Box Score It seems appropriate that after surviving a grueling end to the academic block, the Colorado College men's soccer team used its heads to grind out a 2-0 victory over Southwestern University on Friday afternoon.

Junior midfielder Soren Frykholm snapped a scoreless deadlock in the 83rd minute, finding the lower right side with a downward header from the center of the box for his second game-winning goal of the season.

CC improved to 10-2-2 overall and 8-1-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The first-place Tigers will hold at least a one-point lead over Trinity University, which plays Centenary College Friday night.

Freshman midfielder Robert Malone lofted a corner kick from the right side toward the left post where junior midfielder Nathan Anderson played the ball into the box with a header of his own.

"It was a great ball in by Nate," Frykholm said about the deciding sequence. "We've practiced that corner where we find him at the back post, and I was fortunate to get enough of the ball to find the net.

"We showed maturity over the course of the game," Frykholm said. "We didn't have a great first half and let Southwestern dictate play. We believed the way we play would ultimately get us the goal we needed."  

A little more than four minutes later, Andersen and Malone combined for an insurance tally that put the game in the win column for Colorado College.

Andersen raced past a Pirate defender near the right end line, and Malone finished with a one-touch shot into the top right corner from the center of the box.

"Besides being the most versatile player on the team, Nathan is the ultimate competitor and always gives his opponent something to think about," head coach Scott Palguta said. "We felt he was one of our stronger players on the day, so two assists seem an appropriate reward for his efforts."

Malone climbed into a tied for third on the team with his fourth goal, while Anderson used his first multiple-assist game to move into a tie for third with three assists.

At the other end of the pitch, the Tigers turned in another dominating performance and let just one ball get through to sophomore goalkeeper Theo Hooker.

"It doesn't seem like we have two first-year defenders on our back line," Hooker said. "All four of our defenders work really well together. Everyone started playing better in the second half and it was a good team win."

Hooker wasn't forced to make a save until early in the 86th minute when he dove to his left to stop a shot by Southwestern's Kirk Kemnitz from 15 yards out.  

CC generated a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks and a 14-8 margin in total shots.

Junior keeper Travis Carmichael made six saves for the Pirates, who slipped to 5-10-0 overall and 5-5-0 in the SCAC.

"We felt the guys played a much stronger second half after a very sluggish first half," Palguta said. "One of the things the coaching staff really enjoys about this group is that they respond to adversity really well, which is the sign of a good team. Every time we challenge them, we get a positive reaction. We certainly hope this continues."

Colorado College plays host to Texas Lutheran University in its final home game of the regular season on Sunday.