Athenas Win 2007 SCIAC Women's Soccer Title

CMS defeated second place Occidental 4-0 at home on Saturday and the win clinched the conference title for the Athenas.  This is the team's fourth title and first since 2003.  CMS will now host the SCIAC Tournament on November 1 & 3 and will be the number one seed.  This will be the second year of the Tournament and CMS is the defending champion.

After a disappointing loss last Wednesday that ended the team's school record 11-game winning streak, the Athenas came ready to play Saturday.  They played with heart and passion and fought for every inch, allowing them to come away with the powerful 4-0 victory.  CMS is now 13-4 overall and 10-1 in SCIAC while Occidental remains in second with a 7-3 league record.

CMS started the game off strong.  In the first six minutes, Giselle Galanto (SO, Duarte) sent in a nice cross that bounced around in the box.  With some great offensive pressuring, Brittney Watson (JR, Sammamish, WA) was able to capitalize and find the back of the net.  The Tigers responded immediately with three dangerous attacks, but the Athena defense held and were able to clear the ball.  Goalkeeper Camilla Friedman-Gerlicz (SO, Sante Fe, NM) had a couple of tremedous saves during this time.

Realizing that a 1-0 lead was not going to be enough against the Tigers, the Athenas picked it up in the second half.  The team again struck early as defender Hillary Tribbs (JR, Lake Bluff, IL) sent a nice cross to Galanto who laid the ball off to Rebecca Pedroza (JR, Las Vegas, NV [pictured]). Pedroza had a beautiful shot from the end line that sailed past the keeper, who was being screened by Kum, and into the goal.  Midway through the half, Laura Hagen (FR, Bellevue, WA) sent a beautiful ball to Megan Kum (SR, South Pasadena) who pushed the ball past the last defender and beat the keeper with a composed and amazing shot low and in the corner.  Looking to expand their lead, the Athenas kept up the pressure.  The team capped the scoring as Chrysanthia Cheung-Lau (FR, Upland) sent in a beautiful cross that was finished by Katherine Jarvis (SR, Monrovia) and assisted by Shannon Dockham (SO, Martinez).  A solid defensive effort and some amazing saves from Friedman-Gerlicz allowed the Athenas to win with a shutout.

The Athenas play their last league game on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:00 at Redlands.