Teams combine for 32 fouls, seven cautions 

PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com – Sept. 18, 2011) – CSU-Pueblo might want to take a break from playing nationally-ranked opponents  as they played their third of the season when they hosted No. 6 Fort Lewis Sunday. The ThunderWolves battled hard and kept the game 0-0 through the first half but eventually fell short allowing the Skyhawks to score two second half goals.

The game was a physical one with both teams combining for 32 fouls and seven yellow cards. But even though the physicality was at a high the ThunderWolves never shied away and showed they are able to alter their play based on the competition.

The Skyhawks first goal came in the second half on a foul that occurred in the box. Goalkeeper Jacob Blum (Sr., Peoria, Ariz.), who finished with 11 saves, guessed wrong on the penalty kick by Fabian Kling to put Fort Lewis up 1-0. The Pack had their chances to equalize but never found the back of the net for the third time this season.

Fort Lewis got an insurance goal in the 76' when Thomas Hoang delivered a pass to Joey Madigan that he was able to finish. CSU-Pueblo started pressing sending more players forward but weren't ever able to crack goalkeeper Ryan Wirth.

"I'm proud of our guys, we had a gameplan and things we wanted to do and they did a good job of executing those things," coach Roy Stanley said. "We frustrated them, created chances and that ultimately kept us in the game."

CSU-Pueblo got contributions on offense from Jonny Sawyer (Fr., Aurora, Colo.), who is the only player to send more than one shot at Wirth. Again the team appeared to be solid defensively with the likes of Jon-Michael Krasovic (So., Pueblo, Colo.) and Conner Saxe (So., Tacoma, Wash.) manning the back line. 

"Our midfielders also were out there battling defensively and being in good positions, not allowing them to work combinations offensively," Stanley said.

The loss puts the Pack 1-1 in the RMAC conference and drops them to 1-4-1 overall. They face rival UC-Colorado Springs Wednesday to open up the 'Steel and Silver series Wednesday night with kick off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. More importantly the Pack will have a chance to improve their conference record if they able to defeat their rival.