COLORADO SPRINGS - The No. 3-ranked Fort Lewis Skyhawks remained unbeaten Friday evening with a 3-0 victory over the University Of Colorado at Colorado Springs at Mountain Lion Stadium.

Joe Barnd scored twice for the Skyhawks, who improved to 16-0, 13-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Barnd now had seven goals in just 10 matches this season.

"They are number three in the country for a reason: because they can put them in the back of the net from anywhere," said UCCS coach Henry Ellis.

Although still a loss, the Mountain Lions showed great improvement from their previous match against Fort lewis - a 7-1 loss in Durango.

"We got a little more discipline on our set pieces, defending-wise, and that was the key," said Ellis. "Last time we played them we got a couple corners early on, and they scored on all of them. This time we said 'Hey if they're gonna beat us, let's make them run a play, not on a set-piece.'"

Abdel Becerra opened the scoring with a skillful goal in the 34th minute. He dribbled toward the goal and when UCCS goalkeeper Adam Liszewski came out to cut off the angle, Becerra chipped it over his head and into the net.

Barnd's first goal came in the 59th minute when he headed in a crossing pass by Dimo Krymanidis.

The Mountain Lions managed to increase the pressure, forcing Fort Lewis goalkeeper to make two of his three saves during an eight-minute span late in the second half. With just over five minutes remaining, Matt Friesen hit a shot that hit the crossbar.

'We had few chances, but they were quality chances," said Ellis. "That one off of the crossbar makes it 2-1, and that makes it a lot more exciting."

But exerting the extra pressure came with a price. With more players pushed forward, Barnd was able to convert a far-post shot from the left side with less than three minutes remaining.

Liszewski made seven saves in the losing effort for UCCS (7-10-1, 4-8-1 RMAC).

Partly by design and partly because of the toll taken by injuries, UCCS is closing its season by getting a lot of youngsters considerable playing time.

"We're young; we have seven sophomores starting and a freshman," said Ellis. "For those guys to get quality minutes against a team like this so early into their careers it's gonna be huge when they get to be seniors."