The University of Redlands men's soccer team jumped into first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) after defeating the visiting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags, 1-0, at Farquhar Field on Saturday.  Dating back to last season, the Bulldogs own a 4-0-1 record against their biggest rival, CMS.

In the 22nd minute of play, senior midfielder Gabe Ramirez (Pasadena, CA) scored quite possibly the best goal of his four-year Bulldog career.  After a Stag defender headed the ball away from his own goal off of a Redlands corner kick, Ramirez ripped the ball out of mid-air on top of the 18-yard box into the upper-left corner of the net for the Bulldogs' 1-0 lead.

Watch Ramirez's impressive goal here.

The remainder of the first half saw chances for both sides, but the Bulldogs maintained their one-goal advantage.

Junior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) was forced to make a big-time save in the second half in order to preserve the Maroon and Gray's lead.  When a CMS shot looked to be headed for the back of the net, Silva leaped to his right at full stretch to tip the ball off of the crossbar.  The save would prove to be crucial as Redlands' single score eventually held up for the win.

On the game, the U of R held a narrow advantage in shots, 15-14, while also winning the shots-on-goal battle, 5-3.  Ramirez led the squad with three shots on the day.

Redlands (3-2-2, 3-0-1) takes to the road on Monday when it travels to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for a showdown with the Sagehens.  Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.