DURANGO, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team used four saves and a late goal to earn a 1-0 victory over Fort Lewis on Sunday afternoon at Dirks Field.
 
Kenneth Symmes (3-2-0) started the match and played all 90 minutes in goal. He made all four saves required of him to earn his second shutout win of the season. On offense, true freshman Gabe Rodriguez continued his torrid, inaugural campaign by scoring the lone goal of the match. It was his only shot attempt of the game. Michael Sprauer provided the assist from his midfield position. John Burnett tied for the game high with a total of two shots.
 
The victory afforded the Orediggers (7-3, 2-0 RMAC) their seventh consecutive 2-0 start to conference play. Mines earned the decision despite Fort Lewis (4-4-1, 1-1-0 RMAC) outshooting the visitors by a margin of 10-7. Only two of the Orediggers' shots went on goal while the Skyhawks notched four of the same. Mines also overcame 22 fouls and one yellow card compared to 12 and zero for the home team. With the win, the Orediggers remain tied for #1 in the RMAC standings with Regis and Colorado Mesa. Every other men's team in the league has at least one loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Through 45 minutes of hard-fought action at Dirks Field, Mines found itself with just two attempts and no shots on goal. After 65 minutes, the Orediggers had only taken two more shots and found the frame just once. Meanwhile, Fort Lewis quickly accumulated six shots with three on goa, but Symmes had proven up to the task with three saves.
 
Then, with 24 minutes left to play, the decisive build up began. A Patrick Allan throw-in led to a foul near midfield. The ensuing free kick went deep into the FLC zone and eventually was tapped over the end line off the foot of a Sykhawk defender for an Oredigger corner kick. Lucas King's ball from the corner sailed up and over the goal mouth the far sideline where Sprauer retrieved it before giving up a throw-in to the home team. The redshirt senior proceeded to work laterally past one Fort Lewis defender before lofting a pass into the six-yard box. Rodriguez was positioned at the middle of the six-yard line. He timed his leap perfectly to whip a heading attempt sharply past defending Second-Team All-RMAC goalkeeper Peter Byrne and to the back of the net to give Mines a 1-0 lead.
 
The Skyhawks had no answer for the late strike as they managed only one more off-target shot during the final 22 minutes of regulation. Azad Iliozer and Burnett both added attempts of their own in an effort to pad the Oredigger lead, but everything after the 67:59 mark proved academic as the clock struck 00:00 with Mines still in the lead.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved its NCAA-era record against Fort Lewis to 25-30-3.
- Since April 1 of this year, the Orediggers are 5-0-0 against the Skyhawks including three 1-0 victories and four wins by just one goal.
- Rodriguez now boasts four goals in six matches and 124 minutes of action. He is tied for first on the team in goals scored and ranks third in total scoring for Mines.
- Symmes dropped his season and career GAA under 1.00 with the shutout and is now 3-2-1 with two clean sheets in his career as an Oredigger.
- Sunday marked Sprauer's second assist of the season and the third of his career at Mines.
- Previously mentioned FLC goalkeeper Peter Byrne who was named Second-Team All-RMAC last spring has given up 21 goals since March 19, 2021. Mines has scored 10 of those goals.
- The last 10 regular-season matches that the Orediggers have played in Durango have had a final scoring margin of one goal or less. That span dates back to 2010.
- Head Coach Greg Mulholland now holds a career record of 63-13-7 at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers return to action on Wednesday, hosting Colorado Christian at Stermole Stadium in Golden. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets or at the gate on the day of the game. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will also be offered at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's soccer on Twitter at @MinesMSOC. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.