Claremont-Mudd-Scripps handed the Sagehens their second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss in a nail-biting 1-0 finish on Saturday at CMC. The Athenas’ Sarah Carlson made the only goal of the game off a pass from Laura Green with nine minutes remaining in the first half. Despite an inspiring second half effort, the Hens were unable to find the back of the net.

From the start, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps dictated the pace, beating Pomona-Pitzer to the ball and maintaining better offensive control. With 9:10 left on the first-half clock, Carlson capitalized on a corner kick and pushed the ball just inside the left corner of the goal, past the outstretched hand of goalie Alison Mathes ’05.

The Hens emerged from their half-time huddle with renewed determination, however, and forced CMS into an aggressive defensive game under the hot mid-day sun.

"We were more effective because we changed our strategy in terms of formation," commented Pomona-Pitzer coach Eli Koenn-Bollinger on the second half turn-around. "Switching to a 3-5-2 definitely changed the personality of the game."

Pomona-Pitzer had several good chances to tie the game in the second half. Torrey Shelton ’02 worked her way through the Athena defense for a wide open look at the goal, and Ashley Thompson ’03 had two clear opportunities to score, including a beautiful shot that brought the crowd to its feet, but disappointingly skimmed the top post.

The match-up between cross-campus rivals could have easily gone either way. Pomona-Pitzer took 15 shots on goal to Claremont’s 17, and both goalies had excellent performances; Mathes with 7 saves and CMS’s Petra Kowagski with 11. Supporting Mathes in the backfield were Izzy Smith and Jessica Ichien. Freshman standout Sarah Staller lead the offensive effort.

"We played hard," said Koenn-Bollinger. "We were just not getting finishes, even though we had ample opportunity." Koenn-Bollinger herself is a former CMS soccer player and graduated from Scripps in ’94.

Asked about coaching against her alma-mater, she admitted, "It was freaky, walking up here to the fields." But she made it clear that Pomona-Pitzer is her team now, and that her focus is to rebound from what she calls "two discouraging losses."

The Hens suffered their first SCIAC loss, 1-3, at La Verne last Wednesday in a game that the Leopards clearly dominated. La Verne scored all three goals in the first half. Heather Cooper had the first with 21:19 remaining, Ashley Polan kicked in a deflected shot with 14:07 on the clock, and Adriana Ramirez added the third goal on an assist by Amy Babbitt with just 8 seconds left in the first half.

"We were not at our best," said a disappointed Koenn-Bollinger. "We had defensive breakdowns. Those goals were stoppable."

Pomona-Pitzer took only six shots on La Verne’s goal, compared to La Verne’s 12 attempts. Koenn-Bollinger is most concerned about her team’s "passing accuracy and inconsistent play."

The Hens are now 2-4 overall, and 0-2 in SCIAC. They played at home against Redlands this Wednesday, falling to the Bulldogs 6-1.