PUEBLO, Colo. – Playing a conference match against No. 8 nationally ranked Colorado State University Pueblo on Wednesday evening, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team surrendered a pair of first half goals and were unable to overcome the deficit as they fell by a score of 2-1 to the ThunderWolves.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 1, #8 CSUP 2
Records: UCCS (4-4-3, 0-2-1 RMAC), CSUP (9-1-1, 3-0-0 RMAC)
Facility: CSUP Art & Lorraine Gonzales Stadium | Pueblo, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions continue to hold a 35-26-6 record in the all-time series against CSU Pueblo but are currently on a five-game slide dating back to the 2020 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions kicked off their matchup against the No. 8 ranked team in the nation by putting plenty of early pressure on the ThunderWolves, which resulted in the team drawing three promising free kicks within the opening ten minutes of play. The most promising of the three free kicks came in the tenth minute as Ben Ashfield sent the ball into the box from 25 yards out, where Kaydon Zamora-Reeves collected it and put a shot on frame that was saved by CSUP goalkeeper Tristan Whitlock.
• Immediately after Zamora-Reeves' shot on goal, the game would flip in favor of the ThunderWolves as the RMAC leader in goals scored, Gabriel Campora, managed to break free from the UCCS defense and fired a right-footed strike into the right corner of the net to give CSU Pueblo a 1-0 lead in the 11^th minute.
• The ThunderWolves would add to their advantage in the 26^th minute as they were gifted a penalty kick opportunity after a foul was called on UCCS defender Noah Espino-Kennedy inside the penalty area. Looking for his second goal of the game, Campora lined up to take the PK and wound up converting it into the right side of the net past a diving Soren Russell to extend CSU Pueblo's lead to 2-0.
• The remainder of the opening half went quietly until 44^th minute when CSU Pueblo had one final opportunity to add to their lead with Jack Pascoe finding some space and firing a rocket towards the net. Fortunately for the Mountain Lions, the ball ricocheted harmlessly off the crossbar and the match remained at 2-0 in favor of the ThunderWolves heading into the halftime break.
• Despite finding themselves in a two-goal deficit after the first 45 minutes of action, the Mountain Lions came out of the intermission with increased aggressiveness, and it quickly paid off as they managed to get on the scoreboard less than three minutes into the second period. Marvin Putu began the threat by dribbling from the right side of the field towards the box before threading a pass inside to Dani Barajas, who found a crack in the defense and sent the ball into the back of the net to cut the CSU Pueblo lead to 2-1 in the 48^th minute.
• The ThunderWolves defense would tighten up after surrendering their first goal of the game but would find themselves shorthanded in the 82^nd minute as Shjon Andrews drew his second yellow card of the game, leaving CSU Pueblo with just ten players on the field for the final eight minutes of action. Despite the added advantage, however, UCCS was unable to find an equalizer down the stretch as CSU Pueblo hung on to secure the 2-1 conference victory.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• Playing in his ninth game as a Mountain Lion, Barajas recorded his first goal of the season while also leading the team with two shots.
• Putu tallied his team-leading fourth assist of the season on Barajas' goal in the 48^th minute. Putu was also one of two UCCS position players to play the full 90 minutes, with the other being Zamora-Reeves.
• As a team, the Mountain Lions recorded four total shots, with two of them being on frame. Defensively, UCCS surrendered 11 total shots to the ThunderWolves, including five shots on goal.
• Russell played the entire 90 minutes between the sticks, allowing a pair of goals while tallying three saves on the evening.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Tonight's matchup was the Mountain Lion's fourth game against a top-25 nationally ranked opponent, which marks the most in a single season since they played four ranked opponents during the 2018 season.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will continue their road trip on Sunday, Oct. 8, as they travel to Lakewood, Colo., to take on Colorado Christian University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Trailblazer 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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