CMS Men's Soccer Escapes With 2-1 Win at Caltech

PASADENA, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team held a 26-4 edge in shots, but was in danger of coming away with a tie before Nico Monsalve scored with 17:04 remaining to give the Stags a 2-1 road win over Caltech in a SCIAC matchup on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, CMS moves to 4-3-4 overall and 4-1-1 in the conference, while Caltech falls to 0-5 in conference with the loss. 

The Stags struck early on a goal from Grant Donaldson at the 15:08 mark, which looked like it would be enough to hold up, as CMS held a 14-1 edge in shots in the first half, and only six saves from Derek Ing even kept it a one-goal game, as well as the crossbar on a shot from Troy Lehenbauer. 

However, Daniel Li scored against the run of the play in the 58th minute to pull the Beavers even, just one minute after checking back into the game. CMS started to put some pressure on by the 68th minute, with Jake Allmon, Troy Lehenbauer and Chase Keir tallying shots in a two-minute span. Finally, the Stags broke through as Eric Sanchez hit the crossbar and Monsalve was able to finish with a header. 

Daniel Kokotsky did have to make one save in the 82nd minute to preserve the 2-1 lead, but the Stags were able to maintain possession down the stretch and see out the win. 

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Cal Lutheran in a key SCIAC battle, with the Kingsmen standing at 3-0-1 in league play going into tonight's game with Pomona-Pitzer