AZUSA, Calif. – The Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team took down the #1-ranked team in the country on Saturday night as the Orediggers handed undefeated Azusa Pacific its first loss of the season in 2-1 fashion on the Cougars' home pitch. With the win, Mines punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Baptiste Debuire scored the go-ahead goal and RMAC Player of the Year Jason Zobott tallied the game-winning goal. Lucas King handed out the assist to Debuire and Ford Edwards provided the helper to Zobott. Ben Overholt was the only Oredigger with multiple shot attempts in the match. The player of the game was arguably goalkeeper Drew Johnson who faced 22 shots and made six saves to clinch the victory.
 
With the win, Mines (15-3-4) not only advances to the next round of the NCAA Tournament, but also extends its unbeaten streak to seven consecutive matches. Azusa Pacific dominated the Orediggers with 22 shots compared to six from the visitors. The Cougars also won in shots on goal by a margin of 7-2. However, both of Mines' shots on target found the back of the net as APU's goalkeeper finished the match with zero saves.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After defeating ninth-seeded Texas A&M-International on Thursday evening, the Orediggers had nearly 48 hours to think about facing the only 18-win team in all of NCAA Division II. At the sound of the whistle on Saturday night, Mines took less than two minutes to show #1-ranked Azusa Pacific it had no fear of the Cougar's goliath-like record. In the second minute, King sent a long cross from the right side directly to the far post. Debuire timed his charging run perfectly and needed just one touch to send the ball past the scrambling APU goalkeeper. That gave Mines a 1-0 advantage with 88 minutes left to play.
 
As expected, Azusa Pacific did not stay silent. Less than three minutes later, the Cougars equalized on a strike from Jame Ndubueze in the fifth minute. That tied the score at 1-1 with 85 minutes to play. The home team proceeded with a barrage of shots over the next 24 minutes of action, but Johnson, Zobott and the Oredigger defense were there to stop them all. Then, in the 29th minute, Mines struck again. The Orediggers earned a corner kick and Edwards stepped to the flag and served the ball into the scrum in front of the goal. But the ball would never find that scrum as Zobott elevated and flicked the ball to the back of the net for a 2-1, Oredigger lead.
 
That would end the scoring, but the game was far from over. Azusa Pacific brought wave after wave of shots to the Orediggers' defense. Twelve shots in the first half and 10 more in the second had Mines living in its defensive third. However, when the dust settled and the final whistle blew, the score remained 2-1 in favor of the Orediggers and Azusa Pacific saw its season come to an end in its first game of the NCAA Tournament.
 
NOTABLES
- Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between Mines and Azusa Pacific. The Orediggers are now 1-0-0 in the all-time series.
- The last time Mines defeated the #1-ranked team in the country was on Sept. 3, 2010 in its season opener against top-ranked Fort Lewis. The final score was 1-0.
- The Orediggers own back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for the first time since 2015.
- Debuire's goal was his third of the season and Zobott's marked his sixth of the year.
- King continues leading the Orediggers in assists with nine on the season. Edwards' assist was the senior's fourth of the season and 12th of his career.
- In the last seven days, Colorado School of Mines soccer has knocked off both #1-ranked teams in the nation after Mines' women defeated UCCS, 2-0, in the RMAC Tournament Championship match.
- Greg Mulholland boasts an overall record of 50-9-6 in three seasons as Mines' head coach. Saturday marked his second win in the NCAA Tournament. He is 2-2-1 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will travel to Los Angeles in two weeks to face Cal St. San Bernardino on the campus of Cal St. LA. Additional information on the matchup will be available after Thanksgiving at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.