Alamosa, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com – October 20, 2013) – What a difference 36 hours can make. Friday night saw the Pack defeated in a heated game full of fouls and missed opportunities. But Sunday would be different. The sun was shining and with it came redemption for a hungry ThunderWolves team.
After a shoot-out in the valley, the ThunderWolves walked away with a 1-0 win over the Adams State Grizzlies, earning them their first conference win of the season.
With the win, CSU-Pueblo continues its undefeated streak against the Grizzlies, giving them six consecutive shut-outs against the team in match-up history.
The winning (and only) score of the day came from Ashton Carlson (So., Aurora, Colo.) with a special strike, a shot from the corner with the outside of the foot off a Denim Douglas assist. "It's a hard shot, but Carlson felt confident enough to take it, and just pounded it in the net" said head coach Roy Stanley. "It was a good shot for him."
Carlson may have had the lone score on the day, but the victory was a team effort.
"Our spine players just played really well" said Stanley. "We were without some key players today, and these six guys were well-organized and disciplined."
According to Stanley, those "spine" players or backbone of the team are Jonathan Hall (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska), Connor Marcone (Jr., San Diego, Calif.), Abel Corral (Jr., Chandler, Ariz.), Denim Douglas (Sr., Greenville, Texas), Dustin Geist (Sr., Durango, Colo.) and Cezar Plascencia (So., Anchorage, Alaska).
The ThunderWolves may have been outshot 18-12, but that's not an issue for the team. "We try not to take shots from 35 yards out" said Stanley. The Pack did have three corner kicks to the Grizzlies one.
Also playing well was net-minder, Sam Haseltine (So., St. Louis, Mo.) who had eight saves on the day and recorded his second shutout of the season. "Sam was consistent today" said Stanley. "Everybody did their jobs."
The Pack returns home for the last four games of regular season play. They hope to carry the winning momentum back with them. And their domination of Adams State may not be over, as they will face them at home in early November.
Next up for the ThunderWolves is Metro State on Friday as part of a CSU-Pueblo soccer double-header. The women will meet up against Colorado School of Mines at 4:30pm, followed by the men at 7pm.
