CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer lacrosse team battled through a 16-15 overtime instant classic victory against the CMS Athenas on a night filled with loud fans, game delays, over 70 fouls, and back-and-forth action the whole way through. The Sagehens were led by Fiona Lewis who recorded five goals on the night while Shoshi Henderson tallied three goals and two assists, breaking the single seasons assist record with 43 overall this season. Maggie Sweeney ended the night with two goals and two assists while Caroline Worthington and Eloise Cherian each had two goals and one assist. With the win, the Sagehens are now 10-0 and 7-0 in SCIAC play with a road trip to Redlands up next on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 7:00 p.m.

How It Happened 

The first quarter featured an uncharacteristic start for the Sagehens as the Athenas netted the first two goals to start a 6-2 run in the opening period. After the two goals from CMS, Eloise Cherian cut the lead to 2-1 with her first goal of the game but the Athenas scored four more goal before Ellie Kruse scored on a free position shot to make it 6-2 at the end of the first period. This was the first time all season the Sagehens have trailed by more than one goal. 

With work to do, the Sagehens came out shooting coming into the second quarter. Shoshi Henderson found the net just over two minutes into the second period with Sydney Landauer dishing out the assist, cutting the CMS lead to 6-3. The Athenas added one more in response but Tess McHugh and Eloise Cherian both scored to make it 7-5. CMS scored three minutes later a free position attempt, but Fiona Lewis netted the next two with one unassisted goal and one assisted by Maggie Sweeney in a man down situation to cut the lead to 8-7 with 3:44 left to play. The Athenas were able to tally two more goals in the final minute of the second quarter to take the 10-7 lead heading into the halftime break. 

What's normally a 10-minute halftime break was a tad bit more as a clock error delayed the start of the second half, allowing both teams to prepare for the battle in the second half just a bit longer. The Sagehens owned the third quarter, scoring five unanswered goals to gain some momentum after a tough first half. Caroline Worthington scored the first goal of the half just five minutes into the period, making it 10-8. Shoshi Henderson scored the next goal just 14 seconds later to make it 10-9. With momentum building for the Sagehens, we ran into another clock error that put the game on pause with 9:05 left in the third quarter. After the delay, the Sagehens picked up right where they left off as Fiona Lewis scored a goal but was fouled prior to the shot, taking the goal away. Lewis took her free position shot and struck again, this time with the goal counting, tying the game at 10-10 with 7:25 to play in the third. Maggie Sweeney and Caroline Worthington scored the last two goals of the third quarter to give Pomona-Pitzer a 12-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

In a chippy fourth quarter, both teams saw two yellow card penalties come their way. The Athenas struck first 35 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Fiona Lewis netted another goal, this time in a man up situation to make it 13-11. CMS scored the next three in both man down and man up situations to take a 14-13 lead over the Sagehens with 3:51 left in regulation. The late lead change didn't seem to bother the Sagehens as they stormed right back with Sweeney finding Lewis who netted her fifth goal of the night to tie things at 14-14. A late yellow card on Worthington gave CMS the one player advantage and they capitalized on it, scoring with 2:26 left to play with a 15-14 lead. The Sagehens came right back once again with Sweeney taking it herself and scoring the equalizer to make it 15-15, a score that would hold through the final minute of regulation and send this game to overtime to decide a winner in the Sixth Street Rivalry.   

The overtime period was all Pomona-Pitzer from the opening whistle. Kate Immergluck won the draw control and quickly got the ball in the attacking third. Fiona Lewis took the first shot by sent it just wide as CMS picked up the ground ball and attempted to counter. The CMS clear attempt was unsuccessful as Sweeney caused the turnover. The Sagehens called a timeout to get their play ready. Out of the break, it took just 40 seconds for Eloise Cherian to find a wide open Shoshi Henderson who ripped the final goal of the game just over the keeper's left shoulder and into the back of the net, giving the Sagehens the 16-15 overtime victory over rival CMS. With the win, the Sagehens are now one of six teams in the country without a loss. 

What's Up Next

As mentioned, the Sagehens have a road trip to Redlands up next on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 7:00 p.m.