Still Alive! CMS Women's Soccer Stays in SCIAC Playoff Hunt with 2-0 Road Win at Redlands

REDLANDS, Calif. - Needing to win to keep its SCIAC Tournament hopes alive, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team broke the ice offensively with two second half goals to earn a huge 2-0 road win over first-place Redlands on Wednesday evening.

With the win, CMS now stands at 8-4-4 overall and 6-3-4 in the SCIAC, and can play its way into the conference tournament by defeating Occidental at home on Saturday. Redlands falls to 9-5-2 overall and 8-3-2 in league play. 

The Athenas are currently in fifth place in the SCIAC, three points behind both Cal Lutheran and Occidental, but would have the tiebreaker with the Tigers if they should beat them, since they tied the first time (CMS would also finish ahead of Occidental in a three-way tie if Cal Lutheran should lose as well).

Sophomore goalie Claire Hamson had three saves to pick up her 11th shutout of the season, including seven wins and four 0-0 ties that went 110 minutes. In fact, the last three Athena games (at Pomona-Pitzer, home vs. Cal Lutheran, home vs. Whittier) were all 0-0 ties before junior midfielder Rhiann Holman ended the long scoreless deadlock with a goal 12:22 into the second half off a cross from junior midfielder Gabrielle Clouse. 

With the ice finally broken, CMS scored again, as senior Megan Lo (pictured) scored her first goal of the season less than 10 minutes later, converting on a rebound in front of the net, to give the Athenas the 2-0 lead with 22:52 remaining. 

After taking the two-goal lead, the CMS defense locked things down the rest of the way, as Hamson needed to make one more save in the 76th minute, while the Bulldogs' only other shot sailed high. 

The Athenas finished with a 15-9 edge in shots on the day, including 9-5 in the pivotal second half, led by five from Holman. Redlands had the evening's only corner kick in the first half. 

CMS will host Occidental on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in its final regular season home game, knowing that it controls its own destiny for a playoff bid. A win would mean that the Athenas would head to the road on Wednesday for a SCIAC semifinal, while a loss or tie would end their season just shy of the league playoffs.