Box Score Robert Malone struck for his first goal of the season and Theo Hooker recorded a season-high six saves to lead Colorado College to a 1-0 victory over Texas Lutheran University on a gusty Friday afternoon at Stewart Field.

Malone took a drop pass from senior forward Caden MacKenzie and drilled a shot from 15 yards into the top left corner just inside the near post.

"I felt a goal coming after the first 20 minutes of the game," Malone said. "We had great ball movement and that's what allowed me to get open and get a quick shot off at the top of the box. I finally put one away. It took too long."

Thanks in part to another solid defensive effort, the goal proved to be Malone's fourth career game winner. It also marked the second time this season MacKenzie set up the only score in a 1-0 victory.

Despite playing into a fierce wind during the first half, the Tigers generated 16 of their 22 shots and enjoyed a significant territorial advantage.  

Sophomore goalkeeper Brendan Soto made five saves during the first 45 minutes to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. Early in the 43rd minute, he made a diving stop at the right post on freshman midfielder Hayden Cogswell's blast that appeared destined for twine on the short side.

Soto also received significant help from his back line, which blocked six shots, as well as the crossbar that kept a shot by junior forward Sam Markin in play.

"Considering the wind in the first half, our guys did a really good job of dealing with first and second balls," Hooker said. "Our movement off the ball was really good, and that was something we worked on in practice this week. I love to play soccer, but I like to watch it, too. It's even better when our team puts on a show."

TLU was able to put more pressure on Hooker than his previous shutout victims, but the end result was the same.

Nearly 15 minutes into the contest, CC's junior keeper used his legs to deflect a shot by Guillermo Guerra after the freshman forward gathered a long ball and maneuvered around a defender at the top right corner of the box.

Hooker made a diving stop near the left post on freshman midfielder Chase Silk's crossing shot with 7:45 remaining in the first half, and kept his fifth clean sheet of the season intact when he dove to the far post to glove Guerra's blast from the right edge of the box in the 57th minute.  

"It's frustrating when the shots aren't going in, but you just have to push through it," Malone said. "We just have to work on finishing because we're good enough to score four or five times in a game. You don't want to leave it up to one goal."

In addition to its 22-8 advantage in total shots, Colorado College also generated nine corner kicks compared to only three for the Bulldogs.

CC improved to 5-1-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Texas Lutheran slipped to 2-6-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the SCAC.

The Tigers play host to Southwestern University on Sunday at noon.