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LOS ANGELES — Jake Foster scored the game-winner as the Occidental men's soccer team earned an important 1-0 win over La Verne at Jack Kemp Stadium on Wednesday night.

Foster, a sophomore from Menlo Park, nailed in a beautiful volley off a deflection on a corner kick, giving Oxy a lead just before halftime in the 44th minute.

The Tigers played good defense in the second half and were able to hang on to their advantage for the win.

Led by defenders Riley McCabe and David Paine, Oxy recorded its eighth shutout of the year, and fourth in a row.

Oxy goalkeeper Scott Drazan, who was an All-SCIAC selection last year, made eight saves in the contest.

Season Impact: The Tigers improve to 7-5-3 overall and 4-4 in SCIAC play. Oxy currently sits in the fourth-and-final SCIAC playoff spot with 12 points and four games to play. The Tigers also enjoy the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Leopards if they should finish with the same amount of points in the SCIAC standings, giving this win nearly a seven point value. If Oxy would have lost, they would have fallen six points behind the Leopards without the tiebreaker.

After losing four in a row earlier this season, the Tigers are on a roll, winning three of their last four games with one tie. Three of them were conference wins with the tie coming to UC Santa Cruz in a non-conference match.

Oxy holds a three-point lead over Chapman and Cal Lutheran and is four points back of Redlands for third.

The Tigers are looking to return to the SCIAC Championship game for the second year in a row.

La Verne falls to 9-6 and 4-4.

Next Game: The Tigers are back in action for senior night on Homecoming Saturday this weekend against Cal Lutheran at 7:30 p.m.