SALT LAKE CITY – Oredigger goalkeeper Drew Johnson led the Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team to a 0-0 draw at Westminster on Friday afternoon thanks to three saves and a shutout at Dumke Field.
 
Johnson's trio of stops came over the span of 110 minutes while facing a total of seven shots. With the draw, Johnson moves to 7-2-2 on the season. Offensively, Ford Edwards led Mines with three shots, putting one on goal. Jason Zobott, Ben Overholt and Connor van Loveren recorded multiple attempts for the Orediggers as well. Including Edwards, six individuals put a shot on frame.
 
Overall, Mines (7-2-2, 5-0-2 RMAC) remains atop the RMAC standings. The Orediggers out-shot Westminster (6-3-2, 4-1-2) by a margin of 17-7 while putting six shots on goal compared to three from the Griffins. Additionally, the Orediggers created nine corner-kick opportunities and limited WC to just one. Interestingly, neither team was called offsides in the match. There was a total of six yellow cards and one ejection on Friday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday afternoon in Salt Lake City brought about clear, blue skies and temperature of 50 degrees that, according to those in attendance, felt more like 70 degrees. Mines took a breath of the cool, fresh air and proceeded to dominate the first 45 minutes in nearly every statistical category. It took merely three minutes for Zobott to take shot which was blocked. That was the first of nine shots in the opening half with three going on goal and another from Adams ricocheting off the crossbar. The Orediggers locked down on defense as well, limiting the Griffins to just three attempts with only one on frame. Johnson made the one save necessary to send the match into halftime tied, 0-0.
 
After 12 combined shots of offense in the first frame, the second half started slowly. Through the first 30 minutes there was one attempt and it came off the foot of van Loveren. However, the final 15 minutes brought a slew of excitement including a borderline breakaway and shot on goal from Kugler. That led to a corner kick and another shot from Edwards. But that would be the only true opportunities of the second half as the clock hit 00:00 and the game headed to overtime.
 
Less than three minutes into the overtime period, King drew a foul and that resulted in a shot off the free kick by Edwards but it was blocked by the Griffins. Another free kick in the 96' gave Mines its second opportunity but to no avail. The final 10 minutes saw a low, hard shot from Michael Sprauer over 20 yards out and another ball into the penalty area that proved dangerous but not fatal. On the other hand, Westminster managed only one shot and it was in the final 70 seconds, but well off target. The clock would expire with no goals on the board.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines boasts an all-time record of 9-4-1 against Westminster.
- Friday marked the Orediggers' first scoreless draw since Nov. 11, 2017 at St. Edward's in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The draw on Friday also gives Mines back-to-back ties for the first time since Sept. 14 and 16, 2012 – over seven years ago. Both results were 1-1 against CSU-Pueblo and then #22-ranked Fort Lewis.
- Johnson has only surrendered two goals in Mines' last seven matches for a season goals-against average of 0.82.
- The Orediggers have shut out seven opponents in 2019.
- Mines has not lost to a conference opponent in 31 consecutive matches – the longest active streak in all of NCAA Division II.
- The Orediggers also boast an overall unbeaten streak of seven games, dating back to Sept. 16.
- Head coach Greg Mulholland is now 42-8-4 in three seasons at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers return to the pitch on Friday in Utah as they take on Westminster at 1:30 p.m. in Salt Lake City. Live stats and video of the match will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.