud of our team for remaining calm and playing our game throughout what became an increasingly gritty and physical competition.
Anna Gillespie:
Playing PP for the SCIAC Championship game is always fun. I remember we beat them twice in the regular season that year, most recently before that championship game 15-4, so we knew they were going to come out strong to try and redeem themselves. There is always a lot of talk around campus before big games like this, so we knew we had to show up to defend our undefeated SCIAC record and maintain our position as the best lacrosse team on campus.
The first half was super close going back and forth, but our zone defense really stepped up and absolutely shut PP down. By the end of the first half, we were all locked in. We went into the half up 7-3 feeling good about the momentum we had created. PP was getting reckless with their fouls as they felt themselves slipping out of the game. As we began to pull away at the end of the first half, I could feel the emotions of the PP team unraveling. I remember a girl on PP taking a shot after the shot clock expired and hitting me in the head. I got nervous because I knew my parents were on the sidelines and would be concerned seeing me get hit, but I was fine, and it was time to finish the game and win my second SCIAC title in goal.
Being up 7-3 at the half and taking a shot to the head made me lock in even more because there was no way we were going to lose at home on a Saturday after the way they were playing. Our whole team ran away with the game in the second half. Our defense was unstoppable, I had a few saves, and we managed to shut PP out the entire second half. What I remember most about that game was our team finding our confidence and having a great second half leaving us feeling good as we were moving into the postseason. I watched the PP team unravel at the seams during that game. It got super messy, and we all tried to stay above the fray. By the end of the game, I think they had 6 yellow cards and a red card. I remember us not sinking to their level with reckless fouls and being really proud of what our defense accomplished that day.
I miss lacrosse and my CMS team so much! Losing most of my junior season and my senior season has really made me reflect on the time I had wearing my CMS uniform, and I value all those moments even more now that I will not have another game day as an Athena.
Corie Hack:
This game was more than a championship - for me and the rest of my senior class, it would be our last time playing on Zinda field. With every game against Pomona-Pitzer, there's a ton of emotions and drive on both sides, but for this game in particular, it was 10 fold. Winning this game meant all but securing a bid to the NCAA tournament and continuing our time as a team, as well as my time as a collegiate athlete. On top of that, winning this game meant ending my career with 36 straight SCIAC wins, which is something the entire team and coaching staff was extremely proud of.
But when I think back to this game, I think more of what it meant to me to play on Zinda Field. Having pre-game hype sessions in the locker room, getting to play our warmup playlist, hearing our announcers call out the starting lineup, seeing our faces on the big screen after a goal, hearing the home fans cheer for us. That's what Zinda Field and the CMS Athletic program meant to me, and it all culminated in this one, final, fantastic win over our Sixth Street rivals, the most fitting way to end your last home game as a CMS athlete.
2019 Women's Lacrosse Roster
Head Coach: Lauren Uhr
Assistant Coach: Jennifer Cohen
Sally Abel (So., A, CMC)
Janet Chen (So., D, CMC)
Juliana Clark (Jr., D, Scripps)
Emily Cohen (Jr., M, CMC)
Sammie Cohen (Fr., M, CMC)
Alex Futterman (Fr., M, CMC)
Maddie Geary (Sr., A, CMC)
Taylor Geary (So., M, CMC)
Anna Gillespie (So., G, Scripps)
Bella Godes (Fr., D, Scripps)
Emma Goldfield (Fr., G, CMC)
Nicole Greenberg (Sr., G, Scripps)
Tessa Guerra (Fr., A, CMC)
Corie Hack (Sr., M, CMC)
Allie Hill (Jr., M, CMC)
Brielle Huddy (So., A, CMC)
Emma Johnson (Jr., A, Scripps)
Carly Keeney (Sr., A, CMC)
Eloise Magoncelli (Fr., D, Scripps)
Maisy Mills (Fr., D, CMC)
Julia Mueller (So., A, Scripps)
Sara Reid (Jr., G, CMC)
Sascha Reynolds (Jr., A, HMC)
Eryn Rogers (Sr., D, CMC)
Zoe Ryan (Jr., D, HMC)
Eloise Shields (So., A, Scripps)
Luisa Valles (Jr., D, CMC)
Kira Weiss (Jr., D, CMC)
Alex Wilson (Fr., D, CMC)