THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team is on a roll as of late, and the first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps found out the hard way as the Regals ran past the Athenas 3-1 on Saturday night at Rolland Stadium.
CLU has won four straight games and they are 5-0-1 over their last six contests. CMS handed Cal Lutheran a 4-1 defeat in their first meeting this year but there was a different Violet and Gold team that took the pitch tonight.
"We have a lot of young players and it was just going to take time for everyone to find their roll and fit into the system," said head coach Frank Marino. "We just have to continue to believe in what we are doing and continue to get better each game."
The Regals are showing that they believe after displaying a potent offensive attack outshooting CMS 8-1 in the first half.
Bri Pinal broke the silence from both teams in the 11th minute, with two shots on back-to-back possessions for CLU. On a breakaway, Pinal's first shot missed wide right of the goal and her second opportunity was contested by the goalie who managed to record the save.
In the 34th minute Olivia Leyva got the Regals on the scoreboard off a 20-yard free kick that she bent to the left corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Katie Moyer fielded a deflection in the box and shot past the defense for the 2-0 lead and her fourth goal of the season.
Holding on to a 2-0 lead, the Athenas applied pressure and fired a deep shot that Kiki Bailey saved with her outstretched hand, however, the ball landed favorably for Katelyn Faust who scored for CMS.
With the momentum swinging momentarily towards CMS, Nicole Campbell squashed any hopes for a comeback with a goal in the 83rd minute. Kristen Bergseth played the ball from the corner and crossed it into Campbell who was making her run into the box.
CLU held the edge in shot attempts 12-11 after being outshot 10-4 in the second half. Bailey notched six saves all in the second half to maintain the lead for the Regals. Kali Youngdahl and Campbell led the way for the Violet and Gold with three shots apiece and Pinal and Moyer added two. Leyva and Bianca Deardorff had the other shot attempts in the game.
Cal Lutheran (7-4-2, 5-2-1 SCIAC) will take a break from SCIAC action to take on UC Santa Cruz on Monday at 3:00 p.m. at Rolland Stadium.
Box Score: CMS 1, CLU 3
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