PUEBLO, Colo. (December 1, 2024) - For a third year in a row and third time in program history, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's soccer advance to the NCAA Regional Final, after posting a 3-0 clean sheet win over Cal State University, Los Angeles on Sunday at Art & Lorraine Gonzales Stadium.

With the win, the No. 1 seeded ThunderWolves move on in the NCAA Tournament and will host their first-ever Regional Final on Saturday, December 7 against 6-seed Fort Lewis, starting at 3 p.m. at Gonzales Stadium.

Fort Lewis advance after beating Midwestern State 2-0 on the road Sunday in Wichita Falls, Texas.

A pair of veteran defenders provided the scoring for the ThunderWolves, led by Shjon Andrews (Gr., Longmont, Colo.) who scored his ninth and tenth goals of the season, recording a brace in less than two minutes time during the second period. Also, a goal late in the first half by Dylan Zavatini (Gr., Santa Catarina, Brazil) gave the Pack the offense needed to get past the Golden Eagles.

Zavatini also added an assist and seniors Ignatius DeMark (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Caio Oliveira (Espigao d'Oeste, Brazil) both provided helpers in the shutout. DeMark and Oliveira add to their season assists totals and continue to rank among the Top 10 in Division II.

Ryan Nun (So., Broomfield, Colo.) had an outstanding match to earn the clean sheet. He made one save against six shots and one SOG by CSULA.

The ThunderWolves offense was strong from the start and made six shots in the first period and earned four corners while holding Cal State LA to just one corner in the first half.

The first shot came in the sixth minute for the Pack by Joey Joiner (Sr., Wesminster, Colo.) as the result of a corner kick.

A third corner for the Pack came in the 17th minute and Andrews was able to hit a SOG that was saved by CSULA's goalkeeper Diego Bravo. A fourth corner was earned midway through the first half and CSU Pueblo continued to pressure the Golden Eagles defensive line.

Cal State had their best chance at the net starting in the 23rd minute after the first shot went wide, followed by the next that hit the top post and was cleared out by the ThunderWolves.

CSU Pueblo got on the board with less than a minute in the first half after the Golden Eagles hit their only SOG and the Pack went on the counter attack and while deep in the offensive zone, DeMark hurled the ball inside the six-yard box and Zavatini was able to head the ball inside the post for the 1-nil lead going to halftime.

It is the fifth goal of the season for Zavatini.

In the final period, strong play at midfield by the ThunderWolves helped to limit the scoring chances for CSULA. The only two corners of the half for Cal State LA were both earned in a matter of thirty seconds and were both cleared by CSU Pueblo.

In the 71st minute, off a set piece free kick, Oliveira sent one centered from about 30 yards out and left of the net in to Andrews who was able to get clear from his defender and head in the ball inside the left post for the two score lead.

The Pack found the back of the net again just 73 seconds later after getting another corner that CSULA failed to clear. Aran Garza (R-Fr., Tempe, Ariz.) did exceptional in keeping the ball with the ThunderWolves and kicked the ball back inside the scramble and the Golden Eagle defensive attempt to clear went straight up in the air and between two defenders, Zavatini met the ball mid-air in the direction of Andrews who was able to finish for the score.

Over the final 18 minutes of regulation, CSU Pueblo did its part in not allowing CSULA to get on the board.

Up Next
The ThunderWolves will face Fort Lewis for a fourth time this season and are 1-1-1 against the Skyhawks. The same two teams met just over three weeks ago on Nov. 16 in the RMAC Championship, a 2-1 CSU Pueblo win. In the first meeting on Sept. 26 in Durango, the Pack battled FLC to a 1-1 draw and CSU Pueblo suffered its only loss, 1-0 at home on Oct. 20.