2016 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship
hosted by Colorado School of Mines
First Round: #23 CSU-Pueblo vs. Dallas Baptist, Thursday, 2 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
Second Round: #6 Mines vs. CSU-Pueblo/Dallas Baptist, Saturday, 12 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

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THE WEEKEND
Mines has earned the South Central region's top seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship, and will play the winner of fourth-seeded CSU-Pueblo and fifth-seeded Dallas Baptist Saturday at noon at Stermole Stadium. The first round game will also be at Mines, on Thursday at 2 p.m. Tickets, available at the gate only, will be $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, and children. No passes will be accepted for NCAA Tournament play. Please note than pay-for-parking will be in effect for Thursday's game.

MINES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Orediggers are making their ninth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance dating back to 2008. Mines advanced to the Second Round last year after making the Final Four for the first time ever in 2014. Mines is 9-5-6 all-time in NCAA play with a 3-3 record in penalty kick shootouts. The Orediggers are 3-1-3 at Stermole Stadium in the tournament.

THE BRACKET
The bracket is favorable for the Orediggers as the top seed in the South Central region. Should Mines win on Saturday, they would be guaranteed to host the Third Round and Quarterfinals on Nov. 18 and 20, as it is the South Central's year in the rotation to host the super-regional match-up between the West and South Central, which will take place in the Quarterfinal round.

IN THE POLLS
Mines stayed at #6 in this week's NSCAA top 25 poll. CSU-Pueblo also held their spot at #23.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Mines won an unprecedented sixth consecutive RMAC Tournament title on Sunday with a dramatic 2-1 win over CSU-Pueblo. Trailing 1-0 after Laikyn Koss' first-half goal, Mines needed second-half strikes by Acacia Ortiz and Devon Dunmire to win. It was Mines' fourth straight double with the RMAC regular-season title in hand as well.

HOME SWEET HOME
Heading into this weekend, Mines has won a program-record 18 consecutive games at home dating back to the 2015 season. They have given up only two goals in 12 games at home this year, both in the RMAC Tournament on a PK by Western State and Koss' goal for CSU-Pueblo in the final.

TWO-WAY PLAY
Mines' defense has been absolutely outstanding in 2016, with RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Sam Zumbro backstopping the team with a 0.55 GAA and .800 save percentage. The backline, which includes RMAC Player/Defensive Player of the Year Emily Garnier, all-RMAC picks Emily Townsends and Holly Weyand, and Kortney DesCamp, has limited opponents to 0.52 goals and 6.9 shots per game. Up front, Mines is putting up historical offensive numbers; if the season ended today, their 2.67 goals per game would be a program record. An incredible 18 different Orediggers have scored a goal this season led by Jaclyn Knott's 10 and Garnier's 7.

MINES VS. CSU-PUEBLO/DALLAS BAPTIST
Mines played both DBU and CSU-Pueblo in the regular season. The Orediggers drilled DBU 5-0 in the season opener on Sept. 1, with goals by Cari Smith, Emily Townsend, Giselle Sawaged, Nicole LaTourette, and Jennifer Kendall part of a 31-5 shots advantage. Since starting 0-3-1, however, the Patriots ended the season 11-5-4 and upset #9 St. Edward's in PKs on Sunday for the Heartland Conference championship. DBU is making its fifth consecutive NCAA appearance; they and Mines have met twice in NCAA play, with the Orediggers winning 3-0 in 2012 and losing 2-0 in last year's second round. Both of those games were in Dallas. Mines is 3-2-1 all-time against DBU.

Mines lost 2-0 in the regular season at CSU-Pueblo but gained revenge over the Thunderwolves Sunday in the 2-1 RMAC Tournament final victory at Stermole Stadium. The Thunderwolves are making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Should they advance to Saturday they would be playing their fourth consecutive game at Stermole Stadium. Mines is 12-8-2 all-time against the Thunderwolves.