CMC75 Moments: 2019 Women's Soccer Wins Regional Title After Getting Second Life
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 moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2019 Women's Soccer: Athenas Earn Second NCAA Regional Title
The season felt like it was over to the 2019 CMS Women's Soccer team after the Athenas narrowly missed out on the SCIAC Tournament. Early in the year, though, CMS picked up a pair of big non-conference wins, knocking off conference champions Pacific Lutheran and Illinois Wesleyan, which was enough to impress the NCAA selection committee and earn the Athenas a surprise at-large bid.
CMS then went on to make the committee look good, defeating Emory 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament behind goals from senior Sarah Tocher and sophomore Nicole Oberlag. That win set up a rematch with SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran in the NCAA Regional Finals. The Athenas and Regals played to a 0-0 stalemate through 110 minutes and the game went into penalty kicks, where the Athenas built a lead behind conversions from Tocher, Samantha Ree and Kira Favakeh. After Cal Lutheran missed, sophomore Lauryn Jeans stepped to the spot with a chance to win and buried her shot into the lower left corner, giving CMS the regional championship, its second ever and first since 1985.
The Athenas looked to keep their run going, reaching the NCAA Round of 16 and giving No. 3 Washington University a scare by taking a 1-0 second-half lead on a goal from junior Katrina Ostrom, who had missed almost two months with an injury and only was able to return to action after the Athenas got the NCAA bid. The Bears tied it in the final 10 minutes, though, and won in overtime, ending the CMS run in the sectionals, three weeks after the Athenas thought their season had ended.
Senior Rhiann Holman earned All-America honors from the NSCAA, making her the first All-American in program history, and was joined on the All-West Region team by the two center backs, junior Grace Pratt and sophomore Gracyn Buenconsejo. Tocher, meanwhile, earned second-team All-SCIAC honors.
Lauryn Jeans:
I was in my Spanish 044 class with two other teammates when the news broke that we got in. The best way I can describe how I felt was shock. The excitement and exhilaration came about 30 minutes later. The tears came about an hour after that when I bumped into one of our seniors.
We just did not want to waste it. We recognized how lucky we were to be able to put that uniform back on and play with our seniors one last time. That game against Emory was all about giving our seniors the ending that they deserved and just fighting as a team. We had already gone through the process of getting knocked out of SCIAC, so we had nothing left to lose. That mentality allowed us to play freed from expectation and standards, and we just decided to focus instead on playing the game that we love with the teammates that we love.
On the penalty kick, to be honest not a lot went through my head. I personally know that when I overthink things, I tend to freak myself out. I actually was doing a breathing exercise as I walked to the PK spot. I put all my nerves, all those overwhelming thoughts, and all the outside noises behind me and just focused on my breathing. That was why I didn't run to the spot like every other player had before me, but rather I walked slowly trying to keep my composure and my breathing controlled.
That moment after the ball went in, when my teammates started sprinting at me, was glorious and life-changing. I remember that the head of the people running at me was senior Rhiann Holman, and I just recall thinking, 'That was for our seniors. That was for our team,' as I jumped up and gave her the biggest hug.
Our celebration on the bus after the win against Cal Lutheran was by far my favorite moment. Everyone was singing, dancing, and laughing for what seemed like the first time in months. I have never experienced that amount of pure happiness from our team before. It was the energy of a team that was making good use of their second chance.
Katrina Ostrom:
I was actually in my biochemistry class when I got the news, so I definitely had to contain my excitement. It was huge for me to get a chance to play again, as I had expectations for myself that season to return after surgery and a re-injury really dampened that. It also meant a lot knowing I'd get a chance to play with our seniors again, so across the board the excitement was definitely high that day.
Our mindset going into the Emory game was amazing—practices leading up to the game were super sharp, focused, and fast paced. We felt like we had nothing to lose but everything to prove, and that really fueled us to play our best soccer which we knew we could do but had not really shown our opponents yet.
We had actually been practicing penalty kicks that week leading up to the game, so I think we just put our trust in that preparation and in our teammates. When Lauryn stepped up for that last kick to win it, I remember saying that there's nobody that I would trust more to handle the pressure in that moment. And when it went in, we were just ecstatic that we got another week to play with our best friends.
The seniors were a super amazing group of student-athletes. Being able to send them off by matching program history was just a testament to how special that group is. Individually, one of my favorite moments was scoring the goal to go ahead against Wash U in the Sweet 16 game. For me personally, that was just huge validation for all the time spent in rehab since surgery, and it meant so much for me to contribute to the team in a big game like that. In that moment, we really felt like we could win that game and advance to the Elite 8, and while that didn't happen, I think it sparked a fire in our team seeing what we as a program are capable of achieving in the future.
Sarah Tocher:
Once we heard the news, we were immediately focused on the next game. We knew Emory was going to be tough and we played a good game against them, and then had to get ready for Cal Lutheran and we had already seen them twice (a win and a tie). We knew they were a good team, but our goal was the Sweet 16 and I think everyone came in refocused and played a really gritty game.
Everyone's feeling that pressure during penalty kicks, but you just have to take a deep breath, calm yourself down, see the ball going into the back of the net, and then make it happen.
Kira Favakeh:
We were giddy all week waiting for the regionals. It meant a lot, because I had the chance to go back out on the field, just to have fun and play my hardest. We were so grateful that we had the chance to have fun together.
I take a very slow approach on penalty kicks. I wait and I have to get my head completely clear, and I don't want to overthink it. I just kind of let my feet do the work. We've taken countless PKs in practice, and so I knew what I was doing, placing it over power.
2019 CMS Women's Soccer Roster
Head Coach: Jennifer Clark
Assistant Coach: Natalie Turner-Wyatt
Taylor Arakaki (Fy., D, Scripps)
Gracyn Buenconsejo (So., D, HMC)
Gabby Clouse (Sr., M, CMC)
Hayden Craig (Sr., GK, Scripps)
Sofia Devin (So., D, HMC)
Sophia Drezner (Fy., M, Scripps)
Mia Duranczyk (Fy., M, CMC)
Kira Favakeh (Sr., F, HMC)
Cam Hamson (Jr., G, CMC)
Vida Hasson (Fy., F, CMC)
Rhiann Holman (Sr., M, CMC)
Lizzie Iwicki (Fy., F, CMC)
Lauryn Jeans (So., M, CMC)
Bryn Kable (Fy., M, CMC)
Stella Kahl (Fy., D, Scripps)
Athena Manthouli (So., GK, Scripps)
Ava McIlvaine (Jr., D, Scripps)
Marisa Mestichella (So., F, CMC)
Aarthi Namasivayam (Jr., F, HMC)
Nicole Oberlag (So., M, HMC)
Katrina Ostrom (Jr., M, CMC)
Grace Pratt (Jr, D, CMC)
Samantha Ree (So., D, CMC)
Rosey Sams (So., GK, HMC)
Ava Sherry (Jr., D, HMC)
Sarah Tocher (Sr., F, CMC)
Olivia Tuffli (Fy., D, HMC)
Elizabeth Ueland (So., M, Scripps)
Sara Catherine Ueland (So., F, CMC)