Late comeback comes up short in semifinal loss
CLAREMONT, Calif. – A late run made it a game but the Chapman University women's lacrosse team fell 22-19 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinals of the SCIAC Tournament. Two school records were tied or set in the high scoring affair.
Jessica Ricketts picked up a school record 13 draw controls – most coming in the second half as the Panthers began a comeback from as much as seven goals down. Vanessa Topete tied the school record with seven goals in the match.
The Panthers fell in an early hole as CMS picked up the first six draw controls of the match. The Athenas built a 5-1 lead after picking up those first draw controls but Chapman quickly battled back. Topete and Mei-Lani Ferreira scored just 45 seconds apart to bring it back to 5-3 and Murphy scored with 4:26 left in the first to make it 5-4.
CMS responded with a three-goal run of its own to make it an 8-4 deficit for the Panthers at the end of the first quarter.
The rapid pace and flurry of goals continued throughout the night. CMS fired off 42 shots to Chapman's 29. Anna Hereu kept the Panthers in the match with 15 saves, including nine in the first half.
By the 11:35 mark in the fourth quarter, CMS had built its lead up to 19-12. The Panthers and Athenas traded the next few goals but Chapman still trailed 21-15 with just over seven minutes left.
Murphy fired in a goal with the Athenas down a player to spark a late run. In between picking up draw controls, Ricketts scored back-to-back goals less than a minute apart to make it 21-18. With 3:14 left, Ricketts assisted on Topete's seventh goal of the match that brought Chapman back within two at 21-19.
Ricketts scooped up her school record 13th draw control as the Panthers looked to close the gap to one. However, a turnover led to a CMS goal with just over one minute remaining to seal the match and advance the Athenas to Saturday's championship match at Pomona-Pitzer.
Sophomore Anna Klose had two goals and three assists while Emily Allen picked up seven draw controls while scoring a goal and assisting on another.
The Panthers season comes to an end with an overall record 11-6.