GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Derek Freeman scored in the 63rd minute and Ryan Wirth recorded his ninth shutout of the season as No. 1 Fort Lewis (13-0-0 overall, 9-0-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defeated Colorado Mesa (3-10-1, 3-7-0) 1-0 tonight at Walker Field.

“The boys played really well tonight,” said third-year Skyhawk skipper Oige Kennedy. “We played really good possession football and moved the ball really well. We just need to be a little more clinical in front of goal. We were just unlucky.”

Alberto Capdepon-Rodriguez took a shot that deflected off a Maverick defender that Freeman won in front of CMU goalkeeper Micah Conrads. Freeman then beat Conrads with a shot to the top side of the middle of the goal, his fourth score of the season.

“He did a lot of hard work tonight and got the reward for it,” Kennedy said of Freeman.

Wirth, who was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week yesterday for the second time this season, made three saves during the game to keep his slate clean at 13-0-0 in 13 starts this season.

Conrads stopped four shots for CMU.

The Skyhawks outshot the Mavs 12-7 overall, 5-3 in shots on goal. Fort Lewis was whistled for 15 fouls, while Colorado Mesa committed 10. Seven yellow cards were issued, four of which were to the home side.

Fort Lewis returns home for its next four games, starting at 3:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts No. 18 Metro State (7-5-1, 5-4-0) at Dirks Field. FLC beat Metro 1-0 on the road last Friday.

The Skyhawks also host Regis (8-2-1, 5-2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The meeting between FLC and the Rangers is the only regular season game between the two schools in 2011.

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