COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team put forth a dominant performance on Sunday afternoon as they upset the No. 7 nationally ranked Fort Hays State University Tigers, 2-0, at Mountain Lion Stadium.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 2, #7 FHSU 0
Records: UCCS (1-0-1, 0-0-0 RMAC), #7 FHSU (1-1-0, 0-0 GAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 3-1 all-time against the Tigers.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After intercepting a pass by the FHSU defense, midfielder Lars Walczyk broke free towards the net and fired a laser into the upper right corner of the goal to start the scoring and give UCCS a 1-0 advantage in the 17th minute.
- A miscue on the part of the Tiger's defense would extend the Mountain Lion lead to 2-0 in the 27th minute. On a pass inside the box by Matteo Moreno Madrid, the FHSU defense popped the ball up in the air as midfielder Jack Souder streaked towards the net and headed the ball into the nylon for his first goal of the season.
- The UCCS defense continued their strong play for the remainder of the match, limiting the Tiger's offense to just six total shots as they shutout the Tigers by a score of 2-0.
STATS FROM THE GAME:
- Walczyk and Souder each connected on their first goals of the season, with Walczyk's proving to be the game-winning goal.
- UCCS totaled 19 shots on the afternoon, with seven of them being on frame.
- Souder and Kolby Raineri tied for the team lead with three shots each, while Ben Ashfield and Marvin Putu each recorded two shots.
- On the defensive end, Carlos Vargas played the full 90 minutes as the Mountain Lion's held FHSU to just six total shots and without a single shot on goal.
- Goalkeeper Declan Domyan played the entire game in frame and faced little pressure on the way to his second consecutive shutout to begin the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Sunday's victory over No. 7 ranked FHSU marks the UCCS men's soccer program's first win against a top-ten nationally ranked team since they defeated the then No. 5 Regis University Rangers by a score of 4-3 on Oct. 7, 2016.
- The last time the Mountain Lions recorded at least two consecutive shutouts came during the 2018 season when they shutout Adams State, Colorado Christian, and MSU Denver in three straight games from Oct. 14-21, 2018.
- Sunday's defensive performance marked the first time since Oct. 9, 2015, that the Mountain Lions have held an opponent to zero shots on goal in a contest.
UP NEXT:
- The Mountain Lions will make their first road trip of the season as they take on Northwest Nazarene University at 4 p.m. (MT) on Thursday, Sept. 1. The neutral site match will be hosted by Montana State University Billings at Yellowjacket Soccer Field in Billings, Mont.
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.
