CLAREMONT, Calif. - Rafael Otero finished a cross from James Gomez in hte 75th minute to give the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team a 1-0 win over La Verne on Saturday evening at Pritzlaff Field. 

With the win, the Stags move to 11-2-1 overall and 7-2 in the SCIAC, remaining alone in first place in the league with just three games left to play. La Verne slips to 3-11-1 overall and 2-6-1 in the league with the loss. 

The Stags had the better of play with a 17-6 shot advantage, but were in danger of a scoreless draw before Otero struck. Tommy Brown fed Gomez down the left sideline, and Gomez was able to one-time a cross into the box, where Otero was able to meet it at the far post and finish at the top of the six-yar box to give him his SCIAC-leading ninth goal of the season.

Miles Demarest had two saves to get the shutout for CMS, as the defense played solidly in front of him, led by center backs Eric Grossman-Glover and Roby Hooper and defensive midfielder Tommy Brown. Seniors Jacoby Lockman and Nico Del Villar and junior Shaan Malik also were pivotal to the shutout from their outside back positions.  

Hector Duenas-Pena had eight saves for La Verne to give the Leopards a chance, including a diving save on Otero just minutes before the goal. He also had two straight saves on shot attempts from John Laidlaw after Otero's goal, keeping it a 1-0 game.

CMS has a big week ahead as it tries to secure the regular season league title, meeting third-place Occidental and second-place Redlands on the road on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.