Chapman Late Comeback Denies CMS Women's Soccer SCIAC Bid

ORANGE, Calif. – Ava Sherry put the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps womens's soccer team ahead in the 57th minute, but the Chapman Panthers tied the game with a penalty kick late in the second half as the Athenas fell in overtime, 2-1 on the road on Saturday evening at Ernie Chapman Stadium. 

The win earned Chapman the final bid in the SCIAC tournament, eliminating CMS from postseason play after falling just after a hard-fought season. The Panthers improved their record to 9-4-2 overall and 7-4-1 in the conference, while the Athenas dropped to 9-4-3 overall and 5-4-3 in the league. 

Chapman was unable to break down the CMS defense until late in the game after they trailed the Athenas for 23 minutes. Riley Pidgeon scored both Chapman goals, giving the team life when they needed it the most in the second half. Pidgeon put in a penalty kick in the 81st minute to force the game into overtime. Six minutes into overtime, Pidgeon put the game away for the Panthers after finding the back of the net to give the team a 2-1 victory. 

Athena Manthouli had four saves for CMS, while Sherry recorded her fourth goal of the season in the loss, with Tori Holden picking up the assist on the goal. 

Almost the entire CMS roster will be back next year as they try to get back in the SCIAC playoff picture next spring, with Sherry and Gracyn Buenconsejo the only two graduating seniors. Freshman midfielders, Kaitlyn Helfrich and Ava Schmitt ended the year as the top two goal scorers for the Athenas, while junior midfielder Nicole Oberlag will be returning as the team's top assist leader.