MATTHEWS, NC (December 9, 2023) – No. 16 Colorado State University Pueblo men's soccer team made its second straight appearance in the National Championship match and fell 4-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation in Franklin Pierce on a pair of second half goals.
 
In a rematch of the 2022 National Championship, CSU Pueblo entered the match riding an eight-game unbeaten streak.
 
In the match, CSU Pueblo recorded nine shots and seven shots on goal. The Pack's offense earned five corners and was called offside one time.
 
The Pack defense faced eight shots and four landing on frame.
 
ThunderWolves had their first good look in the 9' after Dylan Zavatini (Jr., Santa Catarina, Brazil) fired a shot on goal that was saved by Franklin Pierce goalkeeper Karl Vernet and resulted in the first corner kick for the ThunderWolves.
 
In the 16th minute, Giancarlo Pretto (Jr., Lajeado Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil) was able to get a header shot on goal which caused Vernet to move to his right and make the save at the right post.
 
CSU Pueblo's defense had a strong first fifteen minutes and defended the strong offensive attack put forth by the Ravens.
 
With just over 22 minutes in the first half, the offense continued to remain active and Caio Oliveira (Sr., Espigao d'Oeste, Brazil).
 
At 19:34 showing on the game clock, Jack Pascoe and Kenshin Uneo (Sr., Hyogo, Japan) played the ball back-and-forth to get inside the box and allowed Pascoe to get a good chance at the net but was saved by Vernet.
 
Just over one minute passed and the Pack was able to keep the ball inside the box and Oliveira shot attempt went high over the crossbar and resulted in a third corner for the Pack.
 
After the corner, FPU cleared the ball and went on a counter attack that was halted by a yellow card on the ThunderWolves on their half of the pitch.
 
On the free kick for Franklin Pierce, the ball went to the far post and a header attempt went wide and out of play for a ThunderWolves goal kick.
 
The Ravens had another scoring chance in the 32nd minute and a centered pass and the Ravens shot went very high over the net.
 
Another corner was earned by FPU in the 35th minute and their fifth shot of the match was saved by Pack goalkeeper Ryan Nun (Fr., Broomfield, Colo.).
 
Starting the second half, Franklin Pierce caused a turnover in the 50th minute and drove the ball down the left side of the pitch and a cross pass centered inside the box was footed in by the Ravens Aaron Sanchez Sanchez to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead.
 
On the Pack's next possession, they took the ball inside Ravens territory and back-to-back shots by Matthew Coleman (Sr., Sheffield, Yorkshire) and Gabriel Campora (Sr., Saltillo, Mexico) were both saved by Ravens keeper Vernet.
 
The Pack responded to the goal and earned another corner and the attempt was cleared but kept inside the final third and a header shot by Pretto was hauled in by the Vernet.
 
Over the next 15 minutes of action, CSU Pueblo was unable to create any scoring chances and faced intense pressure by the Ravens.
 
Franklin Pierce added a second goal in the 70th minute to take a 2-0 lead with less than twenty minutes left in the second half.
 
In the final fifteen, the Pack surrendered two more goals including the final one with 3:15 left in regulation to go down 4-0.
 
In the waning minutes, the ThunderWolves were unable to find a clean look at the net before the final horn sounded to end the match.
 
Nun finished with two saves and four goals allowed.
 
Oliveira, Uneo and Zavatini each were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
CSU Pueblo finish the season with a 18-5-3 record and had two All-Americans in Shjon Andrews (Sr., Longmont, Colo.) and Campora.
 
This season, Campora broke a Pack single-season record for goals (19) breaking the old record of 16 goals set by Tommy Lauhoff in 2004.
 
Midfielder Oliveira also set a new Pack single-season record with 13 assists on the year, breaking the old record of 11 set by Brendon Madrid in 1999.