UCCS Athletics

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The No. 18 nationally ranked University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team capped off a perfect opening weekend in the Lone Star State on Saturday evening, using goals from sophomore Yohann Fila, senior Jack Cook, and freshman Toby Benitez along with a second consecutive clean sheet on the defensive end to secure a 3-0 victory over St. Mary's University.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #18 UCCS 3, StMU 0
Records: UCCS (2-0-0, 0-0-0 RMAC), StMU (0-2-0, 0-0-0 LSC)
Facility: Sigma Beta Chi Field | San Antonio, Texas
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 4-4-3 all-time against the Rattlers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Coming off a prolific offensive showing in their season-opener on Thursday, the Mountain Lions kept the momentum rolling early in their matchup against St. Mary's on Saturday evening as sophomore Yohann Fila accounted for a trio of shots across the opening 18 minutes, including a pair of attempts on frame that were turned aside by St. Mary's goalkeeper Nichita Misac. On the other end of the pitch, senior goalkeeper Hugo Sjöberg was equally as impressive early in the match as he collected saves in the sixth and 11^th minutes to keep the Rattlers off the board.
• The complexion of the match shifted in the 19^th minute when Rattlers' midfielder Kai Louviere was shown a red card, forcing St. Mary's to play down a man. UCCS quickly looked to capitalize on the advantage, registering four shots over the next 11 minutes, but Misac continued to hold strong with saves against junior Eduardo Macias, fifth year Marcus Garcia, and Fila to keep the match scoreless.
• St. Mary's was dealt another blow in the 35^th minute when StMU defender Filipe Bastos was issued a red card, leaving the Rattlers with just nine players on the pitch. Following the second St. Mary's dismissal, the Mountain Lions continued to apply pressure on the short-handed Rattlers and earned three corner kicks over the final five minutes of the half. UCCS finally broke through on the last of those corner opportunities in the 44^th minute as junior Diego Macias sent the ball into the box from the corner flag and connected with Fila, who buried his first goal of the season into the top right corner of the net to give the Mountain Lions a 1-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
• The Mountain Lions continued to control the attacking opportunities coming out of the intermission as they earned five corner kicks across the opening 13 minutes of the second half. UCCS saw their advantage double in the 58^th minute as junior Lucas Taitt set up senior Jack Cook for a scoring chance, with the forward finding the top right corner of the nylon to register his first goal of the season and push the UCCS lead to 2-0.
• Despite playing with just nine men, the Rattlers continued to battle and generated their most dangerous stretch of the match midway through the second half. Sjöberg was called upon three times between the 56^th and 69^th minutes and turned aside each attempt, including back-to-back saves against shots from Lewis Boney and Jad Basma in the 68^th and 69^th minutes that preserved the Mountain Lions' two-goal advantage.
• UCCS eventually put the match out of reach with just under four minutes remaining as E. Macias threaded a pass into the box and connected with freshman Toby Benitez, who sent a right-footed strike into the bottom right corner of the net for his third goal of the young season. Benitez nearly added another score less than two minutes later, but his final attempt was saved as the Mountain Lions closed out the 3-0 victory.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• UCCS held a 19-11 advantage in total shots while placing 10 attempts on frame compared to five for the Rattlers. The Mountain Lions also generated a season-high 13 corner kicks, including eight in the second half.
• Fila led the Mountain Lion attack with five shots and a team-high four attempts on goal while scoring his first goal of the season. Cook added four shots with two on frame and found the back of the net for the first time this season while registering a complete 90 minutes on the pitch.
• Benitez continued his strong start to the 2026 campaign with his third goal of the season, registering three shots and putting two on target.
• The Macias twins accounted for a pair of assists in the match with Eduardo and Diego each picking up their first helper of the season, while Taitt also recorded his first of the campaign on Cook's goal in the 58^th minute. 
• Sjöberg logged a full 90-minute performance in frame and recorded saves on all five shots he faced to earn his second consecutive clean sheet to open the season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With Saturday's victory, the Mountain Lions improved to 2-0 to begin a season for the first time since 2023 while also earning their first win over the Rattlers since a 1-0 victory at home on Sept. 13, 2019. UCCS closed their opening weekend in San Antonio with a dominating 11-0 scoring margin in wins over Sul Ross State University and St. Mary's.
• Sjöberg's clean sheet marked the seventh of his career, moving him into a tie for sixth all-time in program history in career shutouts.
• The Mountain Lions have now posted consecutive clean sheets to open a season for the first time since the 2022 campaign.

UP NEXT

• UCCS will return to Colorado Springs for their home opener next week as they welcome the defending national champions and No. 1 nationally ranked Midwestern State University Mustangs into Mountain Lion Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Sept. 4.

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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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