By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PUEBLO, Colo. – Coming back from a deficit not once but twice on Saturday at Gonzales Stadium, the No. 14 Western Oregon men’s soccer team fought valiantly in a 3-2 defeat to No. 15 Colorado State Pueblo in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Regional Championships.
 
Nathan Jimenez, who had a goal and an assist in the Wolves’ 2-0 blanking of No. 6 Point Loma on Thursday, and Yahir Ocampo Navarro each scored an equalizing goal to keep the Wolves in the match until the end. But the Thunderwolves took the lead for good on an 87th-minute strike by Shjon Andrews.
 
CSU-Pueblo (15-3-3) advances to the third round of the national tournament, where it will face the winner of No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills and No. 5 seed/No. 7 Cal State Los Angeles who play on Sunday at 3 p.m. (Pacific).
 
Western Oregon’s historic season came to an end with a record of 14-5-1. In just their third season of existence the Wolves won their first GNAC men’s soccer title with 27 points, earned their first NCAA Championships berth and claimed their first tournament victory. Second-year WOU head coach Michael Behonick was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
 
After a mostly uneventful first half, that featured just four total shots, Western Oregon was faced with a persistent CSU-Pueblo attack that notched 13 of its 16 shots over the final 45 minutes. Caio Oliveira put his team ahead in the 16th minute and the hosts took a 1-0 advantage into the locker room.
 
Jimenez struck just four minutes after halftime, netting his third goal of the season to pull WOU level 1-1. The first stalemate lasted for 10 minutes, before Jose Bustamante received passes from Jack Pascoe and Tobi Osifodunrin to push the Thunderwolves ahead 2-1 in the 59th minute.
 
With WOU’s hopes of keeping its season alive dwindling, its first-team all-GNAC midfielder and leading scorer, Ocampo Navarro, leveled his team once again with an 82nd-minute finish. Just three minutes before an impending overtime period, the hosts had the final blow as Andrews was assisted by Ignatius DeMark on the game-winner.
 
WOU goalkeeper and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Andre Schlaefli came away with five saves in the match. GNAC Newcomer of the Year Caleb Kiner, fellow first-team all-league selection Ethan Fisher, Harper Neubeck and Donovan Hesselmeyer each played the full 90 minutes for the Wolves.
 
GAME NOTES: Saturday was the second meeting of the season between the teams…CSU-Pueblo beat WOU 3-0 in the 2024 season opener on Sept. 5.