OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The No. 8 nationally ranked University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team scored a pair of early goals and held off a late push by Oklahoma Christian University on Saturday afternoon to earn a 2-1 win over the Eagles and maintain their unbeaten record on the season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 2, OCU 1
Records: UCCS (5-0-1, 0-0-0 RMAC), OCU (2-1-2, 0-0-0 LSC)
Facility: OCU Eagle Soccer Field |Oklahoma City, Okla.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 1-0-1 all-time against the Eagles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions wasted little time putting the Eagles' defense to the test on Saturday afternoon as they recorded four shots and scored a pair of goals in just over ten minutes of action to begin the game. Senior Dani Barajas got the scoring started in the fourth minute with a right-footed shot that snuck into the bottom right portion of the net before junior Soulo Letsoalo netted another goal and gave UCCS a 2-0 lead in the 11th minute off an assist from junior Miles Seminario.
- About ten minutes later in the 22nd minute, Oklahoma Christian cut the Mountain Lion lead in half as Igor Caballero was able to put a ball into the left side of the frame past UCCS goalkeeper Soren Russell with the help of an assist off the foot of Ethan Nakolo. After surrendering the goal to Caballero, the UCCS defense tightened up and held the Eagles without a shot for the remainder of the opening half, keeping the Mountain Lion lead at 2-1 heading into the intermission.
- The two teams would trade shots for the first ten minutes coming out of the halftime break, but it was the Mountain Lions that had the first real scoring opportunity of the second period in the 57th minute when a pair of shots from freshman Sean Belzer led to two corner kick chances for the Mountain Lions.
- After the Eagles thwarted UCCS' corner kick efforts, they flipped the momentum to their side and went on the offensive for the remainder of the match as they unleashed six total shots and four shots on goal down the stretch while attempting to draw the game even. Russell was unfazed by the added pressure, making saves on each of his four chances in the second half to help the Mountain Lions remain unbeaten with a 2-1 victory over the Eagles.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- The Mountain Lions held a 13-11 shot advantage for the match but were outshot 8-4 in the second half. OCU led the match with five shots on goal compared to three for UCCS.
- Barajas' goal in the fourth minute was his fourth of the season and moved him back into a tie for the team lead on the season with Nick Walker. Letsoalo notched his first goal of the season in the 11th minute with Seminario collecting his second assist.
- Letsoalo paced the Mountain Lions with three total shots, while Belzer fired a pair of shots on the afternoon. Eight additional student-athletes recorded one shot in the match.
- Russell played the full 90 minutes in frame and surrendered one goal while recording a season-high four saves.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Mountain Lions' six-game unbeaten streak marks the longest such streak to start a season in program history. The longest unbeaten streak at any point in a season in men's soccer history was established during the 2022 season at 12 consecutive games.
- UCCS also ran their win streak to five games, which is tied for the third-longest streak in program history. The program record for consecutive wins is six, which occurred during the 1999 and 2015 seasons.
- The Mountain Lions have scored multiple goals in five of their six matches this season. They currently lead the RMAC in scoring with 2.33 goals per game.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule next week as they host Colorado Mesa University for a homecoming matchup on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. before making the short trip south to clash with No. 15 nationally ranked Colorado State University Pueblo on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m.
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.
