As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments and landmark years from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you would like to add to the memories of one of these moments, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments Featured in this Story
1974 Men's Soccer: Stags Come Back to Defeat Pomona-Pitzer in Districts
1983 Men's Soccer: CMS Reaches National Championship Game
2019 Women's Soccer: Athenas Win Regionals After Surprise NCAA Bid
2019 Men's Soccer: Stags Take SCIAC, NCAA Regional Titles
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The 1984 opening of Pritzlaff Field as the new home to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps soccer couldn't have come at a better time. The men's soccer team had just established itself as a bona fide national power, reaching the championship game in 1983, and the athletic department was able to add women's soccer as a varsity sport in 1985.
The facility was funded by the Pritzlaff Family in honor of John Pritzlaff III, who graduated from Claremont McKenna in 1976 (his father served as a state senator in Arizona and as a United States ambassador). While a member of the Stags, Pritzlaff helped Claremont-Mudd to back-to-back SCIAC Championships (10-1-1 in 1974 and 11-1 in 1975), as well as a dramatic comeback win over Pomona-Pitzer in the 1974 NAIA District Semifinals. He was a three-time All-SCIAC selection, earned All-District honors as a senior, and was named to the CMS Hall of Fame.
Under Head Coach Steve Davis, also a member of the CMS Hall of Fame, the Stags continued as a conference power, winning the SCIAC title in 1978 at 10-0-2, and recording two straight 6-0 league seasons in 1981 and 1982, which would begin a streak of 14 league championships in a row.
The third of those seasons proved to be one for the ages, as CMS became a national power as well, advancing all the way to the NCAA Division III National Championship game, taking wins over UC San Diego (2-0), Colorado College (3-2) and Scranton (1-0) before dropping a 3-2 decision to UNC Greensboro (now a Division I school) in the finals.
With the success came increased support and attention, showing even more the need for a facility that would enhance the spectator experience.
"The thing we all remember fondly was the support of the CMC community during the championship run," five members of the team said in a collaborative statement. "With each successive win, the number of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps student and faculty fans at our home games continued to grow. Our home games were the "must attend" events on campus and each game was filled with hundreds of fanatical students who appeared to be sharing the same joy and thrill of our playoff run as we were."
With soccer establishing itself as a powerhouse program, the Pritzlaff Family helped fill the void with a soccer-dedicated facility for the teams to call home, instead of the multi-use Parents Field which took a beating over the year. With Pritzlaff Field in place, the athletic department was able to add women's soccer to the varsity fold, with the Athenas kicking off their debut season in 1985 as the department's seventh women's sport (and 17th overall).
It didn't take long for CMS Women's Soccer to join its male counterparts as SCIAC Champions, as the Athenas took league titles in 1987 and 1988 in their third and fourth varsity seasons. CMS began its women's soccer program with nine straight winning seasons in league play, compiling a 60-11-5 record between 1987-1993.
Pritzlaff Field also saw some great moments from both programs in the last year of competition, when the CMS Men's Soccer and CMS Women's Soccer both won regional championships in 2019 on the same weekend. The Stags took the SCIAC Postseason Tournament title at home with a pair of 2-0 wins over Occidental and Redlands, and then won the regional at Trinity (Texas) to advance to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 1984.
The Athenas, meanwhile, used their home field for a pair of big non-conference wins over Pacific Lutheran and Illinois Wesleyan (which won their respective league), earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. CMS took advantage of the new life, winning the NCAA Regionals at Cal Lutheran (defeating the host Regals on penalty kicks after defeating Emory 2-1) to advance to NCAA Sectionals for the second time in program history (joining the 2008 squad).
Pritzlaff Field has packed a lot of history in the 35 years-plus since it opened in 1984. Between the two soccer programs, CMS can now boast 32 SCIAC Championships in its history. Fortunately, as a full-length NCAA Soccer facility at 120 yards long, it is big enough to allow for lots of banner space.
