Claremont, Calif. - A cross from Olivia Sylvester hit off a Pomona-Pitzer defender and rolled into the net with 2:11 left in the first overtime as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated Pomona-Pitzer 1-0 in the SCIAC opener for both teams on Wednesday evening.

The loss drops the Sagehens to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in the SCIAC, while CMS improves to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Sylvester set up the winning goal when she got to the end line near the left corner flag and sent a cross through the six-yard box. A CMS player and a Pomona-Pitzer defender both jumped for a header, but neither made contact with the ball, which hit the ground and skipped through to the other side of the net.

The quick skip across the ground, though, deflected off the leg of a Sagehen defender who was covering the far post, and rolled back through the goalmouth all the way back to the other side of the net where Sylvester's cross first came from before trickling over for the winning goal.

The unlucky goal spoiled a terrific effort from freshman goalie Annie Wedel (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.), who twice stopped CMS forward Madi Shove when she was in alone. Early in the game, Shove tried to dribble around Wedel, but she dove to her right to pull the ball in as Shove went by. With just over 10 minutes left in regulation, Shove was played in behind the defense with a through ball, but Wedel came off her line and blocked Shove's shot from inside the box to keep the game scoreless.

Pomona-Pitzer had its best scoring chance late in regulation as junior forward Allie Tao (Alamo, Calif.) knuckled a 20-yard shot wide of the right post. The Sagehens also had a dangerous corner kick in the final 10 seconds of regulation, but goalie Molly Freed was able to punch it clear to send the game to overtime.

The Sagehen defense, led by senior Claire Mueller (Lincoln, Neb. - pictured), also played well in front of Wedel to help keep the Athenas off the board during regulation while holding them to only five shots in the entire contest. Pomona-Pitzer also finished regulation and played overtime with two center backs from Claremont High School - senior Jordan Bryant and freshman Taylor Fortson. Wedel ended with four saves for the Sagehens, while Freed had three saves for CMS.

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Saturday when it travels to Chapman for a 7 p.m. contest.