THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Echo Malinowski-Cunningham gave the third-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team a 1-0 lead in the first half, but second-seeded Cal Lutheran scored late in each half to come back and earn a 2-1 win in the SCIAC Semifinals on Wednesday evening at William Roland Stadium. 

Cal Lutheran improves to 14-2-2 on the year and moves on to face top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC Championship on Saturday. CMS slips to 13-3-3 with the loss, and will await a possible NCAA at-large selection when bids are announced on Monday. 

CMS held a 17-9 edge in shots for the game, but Cal Lutheran took advantage of two of their nine opportunities to get the comeback win.

Malinowski-Cunningham, a defender for the Athenas, scored for only the second time in her career, with the first also coming against Cal Lutheran in a 2-2 tie back in 2023, before the Regals went on to earn the national title. This time around, she scored off a corner kick taken by Riley Zitar at the 20:09 mark to give CMS the early advantage. 

The lead almost held until the half, but Cal Lutheran was able to take momentum back with 4:47 left on the first half clock, when Elena Baltazar converted the equalizer just before the break. 

CMS probed for a go-ahead goal in the second half, with Annika Marshall and Ava Allen both having shot attempts saved by Cal Lutheran goalkeeper Kelsey Slaugh. The Regals then capitalized on a late opportunity as Anna Evenson scored with 6:13 left to put Cal Lutheran in front for the first time. Sena Howell had one last chance to get CMS even, but her shot with 2:30 to go was saved by Slaugh. 

Despite the loss, CMS stands in excellent shape to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Athenas came into the day No. 16 in the NCAA computer rankings (NPI), with Cal Lutheran at No. 25, and a road loss to a highly-ranked team is unlikely to do much damage to the CMS ratings index.