Penalty kick goal helps Athenas shutout Poets

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team shutout the visiting Whitter Poets 2-0 at Pritzlaff Field, marking the second time in three matches the Athenas have held their opponents scoreless.

The first 15 minutes were fairly quiet as a majority of the match was played in the neutral third. In the 26^th minute, senior Darrah Shields (CMC) had an opportunity to connect on a low cross deep in the crease but couldn't take advantage of a scrambling goalkeeper.

A sloppy and aggressive first half for both sides saw 16 combined fouls and two yellow cards drawn.  The Athenas were given a golden opportunity to take the lead on the final foul of the first half, which occurred deep in the penalty box setting up junior midfielder Makella Brems (CMC) with the Athenas' first penalty kick of the year.

Brems did not disappoint, beating the diving goalkeeper on the left side for the 1-0 lead with 20 seconds remaining in the half.

As the second 45-minute frame began, junior Laynee Laube (CMC) took a perfect low feed from Shields and drilled it off the crossbar.

With CMS pressuring, senior Laura Hayward (CMC) sent a high cross to the opposite side of the cage where freshman Sarah Malott (CMC) headed the ball right to Laube, who quickly tapped it in from close-range at the 54-minute mark. For Laube, it was her second goal in as many games.

Whittier's best chances to tie the game came on identical plays where forward Tess Peppis found herself all alone on the shallow right side of the cage twice in a span of six minutes . Second half sophomore goalkeeper Morgan McCoy (CMC) shut her out on both occasions, using good positioning to cut down the angle.

The Athenas would control the ball well the rest of the way and preserve the 2-0 victory.

Both teams had 18 shot attempts with seven finding their way to the net for CMS and four on target for Whittier.

With the win, CMS improves its overall record to 5-4-3 including a 3-2-2 mark in conference play, owning a half-game lead over La Verne and Cal Lutheran for fourth place in the SCIAC.

The Athenas have not lost in their last four matches and have allowed only two goals through the four contests.

CMS will play in back-to-back contests over the weekend, first an evening matchup with Redlands on Saturday followed by a showdown with UC Santa Cruz on Sunday. The 2015 Alumni game will also be held Sunday, prior to the afternoon match against the Banana Slugs.

By Tony Steege
Sports Information Assistant

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