NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Third and Quarterfinal Rounds
South Central Regional Final - #6 Mines vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, Friday, 12 p.m. [Live Video][Live Stats]
West Regional Final - #1 Western Washington vs. #9 UC-San Diego, Friday, 2:30 p.m. [Live Video][Live Stats]
National Quarterfinal - Winners, Sunday, 12 p.m. [Live Video][Live Stats]
 

---

FAN INFO
Tickets will be available at the gate and are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Cash and credit cards are accepted. Please note that fans attending Friday's games will have to pay for parking if utilizing Lot K adjacent to Stermole Stadium. All games will stream live on the RMAC Network. The weather forecast for Friday is a high of 42 with sunshine and west winds 10-15 mph, while Sunday is forecast to be sunny with a high of 62.

IN THE POLLS
The weekend will see three NSCAA top-10 teams visit Golden with the nation's #1 team, Western Washington, #6 Mines, and #9 UC-San Diego. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
All four teams received first-round byes as top-two seeds in their respective regions. Mines, the South Central region's top seed, advanced to the Third Round with a 3-2 penalty kick shootout win against Dallas Baptist on Sunday after playing to a scoreless draw through 110 minutes. Texas A&M-Commerce, the second seed in the South Central, beat Midwestern State 1-0 in their Second Round game. In the West region Second Round, top-seeded Western Washington beat Central Washington 2-0, and second seed UC San Diego won 4-2 over Azusa Pacific.

MINES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
It will be the third time that Stermole Stadium has played host to the second weekend of NCAA play, with Mines falling in the 2011 quarterfinals on PKs and advancing on PKs to the Final Four in 2014. The Orediggers, making their ninth consecutive NCAA appearance, are 9-6-7 all-time in NCAA play including 4-3 in penalty kicks shootouts. Mines reached the quarterfinals in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014 and the Final Four in 2014.

MINES VS. THE FIELD
Mines and Texas A&M-Commerce know each other well having met each of the last two seasons in the NCAA Tournament. Mines drew with the Lions in the 2014 Third Round at Stermole Stadium, 1-1, and advanced 4-2 on PKs; among active Orediggers, Emily Garnier and Cari Smith made PKs in that shootout. Last year, Mines beat Commerce 2-1 in the First Round on an own goal and Acacia Ortiz's winner from Brooke Stoermer. Looking at potential quarterfinal opponents, the Orediggers and UC-San Diego met earlier this season with Mines winning 1-0 on the road thanks to Kortney DesCamp's goal. Mines is 1-0-1 all-time against the Tritons. Mines has never played Western Washington. 

HOME, SWEET HOME
Mines is unbeaten in its last 19 home games at Stermole Stadium. Their 0-0 Second Round draw with Dallas Baptist last Sunday snapped a remarkable streak of 18 consecutive wins at home, a program record. Since 2013, Mines is 39-4-6 in Golden, and 3-1-4 in NCAA play with a 3-1 shootout record.

THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL FINAL
#6 Mines and Texas A&M-Commerce will meet in the South Central regional final for the second time in three years. The Orediggers (19-2-1) have been outstanding at both ends of the field, averaging 2.55 goals per game (16th in D-II) while allowing only 0.5 goals (11th in D-II) and 6.9 shot per game. Jaclyn Knott's 10 goals - four of which have come in the postseason - lead the team with RMAC Player of the Year Emily Garnier (7G, 8A), Brooke Stoermer (5G, 5A), and Emily Townsend (5G, 4A) also near the top in scoring. Mines has had 18 different players score a goal this season. Between the posts, RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Sam Zumbro has a .52 GAA and .807 save percentage, making a pair of PK saves in Mines' Second Round shootout win.

Commerce (15-5-1) enters the weekend scoring 1.95 goals per game while allowing only 0.71. The Lions are led by Lone Star Conference Forward of the Year Savannah Grasser's 14 goals and five assists, and three other Lions - LSC Player of the Year Vicky Back (6G, 5A), Michelle Kotlik (4G, 8A), and Sophie Haywood (4G, 7A) - have 15 or more points this season. Defensively, they allow 11.0 shots per game backstopped by Caitlin Duty, who has a 0.64 GAA and .863 save percentage.

THE WEST REGIONAL FINAL
The West region will pit the nation's #1 team, Western Washington, against #9 UC San Diego in a battle of the West Coast's best teams. UC San Diego is 5-1-1 against WWU and 2-0 in the postseason, but their only two losses this year were to WWU, 3-2, and Mines, 1-0. Western Washington (20-0-1) comes in as one of two unbeaten teams left in D-II, scoring 2.52 goals while allowing only 0.29 per game, the fourth-best defense in the nation led by GNAC Player of the Year Sierra Shugarts. Gabriela Pelogi (8G, 7A), Elise Aylward (8G, 5A), and Caitlyn Jobanek (7G, 5A) have paced the Vikings offensively. Ashley Homer has allowed only 0.26 goals per game with a .872 save percentage and 13 shutouts.

The Tritons (19-2-0) are led by one of the nation's top strike partnerships in CCAA Player of the Year Katie O'Laughlin (16G, 9A), and Mary Reilly (13G, 9A). UCSD's 2.76 goals per game ranked 10th in the nation with their 0.43 GAA seventh. Jordyn McNutt has been a top playmaker with 12 assists. Between the pipes, Itzel Gonzalez has a 0.43 GAA and .804 save percentage.