DURANGO, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team secured their first conference win of the season on Thursday night at Dirks Field as they weathered a late push by Fort Lewis College to claim a 3-2 victory.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 3, FLC 2
Records: UCCS (5-4-4, 1-2-2 RMAC), FLC (7-3-2, 3-1-1 RMAC)
Facility: Dirks Field | Durango, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 15-42-5 all-time against the Skyhawks and are now 10-3-1 in the last 14 matchups in the series dating back to the 2012 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Thursday evening's matchup against the Skyhawks began with both teams engaging in a fast-paced frenzy, which resulted in each side finding strong chances at the net inside the opening 15 minutes of play. The first big opportunity of the match came on the Fort Lewis side in the 11^th minute as the Skyhawks crossed the ball into the penalty area and saw Thomas Kirkham have a pair of shots blocked before earning a corner. The Mountain Lions would survive the early attack of the Skyhawks and had their own attacking chance just minutes later with Kolby Raineri breaking through the defense and firing a shot off the chest of FLC goalkeeper Lucas Martin that was eventually cleared by the defense.
• After 15 more minutes of dominating possession of the ball and putting heavy pressure on the Fort Lewis defense, the Mountain Lions finally broke through in the 31^st minute with Alex Andersson getting deep inside the penalty box and taking a shot that was saved and deflected by FLC. Off the deflection, Bogdan Vedernikov managed to corral the ball and sneak it into the right corner of the frame to give UCCS a 1-0 lead.
• With just over three minutes remaining in the opening half, UCCS extended their lead to 2-0 as Vedernikov tossed a throw in from the sideline into the box, where Andersson eventually collected it and tapped it to Raineri for a wide-open goal. The UCCS defense would maintain the two-goal lead through the remainder of the half as they finished the period having limited the Skyhawks to just four total shots and zero shots on goal.
• Trailing by a pair heading into the second half, Fort Lewis came out of the locker room with added intensity, and it quickly paid off as they were able to cut UCCS' lead in half at the 52-minute mark with Tomas Duenes Gonzalez scoring the Skyhawks first goal of the game off an assist from Aymaro Vargas.
• The Skyhawks would find themselves with a golden opportunity to even the game at two goals apiece in the 77^th minute when they were given a penalty kick after a handball was called on the Mountain Lions inside the penalty area. Fort Lewis' Gabriel Legendre lined up to take the PK and chose to fire it towards the lower right side of the net, but UCCS goalkeeper Soren Russell guessed correctly on his dive and got a hand on the shot to keep it from going in the net. On the ensuing corner kick for the Skyhawks, Ciaran Feeney managed to get yet another strong shot attempt on goal looking to even the ballgame, but Russell once again stood tall in frame to help UCCS maintain the one-goal lead.
• Less than five minutes later in the 82^nd minute, the Mountain Lions used the momentum from their impressive defensive stop and found themselves in a breakaway situation with Putu and Raineri dribbling the ball towards the FLC net with just two defenders in the backfield. Putu would take the first shot which would be saved by the Skyhawks, but Nic Grotle, who had trailed the play closely, gathered the rebound off the save and tapped the ball into the net for an easy goal that extended the Mountain Lion's lead to 3-1.
• Fort Lewis would get one goal closer in the 87^th minute with Kaden Schufft scoring off an assist from Duenes Gonzalez, but the Mountain Lion defense buckled down for the final three minutes of action to hold on for a 3-2 conference win.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• The Mountain Lions posted a season-high 28 total shots and 11 shots on goal while matching their season-best scoring output with three goals. Defensively, UCCS held the Skyhawks to 12 total shots and six shots on goal.
• Vedernikov, Raineri, and Grotle each scored their first goals of the season while Andersson recorded his first two assists of the campaign. Putu also recorded his team-leading fifth assist of the season.
• Andersson paced the Mountain Lions with a career-high nine shots and four shots on goal. Raineri added six shots and two shots on goal across 80 minutes of action while Zamora-Reeves also chipped in with four total shots.
• The defensive duo of Rory Scott and Cole Van Holland were the lone UCCS field players to log the full 90 minutes in Thursday's match.
• Russell also notched a full 90-minute performance in frame as he allowed a pair of goals and secured four saves.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With his goal tonight, Raineri moves into sole possession of eighth all-time in program history for the category with 23 in his career. He also moves into sole possession of fifth all-time in school history for points with 63, fourth all-time in shots with 182, and second all-time in shots on goal with 88.
• After recording two points off his pair of assists tonight, Andersson moves into sole possession of tenth all-time in program history for the category with 53 in his career. He also moves into sole possession of ninth all-time in program history for shots on goal with 46 in his career.

UP NEXT

• The UCCS Men's Soccer program will return home this Sunday, Oct. 15, as they continue their conference slate with a matchup against Adams State University at 1 p.m. from Mountain Lion Stadium.

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics. 
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