CMU sports: football wins big in first round, women's soccer falls in round of 16

Women’s Soccer

The seventh-ranked Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer team took on Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday at home in the NCAA Division III playoffs Round of 16.

In the first half, Carnegie Mellon dominated on shots, recording seven compared to WashU’s one. However, all on-mark shots were saved on both sides, leaving the scoreboard empty at the half.

In the first two minutes of the second half, senior Alex Adams was tripped in the box, giving the Tartans a penalty kick that sophomore Gemma Jefferson converted. This put the Tartans up 1-0 early in the second half.

The Bears were ready to rally back, though. In the 66th minute, a WashU player was able to slip one in unassisted, tying the game. Three minutes later, the Bears snuck another one in the net, giving them the lead over the Tartans.

Despite a close shot that hit the crossbar in the 79th minute from Adams, the Tartans did not to score again. This 2-1 loss ended the Tartans season with a 14-3-2 record.

Football

The stands were packed in Gesling Stadium as the 19th-ranked Carnegie Mellon football team opened their NCAA Division III playoff run this past Saturday, Nov. 19 when they took on DePauw University at home.

Play started out a bit rough for the Tartans. After a fumble on the opening kickoff that DePauw recovered, the Tigers were able to get on the board early. A 14-yard touchdown pass made it 7-0 DePauw less than three minutes into the game.

DePauw wouldn’t hold the lead for long, though. An 11-play, 75 yard drive gave the Tartans a touchdown thanks to a four-yard pass from junior Ben Mills to senior Kris Hughes. This tied the game with 5:21 left in the first quarter.

The Tartans were able to make up for their earlier fumble on the ensuing kickoff; senior Aryan Hegde forced a DePauw fumble, which gave the Tartans the ball on the DePauw 26. This led to a four-yard rush touchdown from junior Tre Vasiliadis and a 14-7 Tartan lead.

Carnegie Mellon continued their momentum into the second quarter. A 14-yard catch-and-run from Mills to junior Ethan Reifer gave the Tartans another touchdown; this was also repeated on the next Tartan drive, giving Carnegie Mellon a 28-7 lead over DePauw going into halftime.

Coming into the second half, the Tigers attempted a comeback, albeit rather poorly. The only score in the third quarter was DePauw’s touchdown on their opening drive.

The fourth quarter was all Tartans, though; a 54-yard run from Vasiliadis with 12:45 left on the clock gave the Tartans a 35-14 lead. Carnegie Mellon continued to push their advantage; on DePauw’s next drive, sophomore Nolan Pitsenberger recorded a pick six following a 45-yard return.

Before time expired, graduate Cole Hanna put one through the posts to widen the Tartan lead and give them a 45-14 victory.

This is the Tartan’s 18th win in a row, the longest active in the NCAA across all divisions. The 11 wins this season also ties the 2006 school record for most wins in a single season. The Tartans will be on the road next week for the second round of NCAA Division III playoffs when they take on top-ranked North Central College on Nov. 26 at 12:00 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

The Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team traveled to Walsh University on Tuesday, Nov. 15 for an exhibition match against the Division II opponent. Despite the Tartans pulling ahead slightly with a 15-14 lead halfway through the first half, the Cavaliers would command a strong lead for the rest of the half. As the first half came to a close, the board read 37-22 in favor of the Cavaliers. The Tartans were only able to match Walsh in the second half, with both teams scoring 40 points. But thanks to Walsh’s hefty lead in the first half, the Tartans lost 77-62.

On Saturday, the team traveled to Denison University for their third game of the season. The Tartans had a slow start; after the first half of play, the Big Red had a controlling 50-35 lead. However, midway through the second half, a series of Tartan scores put them just one point behind with just over four minutes left in play, 72-71. A two-pointer from junior Jack Stone with 1:47 left gave the Tartans the lead, 75-74.

With two seconds left on the clock and Carnegie Mellon leading, a Dension two-pointer sent the game into overtime. Despite the Big Red pulling out early with an 86-79 lead, the Tartans managed to come back and tie the game yet again with 10 seconds left on the clock. This sent the game into double overtime, where the Tartans took an early lead and didn’t look back. Carnegie Mellon took home the win, 98-90, and advanced them a 3-0 record.

The men’s basketball team continues their road campaign on Tuesday when they travel to Oberlin University for 7:00 p.m. tipoff.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team was supposed to take on Geneva College this past Tuesday, Nov. 15, but the game has been postponed. However, the team still took to the road on Thursday to take on Grove City College. Despite trailing the Wolverines 13-11 in the first quarter, the Tartans started their domination in the second quarter. Outscoring Grove City 16-9 in the second quarter, Carnegie Mellon had a modest lead at the end of the first half, 27-22.

The Tartans continued to dominate the rest of the game, scoring 16 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, compared to Grove City’s seven and five points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The women’s efforts helped them overcome the Wolverines 56-34.

The team traveled to University of Pittsburgh Greensburg on Saturday to take on the Bobcats. The Tartans displayed their dominance early, scoring 27 in the first quarter compared to Pitt Greensburg’s 15. Sophomore Anisha Chintala played a large role in the second quarter, earning eight of the 15 Tartan points. The Tartans led 42-24 going into the half.

In the third quarter, Carnegie Mellon once again dominated the scoreboard, shooting 11 for 14 and scoring 27 points to 10 from the Bobcats. Another 12 in the fourth quarter sealed the Tartan victory, 81-43. The team is still undefeated this season and is currently 5-0.

The women’s team will have a 10-day break and will be returning to action when they travel to La Roche University on Tuesday, Nov. 29 for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.