Caltech Women’s Soccer Battles CMS on Senior Day

The Caltech women’s soccer team took on the Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday in an exhilarating Senior Day contest that saw three Beavers find the back of the net.

The Beavers’ three goals are the squad’s most over an NCAA opponent this fall; the mark currently stands as the most goals scored against CMS by any team this season.

Action kicked off just after 2 p.m. following a high-energy pregame ceremony honoring the program’s ten seniors, though it was the visiting Athenas who put through the first goal of the game in the 22nd minute before putting one more through in the 29th. The Beavers immediately responded, however with a goal of their own less than one minute after the second CMS score.

After receiving the ball deep into the box, senior forward Marama Diaz-Asper (Washington, D.C. / Washington International) drew a sea of CMS defenders and wisely passed to sophomore midfielder Ellie Yamada (South Pasadena, Calif. / South Pasadena) at the top of the penalty box. Yamada returned the ball to Diaz-Asper, who found senior midfielder Juni Polansky (Baltimore, Md. / Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) open a few yards north of the top of the penalty area. The veteran quickly fired a well-placed shot into the top right corner of the goal out of reach of the goalkeeper to put Caltech within one at 2-1.

The Athenas scored once more in the final moments of the half but the Beavers answered in the opening minutes of the second on a set piece from junior defender Meher Banik (Foster City, Calif. / Aragon) several yards north of the penalty area. The Beaver fired the ball off the top of the crossbar and sophomore forward/midfielder Alexa Baxter (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista) knocked it perfectly into the goal off the rebound, putting Caltech back within one at 3-2. It was Baxter’s first goal of her collegiate career.

The back-and-forth game continued with CMS putting through two more scores, but the Beavers were not finished as they continued creating quality opportunities on offense.

Caltech found the back of the net once more following a corner kick from senior forward Jennifer Solgaard (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto). The attacker passed the ball to the sprinting midfielder/forward Aurelia Kuester (San Diego / Canyon Crest Academy), who passed the ball back to Solgaard after she had taken a step inside the playing field. Solgaard dribbled quickly to the top right corner of the box before delivering a beautiful shot to the left-most part of the netting, out of reach of the CMS keeper and giving Caltech its third goal of the contest.

Three Beaver goalkeepers combined for nine saves, with sophomore Haleigh Gardner (San Ramon, Calif. / California HS) collecting four in 45 minutes and junior Sophia Steven (Broomfield, Colo. / Peak to Peak Charter) denying two in her 34-and-a-half minutes. Senior Elizabeth Field (Charlottesville, Va. / Monticello) stopped one would-be goal in her 10-and-a-half minutes played.

Caltech’s three goals scored were the second-most against an NCAA opponent in program history.

All ten seniors played in the contest, including Field, Diaz-Asper, Polansky and Solgaard along with midfielder Sophia Elam (Medford, Ore. / North Medford), midfielder Sofia Syed (Austin, Texas / Liberal Arts and Science Academy), midfielder/forward Shelby Scott (San Jose, Calif. / Leland), defender Georgia Malueg (Miami / Palmer Trinity School), midfielder Mia Gallo (Highlands Ranch, Colo. / Highlands Ranch) and defender Katherine Marquis (Tewksbury, Mass. / Phillips Academy Andover).

Head coach Emmy Meyring and the squad will compete in their final game of 2024 this Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. as they look to earn the program’s all-time single-season conference win mark. The group will hit the road as they face off against the University of La Verne. Follow the action online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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