DURANGO, Colo. – A late second half goal by freshman forward Pablo Covarrubias lifted St. Edward's to its first victory of the season over Fort Lewis College 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Dirks Field.
 
An early save by St. Edward's goalkeeper, Kevin Leib, came in the sixth minute of play, denying Fort Lewis College (1-1) the first chance of the contest.
 
Physical play defined both sides in the first half, resulting in four fouls for each team. The Skyhawk's lost Aaron Kloer to a straight red card in the 41^st minute, leaving his team a man down for the remainder of the contest.
 
The Hilltoppers (1-1) controlled possession for the majority of the half; however, were unable to find the back of the net, leaving the halftime score 0-0.
 
Leib came up big again for St. Edward's early in the second half, recording his second of six total saves in the match.
 
Late in the game, St. Edward's had recorded six second-half shots, one coming off the foot of Covarrubias in the 71^st minute, only to sail wide right. However, five minutes later Covarrubias found himself with another scoring opportunity and captured the go-ahead goal with just 14 minutes left to play.
 
Covarrubias, who played 71 minutes in his second match as a Hilltopper, recorded his first career goal in blue and gold.
 
The Skyhawk's did not go down easily, recording four shots in the final two minutes of competition. Leib recorded his most important save of the day in the 89^th minute blocking the game tying shot, as the Hilltopper defense held on for a 1-0 triumph.
 
"Defensively we showed a lot of integrity from every position and held the majority of possession before and after the red card was issued. I am very happy for the guys," head coach Brian Young said. "We are looking forward to preparing for Metro State who are another top team in the RMAC," he remarked.
 
Kyle Pujtas, the reigning Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Year, led the dominant defensive display for St. Edward's, competing in all 90 minutes of the match.
 
St. Edward's will host Metro State in its home opener Saturday, September 13^th at 1 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Field in Austin, Texas. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.