CMS Women's Soccer Moves to 3-0 on Season with 1-0 win over Pacific Lutheran

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior Rhiann Holman scored an early goal and junior goalie Cam Hamson had two huge saves in the final 20 minutes as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team picked up a big 1-0 home win over three-time defending Northwest Conference champion Pacific Lutheran on Friday evening at Pritzlaff Field.

With the win, CMS improves to 3-0 on the young season with three straight shutouts, outscoring its first three opponents 9-0. Pacific Lutheran, which was 13-3-4 a year ago on its way to a co-championship of the NWC, slips to 1-1-1 on the year with the loss.  



The game's only goal was scored in the sixth minute when CMS earned a corner kick on the left side of the field. Senior forward Kira Favakeh took the corner and bent a cross to the far post. Holman timed her run perfectly and was able to get her head on the ball inside the six-yard box, getting it through the defense and into the net for her third goal on the year. 

The Athenas had a bid to make it 2-0 midway through the first half when they had a long build-up after clearing a Pacific Lutheran corner kick out of trouble. Senior midfielder Gabby Clouse took a back pass and cranked a right-footed shot from 23 yards out that nearly found the net, but it hit off the crossbar and tumbled over the net for a goal lick. 

CMS took the 1-0 lead into the half, and did a solid job at protecting the lead until Hamson was called on to step up twice in the final 20 minutes. At the 68:14 mark, Ashlee Gormley got on the back end of a through ball beind the Athena defense, but Hamson came out of net to smother the shot just inside the top of the 18-yard box. 

The Lutes then had a golden opportunity to force the game into an extra session with just under two minutes left, when Tasha Tennyson battled for a 50-50 ball and got in behind the defense. Hamson rushed out of net to meet her, and Tennyson appeared to have an opening cutting a shot back across the net, but Hamson quickly went down to block it for save number six on the night, and the CMS defense was able to clear away the rebound before any Lutes could try to put one towards the empty net. 

After dodging that bullet, CMS got the ball down to its offensive corner flag with 1:20 to go and managed to kill the final 80 seconds without the Lutes ever having a chance to clear it, improving the team's record to 3-0. 

Holman has been pleased with the team's quick start to the season. "This has been huge, we've had an amazing preseason," she said. "So much better than years in the past. I'm really proud of the freshmen who have been stepping up big, getting playing time. It's been great so far." 

CMS finished with a narrow 10-9 edge in shots, with the Lutes holding a 6-4 edge in shots on target and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Hamson's six saves were their season-high, while Cassidy Crosswhite had three for Pacific Lutheran

CMS will look to keep things going when it travels to UC Santa Cruz on Sunday for an 11 a.m. contest.