LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team suffered a 2-1 setback in a back-and-forth match against Colorado Christian University on Sunday afternoon at Trailblazer Stadium.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 1, CCU 2
Records: UCCS (4-2-1, 0-0 RMAC), Colorado Christian (6-0-0, 0-0 RMAC)
Facility: Trailblazer Stadium | Lakewood, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 46-6-3 all-time against Colorado Christian.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:      

• It was a slow-paced start to the match as both defenses brought the intensity in the early going. UCCS held a 4-1 advantage in shots in the scoreless first half, but neither team managed to record a shot on goal.
• The offensive urgency picked up dramatically out of halftime, and it was CCU who got on the board first in the 51^st minute when Gabe Roloff headed the ball into the box where Liam Lakey was waiting to fire it into the lower left portion of the net for the goal.
• The Mountain Lions were quick to respond, as a CCU foul set up Kolby Raineri with a direct free kick from 35 yards out. Raineri would fire an impressive rocket off the free kick into the lower right corner of the net to even the score at one.
• The Cougars swiftly regained their one score lead in the 57^th minute when Lakey took a pass from defender Caiden Dixon and drilled it towards the upper left corner of the net for his second goal of the game. UCCS goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska managed to get a hand on the ball, but it was not enough to keep it from landing in the net to put CCU ahead 2-1.  
• The Mountain Lions, who were forced to play the final 17 minutes down a man after sophomore Adin Schwenke was called for his second yellow card of the game, went on the attack to close out the match but were unable to get past Colorado Christian's defense to find the equalizer. The Mountain Lions were gifted an opportunity for a corner kick with less than a minute left in the match, but were again turned away by the CCU defense as the Cougars held on for the 2-1 victory.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:

• The Mountain Lions held a slim advantage in shots (8-6) and corners (3-0), while matching the Cougars in shots on goal (3-3).
• Midfielder Kolby Raineri provided much of the offense for UCCS, recording five shots, two shots on goal, and the Mountain Lion's lone goal of the match.
• Redshirt senior Kaydon Zamora-Reeves and freshman Bogdan Vedernikov each played the full 90 minutes.
• Sophomore Andreas Kokoska, who continued his streak of playing every minute in net for the Mountain Lions, recorded one save while facing six shots.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Raineri has led the Mountain Lions in the shots category in four of the team's seven games this season and holds a share of the team lead with three goals. 

UP NEXT:

• The Mountain Lions will open their RMAC schedule against Westminster on Friday, Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m. in the annual Storm the Stadium game. The first 100 students to arrive at Mountain Lion Stadium will receive a free t-shirt.

 
SOCIAL:
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.