CLAREMONT, Calif. - Avni Udupa of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's soccer team earned the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year Award and was one of six Athenas to earn all-conference accolades, the conference office announced today. 

Senior defender Ava Allen, junior midfielder Lexie Roth and senior forward Jordan Yates each earned first-team All-SCIAC honors. Udupa captured a spot on the second team, along with senior defender Carmel Randolph and senior midfielder Flora Glantz. 

Udupa ended the regular season with three goals and three assists in 16 games played, including nine starts. She had two goals in a win over La Verne, and added a late game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Whittier. She also added a key assist in a late-season 2-0 win over Chapman to secure the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

That assist came on the game-winning goal from Jordan Yates, who returned from injury this year to tally seven goals and two assists, including the game-winner against Chapman. She also had two-goal games against Occidental and Caltech, and had a goal in the first meeting with Chapman as well. It marks the second straight appearance on the All-SCIAC teams for Yates, who had eight goals last season before being lost for the playoff push with a knee injury. 

The other goal in the Athenas' 2-0 win over Chapman came from Roth, who put in a 30-yard shot after a Panther turnover. She had five goals during the regular season in all, including the game-winner late in a 2-1 win over UC Santa Cruz, and a key goal in a 2-1 road win over Macalaster. 

Allen makes her second straight appearance on the All-SCIAC first team after starting every SCIAC game at her right back position. She had a long-range game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Whittier, and added another goal in a road win over Redlands. Her defensive work has also helped CMS hold opponents to only 12 goals all season, an average of 0.67 per game. 

Randolph has mirrored Allen's production at left back, where she has also been a mainstay of a steady CMS defense this season. Much like Allen, her resume also includes a long-range goal, a 30-yard blast in a 1-1 tie with Cal Lutheran, as well as another goal in a win over Caltech. 

Glantz captures All-SCIAC honors for the third year in a row, including a first-team selection last year. She led the Athenas in assists this year with six, including assistsing on both goals in a 2-1 win over UC Santa Cruz, and earning assists in both games with La Verne. 

The Athenas finished the regular season 11-4-3 overall and in third place in the SCIAC at 7-3-2, and will open up SCIAC Tournament play at No. 2 seed Pomona-Pitzer this afternoon at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to the championship on Saturday, which would be at 11 a.m. if CMS ends up earning the right to host, which would require a win over Pomona-Pitzer and Chapman upsetting top-seeded Cal Lutheran. 

SCIAC Tournament events are ticketed, but free for anyone with ID from a SCIAC institution - click below for tickets to the semifinal game with Pomona-Pitzer.

SCIAC Semifinal Tickets