Mines (2-2-0) vs. South Dakota Mines (1-2-0) – Friday, 7:30 p.m. – Stermole Stadium [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (2-2-0) vs. UCCS (1-1-1) – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. – Stermole Stadium [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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GAME DAY INFO
New in 2019, fans can purchase digital tickets online in advance via Mines' new ticketing portal, or buy them at the gate on game day. Ticket pricing remains the same as 2018 at $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military, and children. Mines students, faculty, and staff are free with their Blaster Card. No dogs (except service animals) are permitted at Stermole Stadium.
 
LIVE VIDEO AND THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and all RMAC contests can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at www.minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC".
 
RMAC ACTION BEGINS
The start of conference play has arrived for NCAA Division II Men's Soccer as the Colorado School of Mines begins its slate against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents this Friday and Sunday. The Orediggers host South Dakota Mines on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and UCCS on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Both contests are part of a soccer doubleheader with Mines' women hosting Western Colorado Friday and Colorado Mesa Sunday at 5 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.
 
WEATHER REPORT
Friday's forecast for the start of the men's game projects temperatures around 70 degrees with clear skies and just a 2% chance of precipitation. It should be a cool comfortable evening that may require a light jacket or sweatshirt as the temperature drops through the evening. Sunday should be similar with a game-time temperature of 74 degrees, sunny skies and a 10% chance of precipitation. The high on Sunday is a cool, comfortable 77 degrees so it may be wise to bring a jacket, but maybe some sunscreen as well.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines has split its first two weekends of action at an even record of 2-2. After going 1-1 in Texas against St. Mary's and St. Edward's, the Orediggers opened at home with a 1-0 win over Seattle Pacific last Friday followed by a 4-3 loss in overtime to Western Washington on Monday. Lucas King scored Mines' lone goal against SPU thanks to an assist from Ben Overholt. Drew Johnson notched the shutout in goal thanks to six saves. Monday's offensive outburst featured tallies from Ryan Wilson and Greyson Adams courtesy of assists from King and Zobott. It marked their first goals of the season and first assists of the season for the Oredigger quartet. Mines' third score was an own goal by Western Washington. Unfortunately, the Vikings found victory on a penalty-kick, golden goal in the 96th minute. Johnson recorded five saves in the loss.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
Friday also marks the start of RMAC play for South Dakota Mines. The Hardrockers went 1-2 in non-conference action due to a 2-1 loss to Texas A&M-International and a 4-0 loss at Montana State Billings. South Dakota Mines' lone victory came in 2-1 fashion at home versus University of Mary out of North Dakota. Sterling McKenzie, George Martinez and Brenden Sherwin account for the trio of goals on the season. Only one tally was assisted and that came from Nick House. Martinez serves as the overall leader on offense, boasting a team-high nine shots and six shots on goal this season. Riley Dunne and Tyler Ring have split the goalkeeping duties. Dunne has given up six goals and made 10 saves over 180:00 minutes. Ring touts a goals-against average of 1.00 in one start where he played all 90 minutes and made three saves. Ryan Thompson is SDSMT's first-year head coach after serving as an assistant on the Hardrockers' staff. He takes over for Andrew Conniff who is now on the Western Slope as the head coach at Colorado Mesa.
 
WHAT'S A HARDROCKER
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology boasts Hardrockers as its nickname which refers to a miner who specializes in the extraction of harder minerals as opposed to coal or softer sediment. Grubby the Miner is their mascot. However, the athletic teams were originally named the Longhairs when the first football team formed in 1895. Despite a variety of connotations and denotations, "longhair" is defined by Dictionary.com as "an intellectual" or, "a person, often gifted, who is very interested in or devoted to the arts". The school eventually switched to the Hardrockers which is a miner engaged in or skilled at working hard rock as distinct from coal or sedimentary deposits. SDSMT transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2013 and accepted an invitation to the RMAC in 2014.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will open its conference campaign on Friday at Regis before heading to Golden for Sunday's showdown. UCCS' non-conference slate featured similar opponents to Mines in the form of St. Mary's and St. Edward's The Mountain Lions defeated St. Mary's 1-0 and battled to a 3-3 draw against SEU. At 1-1-1 overall, UCCS' lone loss came in its season opener at Lubbock Christian, 1-0. Similar to SDSMT, the Mountain Lions' offense has been balanced. Alex VonHolle, Liam McGuire, Sam Bonano and Zane Baumgardt have all scored goals. VonHolle and McGuire both have assists to share the team lead in the points column at three apiece. Scott Jensen is the man in net. His goals-against average is 1.24 due to four tallies surrendered in three matches. He also has 11 saves. Brian Miller is UCCS' head man, entering his second season at the helm and ninth campaign with the program. With Miller in the fold, the Mountain Lions have gone 72-59-15 and earned a postseason bid to eight consecutive RMAC Tournaments.
 
WORTH ONE DOLLAR
Last season, a number of facts were provided regarding UCCS' Mountain Lions nickname. While there may be a return to the standard nickname dissection, there is a wealth of interesting tidbits surrounding UCCS' campus. The campus was originally Cragmor Sanatorium, essentially a rehab facility/hospital, opened in 1905 and nicknamed "Sun Palace". The health spa's white-collar clientele led to its demise during The Great Depression. Despite efforts to revive the Sanatorium, it was eventually sold to the State of Colorado for one dollar in 1964 and became property of the University of Colorado. Thus, UCCS was born – for the price of a candy bar. And now you know.
 
STERMOLE SOCCER STADIUM
Stermole Soccer Stadium, named in honor of Frank and Dot Stermole in the fall of 2014, is located in the heart of the Clear Creek Athletic Complex. Stermole Stadium has an artificial all-weather pitch and seating accommodations for 500 spectators with spectacular views of Golden, North Table Mountain, and the foothills. Hillside grass seating can accommodate hundreds more spectators. Stermole Stadium has hosted several major events, including numerous RMAC and NCAA Tournament games. The United States women's national team trained at Stermole Stadium in April 2014 ahead of their friendly against China at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's matchup with the engineering school to the north marks the sixth-ever meeting between the Orediggers and SDSMT. The home team boasts an all-time record of 6-0-0 after sweeping both matches last season by scores of 3-0 and 5-1. Providing stark contrast to such a short-lived rivalry, Sunday will be the 56th showdown between Mines and UCCS. The Orediggers lead the series 38-14-3. Sunday is also a rematch of the 2018 RMAC Tournament Semifinal which Mines won 3-1. The Orediggers were also victorious in the regular-season contest by a margin of 4-1. Mines currently boasts a six-game winning streak against the Mountain Lions. The Orediggers last loss to UCCS was on Oct. 22, 2014.
 
EARLY LEADERS
After the graduation of Mines' prolific goal scorer John Haist, many were wondering who would take the reins as the Orediggers' offensive target. Through four games, the answer is nobody. Mines has presented a balanced attack with five individuals scoring goals and a quartet of folks accounting for the assists. The early edge may be given to Lucas King who leads the team with five points on two goals and one assist. He is the only Mines player who has multiple goals this season. Right behind him is Ben Overholt, boasting four points on one tally and two assists. Similar to King, Overholt is the only Oredigger will multiple assists. Overholt also leads the team with eight shots while putting three on frame. Ryan Wilson and Ford Edwards have added three shots on goal as well.
 
REVERSE SCOUT
If you're the head coach for South Dakota Mines or UCCS, figuring out which Oredigger to stop could be an issue. Not only is this season's offense a balanced one, but history shows that multiple Orediggers on the current roster have done well against both teams. In fact, eight different players on Colorado School of Mines' 2019 roster have recorded at least one point in a match against South Dakota Mines. Leading the way against the Hardrockers is Baptiste Debuire who scored two goals on Oct. 25 of last season. Additionally, Overholt has one goal and one assists while Lucas King has two assists. And the reverse scout for UCCS doesn't bode any better for the Mountain Lions. Six different Orediggers on the current roster have notched at least one point against UCCS in their careers. Overholt easily leads the way with three assists. Such depth should prove hard to defend this weekend.
 
THAT JUST HAPPENED
Well, it didn't just happen but with South Dakota Mines coming to town, it seems like a good time to remember when Drew Johnson got the first and only assist of his career – as goalkeeper. It happened last season on Sept. 14 in Rapid City, S.D. In the 89th minute, Johnson played a long ball nearly the length of the field. It found Tristan Semelsberger who knocked into the back of the net for his second goal of the season and the third goal of the game. Thus, Johnson finished the game with credit for the shutout and an assist. Thanks for remembering with us.
 
IT'S A RARE THING
Nobody really likes talking about the losses, but Mines' most recent 4-3 defeat to Western Washington brings up some intriguing talking points. For example, Monday marked the first time in over a year that the Orediggers have surrendered four goals in one match. The last time was Sept. 2, 2018 at home against St. Mary's. Prior to that loss to the Rattlers, Mines had not surrendered four goals in one match in nearly five years, dating back to a 5-4 overtime loss at Fort Lewis. Safe to say, the Orediggers giving up four goals does not happen often. That brings up the next point. Despite a slow start, the Orediggers are not known for back-to-back losses. In fact, Mines has not lost two consecutive games since starting the season 0-2 in 2017 – over two years ago. All of that to say, history bodes well for an Oredigger team coming off a loss where it allowed four goals.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines wraps up a six-game homestand Sept. 27 and 29 by hosting Adams State and CSU-Pueblo. Live stats and videos of both contests will be available at www.minesathletics.com.