Chris Hovasse and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs soccer team deserved better than they got Friday night.

Despite a career-high 10 saves by Hovasse, the No. 24 Metro State Roadrunners defated the Mountain Lions 3-1 at Sand Creek Stadium. The loss dropped CU-Colorado Springs to 3-11, 1-8 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

After a scoreless, and very closely played, first half, Metro State opened the second half by stepping up the pressure. The Roadrunners cheated both midfielders and defenders forward, sending a flurry of shots at Hovasse.

But initially the strategy backfired. CU-Colorado Springs got behind the shorthanded Metro State defense in transition and forced a foul just outside the penalty area on the right side of the goal. Eric Foulk served up the free kick to Misha Thomas, who made one move and chipped the ball into the net in the 59th minute.

It was only the third time this season that the Mountain Lions had scored the first goal of a match and only the fourth time they had a lead.

CU-Colorado Springs had little time to bask in the glow, though. Just seconds later, Metro State's Nagui Sabbagh collected a Preston Borrego pass and found himself one-on-one with Hovasse, who had managed to stuff a similar situation earlier in the match. Hovasse, however, couldn't do it a second time and Sabbagh evened the match at 1.

"I tried my best to keep (goals) out and our defense did well," said Hovasse. "We just had a couple of lapses."

The scenario was repeated in the 76th minute, this time with Aldo Alcaraz-Reza the happy recipient of the Borrego pass and the quality, one-on-one time with Hovasse.

Metro State outshot CU-Colorado Springs 17-4 in the second half and 25-7 overall.

"(Metro State) put on a lot of pressure," said Hovasse. "We did really well in the first half keeping it out. In the second half, we had a couple of breakdowns that led to three goals."

That third goal came a minute and a half after the second. This time, Phillip Owen scored his RMAC-leading 15th goal of the season to seal the match for Metro State (10-3, 5-2 RMAC).

While it's been a frustrating season for the Mountain Lions, after the match the conversation among the players and the coaches was more about what they could do better than what had gone wrong. It showed the remarkable resilience of this group that has to feel like Hans Christian Andersen's little Dutch boy, who kept plugging holes in the dike until he ran out of fingers and toes.

"It's the story of our season," said Hovasse. "We fix one thing, and something else needs work."

The three sisters, fate fortune and luck, have been unkind to CU-Colorado Springs this season, like they were Friday night. The team, coaches and fans all deserve better.