PUEBLO, Colo. - NU lost to CSU Pueblo 4-1 on Saturday. The Jets took nine of their 11 shots and all four of their corner kicks in the second half, but the ThunderWolves finished with an 8-4 edge in shots on goal.
How it happened:
The ThunderWolves put the Jets under early pressure with three shots and two corner kicks in the opening nine minutes, then Pedro Martinez scored at 9:07 off an assist from Jose Peris Gimeno for a 1-0 lead. NU answered with two
Daiki Okada attempts, including a shot saved by Esteban Gonzalez at 11:02 and another that went high at 12:48.
Mathis Lefevre kept the Jets within one with saves on Nick Cenek, Peris Gimeno and Cenek again during a later ThunderWolves push, but Cenek converted a penalty kick at 26:19. The half turned foul-heavy over the final stretch, and the ThunderWolves carried a 2-0 lead into halftime.
The Jets created early second-half chances as
Oscar Duffy had a shot saved by Esteban Gonzalez at 51:20,
Skylur Staley followed with two attempts off target, and NU earned a corner at 55:49. After a physical stretch that included three Jets yellow cards between 53:21 and 67:53, the ThunderWolves added to their lead when Nick Cenek scored off a Gabriel Marchesoni assist at 69:35 to make it 3-0. The Jets answered with pressure of its own, earning a corner and getting shots from
Gael Gonzalez,
Tomas Melon and
Yohsuke Ono before Gonzalez scored at 73:20 to bring the score to 3-1. It was Gonzalez's first goal of the season. The Jets continued to push with another corner, a Staley shot and an
Evan Butler attempt saved at 83:14, but the ThunderWolves closed the half with Juan Pablo Orozco Soto's goal at 89:01 and finished off NU, 4-1.
Gonzalez scored the Jets' goal and finished with two shots, putting one attempt on frame. Staley led NU with three shots off the bench. Lefevre started in goal and recorded three saves in 45 minutes.
Up next, the Jets visit Lubbock Christian on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. in Lubbock, Texas.
