GOLDEN, Colo. - Top-seeded Colorado School of Mines had little trouble shaking off Colorado Christian to advance to the RMAC Tournament semifinals with a 4-1 win at Stermole Stadium.
The Orediggers (17-1-1), the RMAC regular-season champions, scored twice in each half as they dominated possession against the Cougars (6-9-3). Mines outshot CCU 27-7 including 19-1 in shots on goal as Cougar goalkeeper Ireland VanDyke made an impressive 15 saves.
#5-ranked Mines advanced to face tonight's winner of Dixie State and MSU Denver on Friday at 11 a.m. The other women's semifinal will be played at 4 p.m., with the final on Sunday at noon. For the first time since 2015, Stermole Stadium will also host the men's finals as the Oredigger men play at 1:30 p.m. Friday, and the other men's semifinal at 6:30 p.m.
The game had a wild start as set pieces by both teams produced three goals in a 3:22 span early in the first half. A corner drawn by Mines in the 10th minute was played short by
Dominique Rivera to
Acacia Ortiz, and the cross in found the head of
Giselle Sawaged for the early 1-0 lead. The advantage lasted just two minutes as a CCU corner produced their goal at 11:37. Renee De La Torre placed her corner take at the far post for Emily Michalak, who volleyed home a superb finish to level 1-1, but Mines would waste no time getting back on top. Just over a minute later,
Taylor McRae drew a foul at midfield and Rivera sent a long free kick into the box, where a glancing header by
Emily Townsend helped the ball find the net for a 2-1 lead.
Mines was unlucky not to score more in the first half as Ireland kept CCU in it; Sawaged nearly had a second goal a half-hour in but forced a great save at the post, Townsend also nearly hit a second on a corner header, and
Kaylee Kennedy's breakaway was kick saved by Ireland to keep it 2-1 at the half.
The score stayed there until the 54th minute when a long-range Ortiz effort rebounded out off Ireland, and McRae crashed in to bury the rebound. That made it 3-1 as Mines enjoyed long stretches of possession throughout the second half, and
Jennifer Kendall iced the game with an 88th-minute goal off a run up the left wing.
NOTABLES
- Mines has now advanced to the RMAC Tournament semifinals every year since 2007, winning in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Orediggers improved to 15-5-2 all-time in the RMAC Tournament.
- Kendall became only the fifth player in program history to reach 20 career goals with her 88th-minute strike.
- Ortiz's two assists took her to 22 for her career as Mines' active leader. She is one short of Anna Evans for third on the Mines all-time list.
- Townsend, named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day, scored her fifth goal of the year, tying her career best in a season.
- Sawaged's header was her first goal of the season and sixth of her career. McRae's strike was the 15th of her career.
- Mines and CCU were playing for the second time in four days. The Orediggers won 2-0 in Lakewood on Saturday in the regular-season finale.
- CCU's goal was only the second allowed by Mines at home in their last 13 games dating back to last year, as Mines improved to 13-0 in that span.
- The game was moved forward to a daytime kickoff to beat the forecasted snow, and despite bitterly cold temperatures, managed to finish under dry conditions.
