PUEBLO, Colo. – Josua Hall curled a powerful strike into the back of the net to give host Colorado State University-Pueblo a 1-0 win over the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team on Saturday afternoon at Gonzales Stadium.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-1) out-shot the Thunderwolves 7-4 in the match – with six of those shots coming in the final 45 minutes – but were held without a goal in their second game of the season. "It was a very tactical game today against a very good Pueblo team," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "We talked at halftime that it was going to be a one-goal game, and that both teams would have one or two chances. We had our chance in the second half and missed a massive one, and Pueblo put their chance away. We have to regroup quickly because we have another game coming up tomorrow afternoon. It will be another tough challenge for us."
 
MSUB had a golden opportunity to pull ahead with 15 minutes left on the clock, when a loose ball in the defensive third got past the entire back line and goalkeeper Garret Wild. Marvin Putu raced to get on the end of it, but his shot towards the open goal from a tight angle on the left side crashed into the outside netting for a near miss.
 
Less than five minutes later, CSU-Pueblo went ahead for good on a play that began materializing down the left side of the field. Miguel De Leon Jr. cut back against his defender on the left side of the box, before feeding the ball across to Hall. Facing a tight window with defenders approaching, Hall managed to rip a low, right-footed shot that curled just out of the reach of MSUB goalkeeper Georgios Theodoulidis and into the lower corner of the net.
 
It was one of just two shots on frame for the Thunderwolves during the match, as Yellowjacket captain Luca Battistotti piloted the team to a very strong overall defensive performance. Theodoulidis made the only other save required of him, and the 'Jackets held their foe without a shot over the opening 45 minutes of play.
 
A free kick for MSUB 15 minutes into the match led to a wild scramble inside the goal box, but the 'Jackets couldn't turn the promising play into a shot attempt. Halil Yilmaz had MSUB's lone shot of the first half, when his on-target header prompted a stifling save from Wild. It was the first of three stops for the Thunderwolves goalkeeper as he picked up his first shutout of the season.
 
CSU-Pueblo's first on-target strike of the match came just one minute into the second half, when a free kick from the right side of the goal box resulted in a routine save for Theodoulidis on a shot off the foot of Vinzent Zingel. The 'Jackets dodged a bullet in the 56th minute, when a loose ball in a crowded goal box was nudged over the crossbar on an attempt by Nazar Deputat.
 
Valdemar Fogt had two of MSUB's final three shots after conceding the goal, the latter of which required the last save by Wild in the 89th minute to secure the win. Bryan Maxwell joined Battistotti on the back line for a full 90-minute performance, while Paul Cuevas and Yilmaz each played the entire match in the midfield and up front, respectively. Fogt led the team with three shots in 23 minutes off the bench, while Yilmaz and Putu had two strikes apiece.
 
MSUB was limited to just one corner kick in the match while CSU-Pueblo had three, and the foul count was relatively low at nine for the 'Jackets and five for the 'Wolves in the well-contested affair.
 
THE BUZZ: Battistotti was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…MSUB remains winless all-time against CSU-Pueblo at 0-7-1 including a mark of 0-6-1 in matches played in Pueblo.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at UC Colorado Springs. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here for the third game of the team's road trip.