HELENA, Mont. -- The Saints played tough with the No. 13 team in the NAIA, Rocky Mountain College, but couldn't break through to find an equalizer in the second half, falling 2-1 on Friday evening in Billings. 

"All in all it's a big disappointment because we fought hard," Saints coach Doug Mello said. "In an ideal world, we finish our chances and come away with a win." 

The Saints (4-5, 3-4 CCC) led in the eighth minute after Jose Porras played a through-ball to Paulo Georgiades on the right side. Georgiades got his first goal of the season when he beat a defender and finished his strike. 

It was a nice finish after a flurry of Saints shots early in the match. 

"In the first five minutes of the match we chipped and hit the crossbar," Mello said. "We had a couple good opportunities to begin the match that probably could have sorted things out for us." 

Rocky (9-2, 5-1) struck back in the 25th minute when Mason Luse scored. The game would remain tied 1-1 at the half. 

Rocky sealed the game with a goal by Nolan Sherwood in the 62nd minute. 

"Hard fought second half and they ended up getting a goal in the 61 first minute although we pressed the whole match, we had some nice opportunities," Mello said. "That's been the story of our season: working the ball and then missing the goal from six yards away."

Mello spotlighted his defensive line as having a commendable effort. Jon Taylor, Camron Martin, Chris Brayton and Leo Georgiades all played hard against a talented Rocky offense. 

Freshman goalkeeper Kaden Conner had four saves on the evening. 

Rocky outshot the Saints 18-13. 

Carroll travels to Caldwell, Idaho, to face the College of Idaho on Sunday.