Dark skies and cool weather ushered in crowds of fans to Pritzlaff Field in the long-anticipated men’s soccer Sixth Street matchup. Tensions flared as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) and Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) faced off in a heated contest Saturday, Oct. 5. In the end, the Stags walked away victorious thanks to midfielder Rafael Otero CM ’25 putting away his penalty kick to give CMS the 1-0 win.
Cheers, stomps and chants came from the stands, mostly from the outnumbered P-P fans in attendance. The rivalry atmosphere extended to the field, where the two teams engaged in staredowns, jeering and small fights. A total of four yellow cards were issued and CMS and P-P had eight fouls each.
The Stags nearly took the lead five minutes in, with a shot from Collin Ross CM ’28 hitting the crossbar. Sagehen goalkeeper Jasper Broad PZ ’26 was able to recover, denying Ross’ follow-up attempt. Efforts from James Gomez CM ’27 and Otero were also denied by Broad, who was able to help keep P-P afloat during the opening moments.
The Sagehens eventually found their footing and settled into the game, but were held at bay by the Stags. At the half, CMS had outshot P-P eight to four, coming close to the net on multiple occasions and forcing Sagehen goalkeeper Broad to make six saves.
The breakthrough eventually came for the Stags shortly after halftime in the form of a penalty kick after a P-P player clipped Nico Del Villar HM ’25 from the back in the penalty box.
Otero, 2023 First-Team All-SCIAC, stepped up to take the shot. He slotted the ball into the upper left corner with conviction to put the Stags on the board.
According to Otero, who has now scored three goals in his last three Sixth Street games, his successful performances in pressure-filled rivalry games are a result of his calm mindset.
“In some of my earlier games, I felt nervous,” Otero said. “You know, you have all your friends watching, it’s a bigger atmosphere. But I think it’s really about just calming yourself down.”
The height of the tensions came during the 64th minute, when Sagehen Aidan MacLennan PO ’27 was issued a red card. After a brief altercation with goalkeeper Miles Demarest CM ’27, MacLennan slid studs up into Christopher Kim CM ’27 and was ejected.
According to defender Tommy Brown CM ’25, the Stags’ mentality allowed them to triumph in the heated encounter.
“Obviously we weren’t happy with the tackle,” Brown said. “But I thought that our team did a really good job of handling it and defending our teammate while also keeping our heads and not letting it boil over into any retaliation tackles.”
The Stags maintained control for the rest of the game, securing the 1-0 victory and the Sixth Street trophy. CMS led P-P in shots taken, shots on goal and corner kicks. Otero led all players with five shots on goal, followed by Ross with three.
During the post-game celebrations, CMS head coach Edward Cartee spoke of his team’s win against an aggressive P-P side.
“Credit to Pomona-Pitzer for a really gutsy effort,” Cartee said. “I thought they had a good defensive gameplan in the first half, but I thought that our team showed a lot of composure and when we were able to break through their midfield, we looked really dangerous in attack.”
Despite the loss, P-P goalkeeper Broad had 13 saves, preventing many scoring attempts and keeping P-P in the game until the final whistle.
“I thought I played a good game but ultimately you know not winning or tying, it is kind of rough,” Broad said. “It kind of leaves a stain on that, but I thought I did all I could.”
After the Sixth Street win, CMS defeated La Verne on the road 3-2 to bring their SCIAC record to 4-2 and 8-2-1 overall. Looking forward, the Stags will face Caltech Saturday, Oct. 12.
As for P-P, they now sit at 0-5-1 in SCIAC and 2-6-2 overall. The Sagehens will look to rebound Saturday, Oct. 12, when they face La Verne at home.
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