COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team dropped a tightly contested match against No. 11 nationally ranked Colorado State University Pueblo by a score of 1-0 on Wednesday evening at Mountain Lion Stadium.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 0, CSUP 1
Records: UCCS (10-3-4, 5-2-2 RMAC), CSUP (13-3-1, 7-1-1 RMAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions drop to 35-25-6 all-time against the ThunderWolves.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After CSU Pueblo controlled possession of the ball for much of the opening ten minutes of play, it was the Mountain Lions who had the first scoring opportunity of the match in the 14th minute as junior Jack Souder fired a low liner to left side of the net that was deflected back into play by ThunderWolves' goalkeeper Nils Roth. Off the deflection, Souder had another opportunity at the net but struck the ball wide right of the net resulting in a goal kick for the defense.
- Souder would have yet another scoring opportunity in the 27th minute as he broke free from the defense around midfield and streaked towards the net. Just inches before the edge of the goalie box, he was tangled up with a CSU Pueblo defender and was ultimately issued a yellow card that ended a promising run for UCCS.
- The two top-25 ranked teams continued to battle it out for the remainder of the opening half, with neither team managing to find the net and CSU Pueblo holding a slight 4-3 shot advantage entering the break.
- Less than five minutes into the second half, the match took a turn for the worse as UCCS defender Carlos Vargas was issued a red card for what was explained as violent conduct, forcing UCCS to play the final 40 minutes of action with just ten players.
- Despite playing down a man, the Mountain Lions continued to hold the ThunderWolves in check on the defensive end while also finding multiple opportunities on the offensive end that were ultimately thwarted by the CSUP defense.
- Just seconds after making five substitutions in the 83rd minute of play, the ThunderWolves broke through to take a 1-0 lead as Mario Sandoval touched the ball into the box, where Joseph Baston managed to head the ball into the net as a diving Declan Domyan attempted to swat the ball out of the air.
- The remaining seven minutes of play would continue to be chippy as three more yellow cards were issued, but the Mountain Lions were unable to find the equalizer as CSU Pueblo walked away with the 1-0 conference win.
STATS FROM THE GAME:
- The Mountain Lions were held to a season-low six shots as CSU Pueblo held advantages in total shots (8-6) and shots on goal (4-1).
- Souder paced the team with two shots and the lone shot on goal, while Kaydon Zamora-Reeves, Ben Ashfield, Liam McGuire, and Miles Seminario each tallied one shot.
- Domyan played the full 90 minutes in frame, allowing just the one goal while tallying three saves.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The Mountain Lions were recognized inside the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches National Rankings for a second consecutive week as they landed at No. 20 in the Week 7 National Poll.
- UCCS men's soccer was also listed as one of 12 teams in Super Region 4 to be named as under consideration in the first installment of the NCAA Regional Rankings that were released by the NCAA on Wednesday afternoon.
- Despite today's setback, the Mountain Lions have clinched a berth in the RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament, which will begin with the Quarterfinal games taking place on Thursday, Oct. 27. Seeding of the six teams that will compete in the tournament will be determined after the completion of all RMAC men's soccer regular season contests on Sunday, Oct. 23.
UP NEXT:
- The Mountain Lions close the regular season on Friday, Oct. 21, with a matchup against MSU Denver at 7 p.m. from Mountain Lion Stadium. Four graduating seniors from the men's soccer program will be honored with a senior day celebration prior to kickoff.
SOCIAL:
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
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.
