Mines at Cal State Monterey Bay – Friday, 4 p.m. (PT) [Live Stats]
Mines at Cal State East Bay – Sunday, 11:30 a.m. (PT) [Live Stats]
                                    
"GO WEST YOUNG MAN"
Heeding the words attributed to Horace Greeley, the Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team is going from Golden to the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend for a pair of matches by the bay against Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. The Orediggers enter the weekend 1-1 following a win over then #15 St. Edward's and now #12 St. Mary's.
 
THE WEEKEND THAT WAS
Mines opened the 2018 with a bang as it knocked off #15-ranked St. Edward's in a 2-0 victory at Stermole Stadium. Ben Overholt and John Haist combined for both of the Oredigger goals. It marked Mines' first regular-season win over the Orediggers since 2013. Sunday brought the home team back to earth as it suffered a 4-2 loss to the Rattlers of St. Mary's despite goals from Tristan Semelsberger and Matthew Summerfield.
 
WEATHER REPORT
The weekend's forecast boasts nearly perfect conditions for soccer. Friday and Sunday both feature game-time temps in the mid to upper 60's with partly cloudy skies and 60-percent humidity. Friday has a small chance of precipitation with that projection dropping to zero on Sunday. A light breeze up to eight miles per hour will do little to alter the playing conditions.
 
FUN OTTER FACTS
According to Wikipedia, Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. All species of otter are semiaquatic, aquatic or marine with diets based on fish and invertebrates. In the context of Cal State Monterey Bay, the Otter serves as the school mascot under the name Monte Rey Otter while sporting the school's colors, blue and gold. CSMB was founded in 1994 and boasts an enrollment of 7,600 with 270 student-athletes. Located in Seaside, Calif., the campus sits on the south end of Monterey Bay just in from the Pacific Ocean.
 
ON THE FIELD WITH CSMB
The Otters enter Friday's match with a record of 0-1 following a 1-0 overtime loss to Academy of Art at the Otter Sports Complex. In the preseason, CSMB won a pair of exhibitions against San Jose State and Dominican University. As members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Cal State Monterey Bay was projected to finish in a tie for 10th in the league standings according to the league's preseason poll. In their match against Academy of Art, the Otters recorded 15 shots with three on goal while surrendering five attempts with two on frame.
 
GETTING TO KNOW THE PIONEERS
Cal State East Bay was originally known as the Space Pioneers when the university added an athletics department in 1961. Since that time, CSEB has brought its mascot back to earth and guided the school's nickname through a number of transformations. On the athletics side, Cal State East Bay rejoined NCAA Division II after previously holding dual membership in NCAA Division III and the NAIA. CSEB was previously a member of Division II from 1961 to 1998. The Pioneers are members of the CCAA (see above) and carry an enrollment over 15,000. Located in Hayward, Calif., the institution appropriately sits on the east side of San Francisco Bay.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE EAST BAY
The Pioneers dropped a 4-0 decision at Notre Dame de Namur in its season opener and carries a 0-1 record into the weekend. With Academy of Art on tap Thursday, CSEB hopes to even its record before facing Mines Sunday. Through one match, the Pioneers have taken six shots and given up 17. With three shots on goal, CSEB will have to up the volume to keep pace with the Orediggers' eight shots on frame per match. Cal State East Bay was selected 13th out of 13 programs in the CCAA's preseason poll.
 
PIONEER STADIUM
The home of Cal State East Bay soccer opened in 1964 and received a complete renovation in 2010 including brand new artificial turf and stadium lights. For a brief period, the stadium was also home to women's professional soccer program FC Gold Pride. Bleacher seating holds up to 5,000 spectators on just one side of the field.
 
DAY BY DAY…
Despite their disappointing loss to St. Mary's, the Orediggers have shown that day by day they have gotten better and better. Mines has improved nearly every statistical category from 2017 through two matches. After starting 0-2 last season, Mines is off to a 1-1 start – scoring three more goals while giving up one less in comparison to 2017. The Orediggers have also taken 19 more shots and limited their opponents to half as many opportunities.
 
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Mines is no stranger to the west coast. The Orediggers traveled to southern California in 2016 to face UC San Diego and Point Loma while also making trips over the Rocky Mountains in 1993, 1997 and 1997. However, this weekend marks Mines' first trip to the City by the Bay.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Since joining NCAA Division II, Colorado School of Mines has faced this weekend's opponents exactly once. The Orediggers and Cal State Monterey Bay faced off for the first time in program history last season at Stermole Stadium. Mines won the match 4-2 behind a hat trick from John Haist. The victory sparked an eight-match winning streak for the Orediggers. Mines and Cal State East Bay have never met in the programs' Division II eras.
 
THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Both of Mines' weekend opponents hail from the CCAA. A known soccer powerhouse in NCAA Division II, the CCAA has produced three NCAA Division II Men's Soccer National Champions with Cal State Dominguez Hills winning the last one in 2008. In 2015, Cal Poly Pomona advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship match where it fell to Pfeiffer, 4-0. For the last three years, the CCAA has been represented in the national semifinal match by CPP (2) and UC San Diego.
 
HAIST AMONG CAREER LEADERS
Senior striker John Haist boasts 97 combined points with 43 career goals. Both of these marks rank #1 among active players in NCAA Division II. Haist also ranks #5 among active career leaders in DII with 1.52 points per match over 64 games in his career.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The United Soccer Coaches released their latest South Central Regional rankings Sept. 4 with Mines slipping in at #4. After one week of play, Midwestern State sits #1 in the region and #2 in the nation. St. Mary's jumped from not being ranked to #2 in the region and #12 in the country with Colorado Mesa sitting #3 in the South Central and #21 in the national poll.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After its California swing, Mines opens RMAC action on the road at South Dakota Mines (Sept. 14) and UCCS (Sept. 16). Information on live coverage will be available at MinesAthletics.com.