The Colorado College men's soccer team secured its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the season after a gritty 1-0 victory over St. Thomas on Saturday, Sept. 28. Sophomore Zeke Lubin's goal elevated the Tigers, and as the team dished out 24 shots by the end of the game. 
 
The 24 shots are the most since Sept. 7 against Nebraska Wesleyan. 
 
"We got the job done with a strong second-half performance," head coach Scott Palguta said. "The game was chippy, but I thought we kept our composure and played well enough to find the goal we needed. I was pleased to get the shutout and open conference play with three points."
 
CC and St. Thomas were shut out in the first half despite some good looks for the Tigers. Sophomore Jack Hilliard led the team with three shots in the first half. Alexander Ward and Wyatt Linggi had two shots, but none were on target. 
 
The Celts' defense blocked most of the shots before they could threaten the goalkeeper. 
 
St. Thomas managed to get three shots on net, which mainly were relatively easy saves for CC goalkeeper Alex Wolter, who finished the game with four saves. 
 
It was a 0-0 tie at the half, but the Tigers outshot the Celts 10-4. CC kept the pressure on in the second half, collecting its first shot on goal in the 54th minute when Teddy Opler nearly slipped the ball past the goalkeeper on a defensive breakdown. 
 
12 minutes later, Lubin could line a beautiful goal, his first of the season, into the left side of the net after Luke Stefanski knocked the ball his way. 
 
CC's defense did the job the rest of the way to shut out the Celts and not allow them to get a shot on net to escape with the 1-0 win. 
 
The shutout out is the fifth of the season for CC and the second of the season for Wolter. 
 
"Zeke Lubin was outstanding in the second half and scored a terrific goal," Palguta said. "It was also great to see Alex Wolter come up with the one big save we needed from him."
 
The Tigers improve to 6-1-2 and are unbeaten in nine consecutive SCAC openers. Hilliard led the team with seven shots, a career-high for the San Antonio native. Ward, Linggi, Opler and Lubin all had three shots. 
 
CC will take its first conference road trip of the year next week to Clarksville, AR, to play the University of the Ozarks on Friday, Oct. 4.