COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - No. 3 Midwestern State converted a pair of penalty kicks to put away Colorado-Colorado Springs 2-0 Sunday afternoon at Mountain Lion Stadium.
"We didn't play well and had a hard time getting going," MSU coach
Doug Elder said. "It thought we'd come back and play better, but it was worse. We had hard time catching our breath in the altitude. We were dragging on the fourth day of this trip, but a win is a win and we'll take it."
The Mustangs extended their regular season unbeaten string to 36 games and were able to sweep their Colorado weekend swing after claiming a 3-1 result over Colorado State-Pueblo on Friday.
But the Mountain Lions appeared to get the best of MSU on the stat sheet by outshooting the Mustangs 16-8 on the strength of a 14-1 edge on corner kicks. UC-Colorado Springs also muddled up the match with 17 fouls while booking three cautions.
"It got a little chippy and I think we lost our composure a little bit. We need to learn to play better through that," Elder said.
The Mustangs got the better of play in the opening 20 minutes of the match and made on the first scoring opportunity as junior forward
Zach Funk got behind the defense on a nice combination in the sixth minute, but was taken out from behind on a foul in the box.
Senior midfield
Dean Lovegrove knocked in the penalty kick for his second tally of the season to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
Midwestern took advantage of another Mountain Lion miscue in the box which resulted in a successful PK conversion by senior midfielder
Chris Dwyer to post a 2-0 advantage in the 80th minute after
B.A. Catney was knocked to the ground after flicking the ball toward the 6-yard box.
"My expectations are so high, but you can't take away from winning on the road," Elder said. "We just have to keep getting better. Our guys are smart and mature enough to know that."
Midwestern State continues its stretch of five road matches Thursday night at Incarnate Word. Kickoff for the Mustangs' Lone Star Conference opener at Benson Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
