University of Colorado at Colorado Springs soccer coach Flavio Mazzetti needs a snake-bite kit. Industrial size.

Ryan Creagor scored on a penalty kick in the 26th minute to lead the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves to a 1-0 victory over the Mountain Lions Wednesday night at Sand Creek Stadium. The loss continued a string of freakish misfortune for CU-Colorado Springs.

"I thought we played well -- we definitely possessed the ball and outshot them," said Mazzetti. "It's been an unkind season."

That's an understatement. The Mountain Lions (2-9-0, 1-6-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) have lost three matches to penalty kicks and one to an own goal. Seven of their nine losses have been by a one-goal margin, including four by 1-0 scores.

Wednesday, Tommy Lauhoff took a pass inside the penalty area just wide of the right post. He dribbled in front of the net, about 15 yards out, trying to shake CU-Colorado Springs defender Eric Foulk. A second Mountain Lions defender, Brian Thatcher, converged on Lauhoff and Foulk was able to clear the ball away. Lauhoff, however, tumbled to the ground and referee Ben Shauf awarded CSU-Pueblo (7-4-1, 5-2-0 RMAC) the penalty kick.

"We're just waiting for things to turn around, keeping our heads up and playing strong," said Mazzetti. "We are definitely staying positive, but it's disappointing to lose."

The Thunderwolves came very close to not needing Lauhoff's theatrics. In the eighth minute, Yasuke Ota was able to get into a one-on-one situation with CU-Colorado Springs goalkeeper Chris Hovasse. Ota's shot was well aimed at the far post, but Hovasse made an acrobatic diving stop.

The CSU-Pueblo had two other close calls thwarted. In the 56th minute, Andrew Jensen beat Hovasse but had his shot stopped at the goal line by a pair of CU-Colorado Springs defenders. In the 81st minute, Lauhoff got off a point-blank shot that Hovasse was able to block.

Those close calls were not necessarily indicative of how the match was played, though. The Mountain Lions outshot CSU-Pueblo 13-7, forcing Thunderwolves goalkeeper Mike Muravez to make seven saves. In the final 10 minutes, CU-Colorado Springs lived in the Thunderwolves' penalty area, throwing crossing passes in front of Muravez, but the Mountain Lions were unable to find the net -- or draw a call.

"It's been a struggle of a season," said Mazzetti. "The guys are playing well enough to win every game.

"We're just waiting for that moment of magic to turn us around."