EAGLE ROCK, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team fell into an early 2-0 hole at Occidental, came back to take a 3-2 lead, and then settled for a 3-3 tie after the Tigers knotted the score in the 88th minute in a key SCIAC matchup on Wednesday evening at Jack Kemp Stadium. 

The tie keeps CMS in front of Occidental and in control of its own destiny for the regular season SCIAC title, as the Stags now stand at 11-2-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the SCIAC, three points ahead of the Tigers (5-1-4). Redlands was able to pass CMS and move into first place with a win over Caltech on Wednesday, now standing at 7-1-2 in the league and one point ahead of the Stags, with the two teams facing each other at Redlands on Saturday at 3 p.m.

CMS defeated Occidental at home 3-2 a week ago, despite falling behind just 60 seconds into the game, and history repeated itself as the Tigers scored on the game's first shot again, this time at the 2:33 mark. Unlike last week, when the Stags went ahead 2-1 at the half, the Tigers struck again just four minutes later at the 6:37 mark to go ahead 2-0. 

James Gomez came up with a key goal to stop the bleeding just two minutes later, getting CMS back within 2-1 at the 8:48 mark, converting a rebound after Rafael Otero had a shot saved. The game settled in after the wild start and remained 2-1 at the half, before the Stags equalized quickly off a punt from goalie Miles Demarest, which found John Laidlaw, who was able to flick it forward to Collin Ross for the equalizer just 3:55 into the second half. 

Otero then put CMS in front for the first time when he scored his 10th goal of the season at the 59:18 mark, making it a 3-2 game.  However, in the closing minutes, Demarest came up with a save on Andrew Notter, but Notter was able to get to the rebound and slot it home for the tying goal with just 2:48 remaining. Demarest had seven saves for the Stags, as Occidental held a narrow 16-12 edge in shots. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday for a big one at Redlands before closing out its SCIAC regular season schedule with a home game against Whittier on Wednesday at 7 p.m.