CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Soccer team defeated Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent CMS 4-1 in the first leg of the Sixth Street Rivalry on Saturday night at the South Athletics Complex.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens claim their first SCIAC win of the season and move to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Athenas drop to 1-4 overall and 0-2 to start SCIAC play.
Pomona-Pitzer was led by senior Abby Onderwyzer Gold who tallied two goals and an assist in the win. Sophomore Lily Gane and freshman Chloe Hamer joined the scoresheet as well with one goal each. Sophomore goalkeeper Isa Berardo got the win for the Sagehens as she tallied three saves.
The Sagehens came out and dominated the first half against the Athenas as they fed off of the energy of a Saturday night giveaway crowd in the first Sixth Street Rivalry of the year.
Gane broke the 0-0 tie as she took advantage of a failed clear attempt by the Athenas' defense, settled the ball and found the back of the net to put the Sagehens up 1-0 in the 19th minute.
Just three minutes later, the Sagehens struck again as Onderwyzer Gold played a ball to Hamer who struck a beautiful ball past the keeper to give the Sagehens a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Pomona-Pitzer then scored their third goal in six minutes after junior Sarah Jones struck a majestic free kick that struck the crossbar and bounced straight up in the air. Onderwyzer alertly rushed the box and played the ball on the way down for a point blank goal as the Sagehens held a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Sagehens focused on keeping the ball out of CMS striking distance in the second half but the Athenas found the back of the net off of a shot from Rhiann Holman in the 51st minute to cut the score down to 3-1.
CMS tried to make a run after the goal but the Sagehens defense wouldn't give as they made sure they kept their lead. Pomona-Pitzer had one more goal in them late in the second half as sophomore Bria VarnBuhler weaved through the CMS defense and played a perfect ball to Onderwyzer Gold to set her up for her second goal of the night as they Sagehens took game one of the Sixth Street Rivalry.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host SCIAC opponent La Verne on Wednesday, September 20th at 4:00 p.m.