DENVER - Regis forward Nathan Kafer's goal in the 21st minute not only ended Adam Liszewski's streak of 296:50 scoreless minutes, it also put a serious dent in the playoff aspirations of Liszewski and his University of Colorado at Colorado Springs teammates.

Kafer's goal and Wally Fink's second shutout of the season lifted the Rangers to a 1-0 victory over the Mountain Lions Friday afternoon.

The win gave Regis, which is currently fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, a 4-1-4 conference record (6-3-4 overall) and 16 points. Fifth-place UCCS stayed at 10 points with a 3-5-1 RMAC mark (6-7-1 overall). With just five matches remaining, the six-point deficit and tiebreaker disadvantage could prove daunting.

UCCS came in with a lot at stake and left with a stake in the heart.

Playing without injured starter Garrett Maloney and with another starter, Gilbert Chavez, limited to 14 minutes, the Mountain Lions defense held the RMAC's third-best offense (2.33 goals per game) to just six shots on goal. Liszewski stopped five of them.

But the sixth proved costly. James Copeland dribbled in from the right wing and found Kafer with a crossing pass.

The loss was not only the first in four matches for the UCCS men's soccer team, it was the first in 11 contests for the UCCS athletic department as a whole. The Mountain Lions volleyball team has won four straight, while the women's soccer team has taken three straight.

The Mountain Lions will need help to qualify for the four-team RMAC playoff field. They will also need to help themselves starting Sunday, when they face fifth-place Metro State in Denver.