PUEBLO, Colo. – A strong defensive effort by the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves held the Colorado Mesa men's soccer team in check as the Mavs fell by a 2-1 score in Pueblo.
Fernando Morales opened the scoring with a penalty kick goal, but CSU Pueblo responded with two quick strikes late in the first half, and the ThunderWolves held the lead throughout the final 45 minutes.
Connor Durant made three saves in goal for the Mavericks, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-2 with the loss.
The Mavs' first and best chance came just shy of the half-hour mark when a CMU cross came into the box and Pueblo goalkeeper Nils Roth left his net to try to grab it, but the ball deflected away from him.
Redshirt freshman midfielder Joao Pedro Moraes found the ball at his feet and took a shot on goal, but it was cleared off the line by a CSU Pueblo defender. When Moraes and Roth raced towards the ball, Moraes got there first before Roth brought him down inside the box, leading to the Mavs' third penalty kick of the last two games.
Morales stepped up to take the kick and beat the keeper with a well-placed strike into the left-hand side netting. It was Morales' third goal of the season in just five games, the last two of which came from the penalty spot.
The ThunderWolves immediately responded with goals to tie and take the lead, however. Shjon Andrews scored in the 37th minute before Ricardo Schroeder notched his third goal of the season just 90 seconds before halftime.
The Mavs weren't able to do much offensively in the second half, attempting just three shots, with a 70th minute effort by David Peters the only one that went on target. CSU Pueblo played a physical brand of soccer, collecting 16 fouls and six yellow cards, but it prevented the Mavericks from getting many concrete offensive chances. Mavs leading scorer Manuel Ponce Casas was held without a shot attempt for the first time in his young career.
After two non-conference matches against RMAC competition, official conference play starts this upcoming week, and the Mavs will be at home for both matches. Colorado Mesa will have a rematch with this same CSU Pueblo side at 4 p.m. on Friday before taking on UCCS at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Both matches are the first legs of a CMU soccer doubleheader, with the women's team facing the same opponents after both matches.
