#8 Mines vs. #15 St. Edward's – Friday, 6 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
#8 Mines vs. St. Mary's – Sunday, 12 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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SEASON OPENING WEEKEND
The #8-ranked Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team opens its 2018 campaign at home with matches against #15-ranked St. Edward's (Friday) and St. Mary's (Sunday). Both opponents hail from Texas and the Heartland Conference, members of the South Central Region. St. Edward's arrives in Golden after going 15-4-2 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. St. Mary's rolls into the Front Range looking to bounce back from a 10-9-1 mark in 2017. It marks the second straight year the Oredigger have opened up with the Hilltoppers and Rattlers after traveling down to Texas last season.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Friday's forecast calls for a game-time temperature in the high 70's with a chance for some isolated thunderstorms in the Golden area. Sunday's projection boasts temps in the low 80's for kickoff and partly cloudy skies.
 
BLUE CREW BONANZA
Friday's match against St. Edward's is also a Blue Crew Bonanza. The promotion features Blue Crew double points, Take Two ticket promotion (allowing fans $2 off your ticket to Mines Football Sept. 1), Jimmy Johns Chips for Goals, Denver Athletic Fan Frenzy T-Shirt Toss, Free Blue Crew T-Shirts to the first 700 Mines students in attendance and a slew of free food and beverage samples from Mines Athletics partners and sponsors.
 
LOOKING BACK AT 2017
Under first-year head coach Greg Mulholland, the Orediggers had a rocky start to 2017 as they opened the year 0-2. However, Mines' struggles were short lived as it proceeded to go 15-1 over the remainder of the regular season. The Orediggers claimed the RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles en route to their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance. Mulholland led Mines to the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to top-ranked Midwestern State.
 
RIVALRY RENEWED
Mines has faced St. Edward's within its first three games now for four straight years. The Orediggers are 0-2-1 against the Hilltoppers in those early-season matchups. However, Mines has gone 1-0-1 against SEU in the NCAA Tournament over the same period. Their last meeting was in 2017 as the Orediggers advanced past the Hilltoppers to the NCAA Sweet 16 on penalty kicks. Mines leads the all-time series 8-5-4 as the two programs renew their rivalry Friday at Stermole Soccer Field.
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
Under the direction of 15th-year head coach Brian Young, #15-ranked St. Edward's enters its 2018 campaign with 18 returners from its 2018 squad. One of the key returners is 2017 D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American Dylan Armstrong. The senior was also named to the 2018 Preseason All-Heartland Men's Soccer team along with teammate Cody Spitzer. Gone from the Hilltoppers are the twin towers in the middle of the defense, Owain Hoskins and Ty Mobley. As a team, SEU returns just 15 of its 41 goals from 2017 and 10 of its 36 assists.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
The St. Mary's Rattlers enter the 2018 season guided by first-year head coach Johnny Clifford. He takes over the program after serving as an assistant the past two seasons. St. Mary's top returner is Pato Botello Faz who was named to the 2018 Preseason All-Heartland Men's Soccer team. He led the Heartland Conference in points while finishing third in total goals and total assists. As a team, the Rattlers scored 37 goals in 2017 at a rate of 1.85 goals per match. St. Mary's took 268 shots with 146 on goal. The Rattlers gave up 42 goals and 231 shots with 112 going on goal. The 2017 season marked St. Mary's first postseason berth since 2015.
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
The Orediggers boast the RMAC's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in John Haist and Jason Zobott. Haist was voted to distinction following a dominant 2017 campaign. The now junior striker racked up 22 goals on 93 shots with 49 shots on goal. His 22 goals ranked second in all of NCAA Division II while he led all divisions with nine game-winning goals. Zobott garnered defensive honors after serving as the cornerstone of Mines' 2017 defensive line. He led the Orediggers with 1983 minutes of action while recording a goal and an assist on 27 shots. Ryan Wilson joined Zobott and Haist on the Preseason All-RMAC team.
 
NATIONAL POLLS
Mines enters the 2018 season ranked #8 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches' Preseason Division II poll. The Orediggers are the highest ranked program in the RMAC and second-highest in the South Central Region. RMAC foe Colorado Mesa also appeared in the preseason rankings at #21 while South Central Regional opponent Midwestern State sits #5 with St. Edward's coming in #15.
 
RMAC PRESEASON POLLS
Coach Mulholland and the Orediggers are projected for back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships according to the league's preseason men's soccer coaches' poll. Mines took nine of 12 first-place votes for a grand total of 118 points. Colorado Mesa came in second with two first-place votes and 102 points. Fort Lewis and Regis rounded out the top four, with Dixie State and MSU Denver filling out the projected RMAC Tournament field.
 
TEXAS TIES
With a pair of teams from Texas coming to town, fans may be interested in knowing that five Orediggers playing for the men's soccer team hail from the Lone Star State. True freshmen Davis Rogers and Eric Boone claim the Dallas/Fort Worth area as does redshirt sophomore Ryan Mackey. Fellow true freshman Trevor Lattimer made his way to Golden from the Houston area as did senior striker Matthew Summerfield.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following its home opener, Mines heads to California for matches at Cal State Monterey Bay (Sept. 7) and Cal State East Bay (Sept. 9). Information on live coverage will be available at MinesAthletics.com.