On The Rebound! Oberlag's Follow-Up Goal Sends CMS Women's Soccer On To Second Round of NCAA Tournament

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Sophomore midfielder Nicole Oberlag followed up a penalty kick attempt and scored when the initial shot was saved to break a 1-1 tie and give the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team a 2-1 win over Emory in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday night at William Rolland Stadium.

The win improves the Athenas' record to 11-4-3 as they move on to face SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the second round. CMS took advantage of the second chance to continue its season with the win, rebounding from missing the SCIAC Tournament to win their first NCAA game since 2016.

CMS thought its season was over a week ago, when it just missed out on qualifying for the SCIAC with a 1-0 loss to Chapman in the regular season finale on Nov. 2, but it got a second life when it received an at-large bid on the strength of its early-season wins over Pacific Lutheran and Illinois Wesleyan, both of which ended up conference champions. Emory sees its season end at 13-5 with the loss. 

The game-winning goal was scored with 26:47 remaining in the game, as the Eagles were called for a foul inside their own penalty area. Senior Sarah Tocher, who scored the first goal for the Athenas in the opening minutes, took the penalty, but Emory goalie Emily Pratt laid out to her right to make a diving save. Oberlag aggressively followed the play, though, and beat the Emory defense to the rebound, slotting the ball home for her third goal of the season to put CMS ahead 2-1. 

The Athenas still had some work to do over the last 25 minutes, as Emory pressed forward looking for the equalizer. Junior goalie Cam Hamson came up with a big save in the 79th minute to force a corner kick, and then made another save two minutes later on the final Emory shot of the contest. The CMS defense was able to protect the lead over the final nine minutes, as they advanced on to the second round. 

Tocher struck for a goal just 2:12 into the contest as the Athenas came out flying with their second postseason life. However, Emory came right back, tying the score just over three minutes later on a goal from Lindsey Breskow. The Athenas responded with two more quick shots from Kira Favakeh (wide) and Tocher (saved by Pratt) before the game settled in after 10 minutes.

Both teams nearly took the lead late in the half as Emory's Natalie Klar hit the post in the 38th minute, and Mia Duranczyk of CMS hit the crossbar in the final minute of the half, but the game remained 1-1 until Oberlag's goal. 

CMS and Cal Lutheran played twice in the regular season, with the teams playing to a 1-1 tie in Thousand Oaks the first time. Senior gabby Clouse put CMS ahead in the early part of the second half, but the Regals were able to knot it up in the game's closing minutes. In the rematch in Claremont, the Athenas won 1-0 on a first-half penalty kick goal from Rhiann Holman.