Claremont, Calif. - Junior forward Allie Tao (Alamo, Calif. - pictured) scored 5:59 into the first overtime, her second goal of the game, to give the Pomona-Pitzer Women's Soccer team a 2-1 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday morning.

With the win, the Sagehens take a big step forward with their SCIAC Tournament hopes, improving to 5-4-1 overall and 4-3-1 in league play, remaining in the top four. The Sagehens are also 3-0-1 in their last four contests since starting out 1-3 in league play. CMS falls to 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the SCIAC with the loss.

The game-winning goal was set up on the right side of the field, as sophomore forward Sam Thompson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) played a ball into the box to sophomore forward Dana Christensen (San Diego, Calif.). Christensen took a low shot that deflected off an Athena defender and caught goalkeeper Hannah Dunham leaning the wrong way. Dunham recovered to get a hand on the ball, but the rebound rolled slowly through the goalmouth, and Tao crashed in from the weak side and merely tapped the ball into the net for the game-winner.

Tao also gave the Sagehens an early 1-0 lead on a much more difficult goal when she made a long run up the middle after taking a short pass from sophomore midfielder Nicole Quilliam (Menlo Park, Calif.). Tao beat one Athena defender, and then cut through two more before cracking a 25-yard shot from straight out. The ball knuckled to the right of starting goalkeeper Molly Freed and eluded her dive to put the Sagehens ahead 1-0 just 10:06 into the game.

The lead held for 73 minutes, before CMS found the equalizer with 6:22 showing on the clock. Madi Shove won a 50-50 ball after a collision with a Pomona-Pitzer defender on the right side of the box and sent a low cross through the six-yard box. Olivia Sylvester got to the ball at the far post and slipped a five yard shot into the net, as Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper Helena Epps (Santa Cruz, Calif.) nearly made a spectacular save moving all the way across the goal mouth, but the ball hit her and tucked into the side netting.

Tao had a great chance to win the game in regulation as she got to a loose ball from 15 yards out and blistered a line drive on net, but it went right to Dunham, who was able to handle it for the save.

Most of the game was a defensive struggle in the heat, as Pomona-Pitzer finished with 11 shots and CMS just five. All three goalies (Epps for Pomona-Pitzer and Dunham and Freed for CMS) had one save apiece.

Pomona-Pitzer returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Chapman for a 4 p.m. contest.