ALAMOSA, Colo. - The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs men's soccer team put its name on a piece of history Tuesday, winning the first home match ever hosted by the fledgling Adams State Grizzlies, 3-0 at Murphy Field.
Matt Friesen,
Eric Goldberg and
Greg Miley scored for the Mountain Lions, who improved to 1-0 on the season. Although Adams State is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, matches played by its first-year soccer program will not count towards RMAC standings this season.
Adam Liszewski and
Oliver Ward shared the shutout for UCCS. Liszewski played just over 81 minutes and made three saves. Ward played the remainder without having to make a save. The Mountain Lion defense of
Garrett Maloney,
Jaron Stewart,
Carlos Verdugo and
Gilbert Chavez held Adams State to only eight shots overall and just the three on goal.
Jarod Thomas made nine saves for Adams State (0-2-1) before being replaced by Aaron Byrd in the 71st minute. Byrd did not face a shot on goal.
Friesen, the Mountain Lions' leading scorer a season ago, opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Mike Mason sent a crossing pass in front of the Grizzlies goal that Friesen, a sophomore, headed in.
Adams State nearly evened the match in the 27th minute when Jonny Ortiz took a through ball from Jesse Dunbar inside the penalty area and found himself one-on-one with Liszewski. His shot, though, went wide right.
The Mountain Lions were quick to make Adams State pay for the missed opportunity. Goldberg, a transfer from the University of New England, collected a turnover by Thomas at the top of the penalty area and slid it into the open goal.
The Mountain Lions maintained the lead throughout the rest of the period, patiently turning away attempts by the Grizzlies to build an attack. UCCS' patience was rewarded in the 68th minute when Miley found room in the center of an extended Adams State formation. Miley dribbled through the open space and launched a laser shot from 25 yards out that nestled into the top left corner of the goal.
The comfortable win provided a bit of satisfaction for the Mountain Lions, considering the result of the first regional rankings which were released earlier in the day. In those rankings, the first-year Grizzlies were seventh, while the Rodney Dangerfield Mountain Lions were a less-than-respectful 10th.
