Amelia Ayala Named SCIAC Women's Water Polo Offensive Player of the Week

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Sophomore Amelia Ayala was named the SCIAC Women's Water Polo Offensive Player of the Week for games through Sunday, March 30, the league office announced today.

Ayala came up big for the Athenas as they won a pair of SCIAC road games to get back over .500 in conference play at 4-3. She had a hat trick in an 11-5 win at Occidental on Wednesday, and then finished with five goals as CMS took a 10-9 comeback win over Chapman on Saturday. 

Her five-goal total in the Chapman win also included four in a 5-0 run during the fourth quarter, which turned an 8-5 deficit after three quarters into a 10-8 lead with just over a minute to play. She started the comeback with the first goal of the fourth quarter, and then after teammate Aracelia Aldrete scored to make it 8-7, Ayala scored three goals in a row, tying the score with 3:30 left, putting CMS ahead to stay with 2:40 to go, and then adding a key insurance goal that proved to be the game-winner with 1:06 to go. 

Ayala now leads CMS in goals scored this season with 22, following her eight-goal surge this week, as she helped the Athenas get right back into the SCIAC Tournament hunt. 

CMS will be back on action on Wednesday at 4 p.m., when it hosts Cal Lutheran in a key SCIAC match-up at Axelrood Pool.