Colorado Springs, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team ends their regular season in a 1-1 draw against Colorado State University Pueblo.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 1, CSUP 1
Records: UCCS (13-1-4, 6-1-3 RMAC), CSUP (12-3-3, 7-1-2 RMAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 36-26-7 all-time against the ThunderWolves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wednesday night's first half was a back-and-forth battle for the first 30 minutes of action as neither team maintained possession for a significant amount of time. The best scoring chance the Mountain Lions encountered was on an indirect free kick taken by Dani Barajas that was blocked and rebounded by graduate forward Jack Souder who fired an off target shot over the ThunderWolves' goal as the score remained 0-0. UCCS found another scoring opportunity in the 32nd minute but failed to convert when junior forward Nick Walker beat his defender to an open shot in the lower left corner that was saved by a diving Ruben Volkert of CSU Pueblo.
• The Mountain Lions found a way to end the scoring drought in the 35^th minute when senior midfielder Dani Barajas sent a sharp pass from Nick Walker in front of the ThunderWolves' goal into the top of the net, leaving no chance for a save as UCCS took the 1-0 into the second half.
• The second half began much like the first as both teams struggled to score. The best opportunity came in the 62^nd minute when the ThunderWolves were presented with numerous scoring opportunities in Mountain Lion territory, but the UCCS defense held strong to force the ball back to CSU Pueblo's side of the field. In the 75^th minute, the ThunderWolves found another opportunity to score when Iggy DeMark attempted a header off of a corner kick taken by Caio Oliveira that was blocked by the Mountain Lions' defense to preserve their lead yet again.
• The 81^st minute was a thrilling one for the Mountain Lions when Walker fouled a CSU Pueblo player at the top of the penalty box resulting in a free kick taken by Oliveira. The kick to tie the game with just nine minutes remaining was fired inside the right post when junior goalkeeper Soren Russell leaped to his left for a full-extension fingertip save to keep the 1-0 lead intact.
• The excitement of Russell's free kick save was short-lived as the ThunderWolves continued to press on the offensive end and broke through in the 88^th minute on a header by Shjon Andrews into the bottom right corner of the Mountain Lions' goal to secure the 1-1 draw.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• CSUP outshot UCCS 21 to nine with nine shots on goal to the Mountain Lions' four. CSUP also lead in corner kicks seven to one.
• The Mountain Lions' Soren Russell recorded eight saves on the nine shots on goal during Wednesday night's match.
• Seven different Mountain Lion field players recorded the full 90 minutes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Barajas scored his RMAC leading 11^th goal of the season in the 35^th minute of Wednesday night's match.
• Barajas also recorded his 25th point which is second in the RMAC.

UP NEXT

• The RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament will begin on Sunday, Nov. 10 with the number three and four seeds hosting quarterfinal matchups. Stay tuned to www.gomountainlions.com tonight for the official announcement of the tournament bracket.

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 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics. 
 
 
 
 
 
  Read Full Article