PUEBLO, Colo. (November 16, 2024) - For a second year in a row, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's soccer took home the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship after defeating Fort Lewis College 2-1 on Saturday in the title match at Art & Lorraine Gonzales Stadium.

With the win, the ThunderWolves earn an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Men's Soccer Selection Show is set for Monday at 4:30 p.m. (MT) and fans can watch the show at www.ncaa.com.

In front of a large crowd at the pitch, The No. 15 ranked and top-seed in the RMAC Tournament, CSU Pueblo used a balanced attack offensively and the Pack defense along with strong play at midfield was critical for the ThunderWolves against the Skyhawks.

In a repeat of the 2023 RMAC Tournament Title match against FLC, the ThunderWolves' Jose Bustamante (Jr., Davie, Fla.) scored two goals in less than eight minutes in the second half to propel the Pack.

Saturday's match-up is the third time CSU Pueblo and Fort Lewis met on the pitch. Following tonight's match, CSU Pueblo is 1-1-1 against the Skyhawks this year.

In the match, CSU Pueblo recorded eleven shots against six from Fort Lewis. The Pack registered eight shots on goal and the offense was active throughout the match and earned six corners including four in the first half.

At the net for the Pack, Ryan Nun (So., Broomfield, Colo.) played out of his mind against the potent offensive attack put forth by the Skyhawks. Nun finished the match with three saves and allowed one goal.

In the first half, Bustamante recorded the first shot on goal in the third minute and was saved by Fort Lewis goalkeeper Lucas Martin. The visiting Skyhawks made their first shot on goal in the 15' and resulted in a corner kick.

In the 15th minute, a foul was called against the ThunderWolves while inside FLC's penalty box resulted in a penalty kick awarded to the Skyhawks. In the attempt, Nun guessed correctly and laid out to his right and got enough of his glove on the ball and tipped the shot away from the net and out of play and kept the game scoreless.

The ThunderWolves back line played as well as they have all season in limiting the chances given to the Skyhawks.

Heading into halftime, the score remained unchanged and the ThunderWolves held a 4-2 shots lead and 4-1 advantage in corners.

In the second half, the Pack fired two SOG in the opening five minutes of the period to put the Skyhawks on their heels defensively.

Another shot in the 65th minute from FLC was saved again by Nun and on a counter-attack, Bustamante fired a laser of a shot on goal and was saved by Martin.

Logan Cozier (R-Fr., Pickering, Ontario, Canada) checked into the game in the 69th minute and less than a minute later, he possessed the ball and drove towards the net and found Bustamante who was able to finish with a one-timer and gave the ThunderWolves a 1-0 lead.

After another SOG from Fort Lewis, the ThunderWolves took the ball down field Bustamante took the ball 1v1 with the defender and got through the defense and struck the back of the net and gave the Pack a 2-nil lead with under 13 minutes left in regulation.

The ThunderWolves' Jack Pascoe (Sr., Barry, Wales) made his first SOG in the 80th minute but was saved again by Martin.

Fort Lewis forward Anton Hjalmarsson found the back of the net and cut the lead in half 2-1 after scoring in the 88th minute.

Over the last 90 seconds, the ThunderWolves kept the ball away from the Skyhawks before the final buzzer ended the game.

Bustamante led all players with five shots and four SOG.

Up Next
CSU Pueblo (14-3-3) will turn its attention to the NCAA Tournament. Stay tuned to gothunderwolves.com for the latest tournament information.