CMS Women's Lacrosse Breaks it Open in Second Half for 16-3 Season-Opening Win over Chapman

ORANGE, Calif. - After playing to a low-scoring first-half in its season opener at Chapman, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's lacrosse team caught fire in the second half and went on to take a 16-3 win over Chapman on Saturday afternoon.

The score was just 3-1 at the half, but senior Allie Hill, junior Sally Abel and sophomore Alex Futterman each scored second-half hat tricks to help CMS pull away in a hurry. Abel and Hill each had four goals to lead the Athenas on the day, with Abel reaching the 100-goal plateau for her career on her first goal in the second half (and now has 102). 

The first half saw Hill score at the 25:06 mark off a feed from Abel, and then neither team could find the net for 15 minutes before Abel made the score 2-0 off a free position shot. First-year Katelyn Sparks stretched the CMS lead to 3-0 with 6:46 left before Alexandra Callaway converted with 4:38 left to give Chapman some momentum heading into the locker room. 

The momentum didn't last, though, as CMS came out on fire with the first nine goals after the breaks, scoring six times in the first 10:03. Futterman scored twice in a row 1:16 apart to make ti a 5-1 lead, and Hill scored off a feed from sophomore Emma Johnson. First-year Macie Gruver scored her first collegiate goal at the 21:10 mark to make it a 7-1 game, and Hill scored twice in a row on free position shots 19 seconds apart to make it 9-1 with 19:57 to play. 

Abel then scored three goals in a row, the first two 24 seconds apart off feeds from Johnson and Gruver, to cap off the 9-0 run and put CMS ahead 12-1 before Chapman could finally convert its first goal of the second half. CMS closed out with a goal from senior Emily Cohen, two from sophomore Tessa Guerra, and the third from Futterman to make the final score 16-3. 

Sophomore Emma Goldfield went the distance to get the win, making six saves as the CMS defense was stout in front of her, causing 16 turnovers, led by three from senior Zoe Ryan. Johnson and Guerra also led the Athenas with five ground balls apiece. 

CMS will return to action on Wednesday for a Sixth Street Rivalry game, taking on Pomona-Pitzer at 7 p.m.