2021 RMAC Tournament Semifinal
#12 Mines (14-3-1, 9-0-1 RMAC) vs. (4) CSU Pueblo (13-4-2, 5-3-2 RMAC) – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. – Stermole Stadium [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket]

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2021 RMAC TOURNAMENT
The #12-ranked Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team begins its postseason run in the RMAC Tournament Semifinal match on Sunday as the Orediggers host CSU Pueblo at Stermole Stadium. The 2:30 p.m. match immediately follows the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinal featuring the Oredigger hosting Westminster. Both tournaments are single elimination, so a loss for either team means they wait until the NCAA Tournament Selection show on Sunday, Nov. 14. If Mines' men win, they will host the RMAC Tournament Championship match on Friday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. at Stermole Stadium.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are reminded that there is no passlist for postseason play and tickets are needed for all spectators, with the exception of Mines students with their BlasterCard, whose admission is covered courtesy of Mines Student Life. Parking for Sunday's doubleheader is free. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All RMAC Tournament matches will be streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network.
 
THE BRACKET
Mines serves as the top seed for the conference postseason after clinching the RMAC's regular-season title outright last weekend. CSU Pueblo earned the #4 seed and defeated fifth-seeded MSU Denver 5-2 in their quarterfinal showdown. On the other side of the bracket, Colorado Mesa claimed the #2 seed and a first-round bye. The Mavericks host sixth-seeded Regis on Sunday after the Rangers upset third-seeded Westminster 1-0 in their quarterfinal match.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Orediggers clinched their fifth straight regular-season title last weekend with a pair of thrilling wins. Mines first toppled then #12-ranked Colorado Mesa by a score of 2-1 thanks to Michael Sprauer's goal off a corner kick from Lucas King in the 109th minute. On Sunday, the Orediggers claimed the title outright thanks to a 1-0 victory at Westminster. Vaughn Simpson scored his first collegiate goal off a throw-in from King just 40 seconds into the match. Goalkeeper Brian Doherty made two saves to get the win against CMU while Kenneth Symmes notched four saves for the shutout victory at WC.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo started the season 4-0 before experiencing somewhat of a lull in its success. However, thanks to their quarterfinal win, the ThunderWolves come to Golden riding a six-match unbeaten streak which includes two draws with one coming against Mines on Oct. 21. Vinzent Zingel is "The Pack's" top scorer with seven goals and four assists. He was voted First-Team All-RMAC earlier this week. Josua Hall is right behind with six goals and one assist which fueled Second-Team All-RMAC distinction. However, defenders should keep their collective eye on Carlos Espinoza who notched a hat trick on Thursday night in the win over the Roadrunners. Espinoza did not appear on any of the All-RMAC teams. Goalkeeper Garret Wild was Honorable Mention All-RMAC thanks to 50 saves and a 0.62 goals-against average. He was 10-3-2 in the regular season with eight clean sheets to himself along with two combined shutouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and CSU Pueblo have played 51 times since 1992 including two showdowns this season. The ThunderWolves won the first meeting in non-conference play by a score of 2-1. In October, the Orediggers battled "The Pack" to a 0-0 draw in Pueblo. Overall, Mines leads the rivalry 36-10-6. That being said, Sunday marks the first RMAC Tournament meeting between the Orediggers and ThunderWolves since 2002, and just the second-ever meeting between the two teams in the history of the conference tournament. Mines won that inaugural meeting as the #1 seed in the semifinal, dismantling "The Pack" by a score of 8-1.
 
RMAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
On Sunday, the Orediggers begin their 22nd consecutive RMAC Tournament run. It also marks Mines' 23rd all-time trip to the conference postseason. The Orediggers' match against CSU Pueblo will be their 37th game in the league tournament. To date, Mines boasts a RMAC Tournament record of 19-10-7. The Orediggers have won five straight championships in the regular season and four consecutive tournament titles. In total, Mines has hoisted nine total RMAC cups while outscoring its opposition by a combined margin of 81-59. The Orediggers have gone to penalty kicks seven different times to decide which team advances. Head Coach Greg Mulholland is undefeated in the RMAC Tournament.
 
ALL-RMAC
Earlier this week, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2021 Men's Soccer All-RMAC teams, and Orediggers filled the list. Greg Mulholland headlined the group as the RMAC Coach of the Year. Lucas King, Tristan Semelsberger and Patrick Allan were First-Team All-RMAC. Michael Sprauer and George Marchant earned Second-Team All-RMAC distinction. No program had more selections to the first and second teams than Mines' five picks. The RMAC Player of the Year was Alex Andersoon from UCCS. Lamar Bynum of CSU Pueblo and Tomas Duenes from Fort Lewis were Co-RMAC Freshmen of the Year. Ethan Anderson from Colorado Mesa claimed RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Connor Durant from CMU was voted RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year.
 
RMAC ALL-ACADEMIC
Two weeks ago, the RMAC unveiled its all-academics teams. Patrick Allan, George Marchant and Michael Sprauer were voted RMAC First-Team All-Academic. No program had more first-team selections than the Orediggers. Additionally, Baptiste Debuire, Josef Emge, Joe George, Kagan Giltinan, Leland Heinicke, Azad Ilizoer, Andres Ocampo, Chris Seery, Vaughn Simpson and Connor van Loveren were placed on the RMAC Academic Honor Roll.
 
MULHOLLAND MAKES HISTORY – AGAIN
In 2019, Mines Head Coach Greg Mulholland became the first skipper in program history to sweep three straight RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles. He extended that streak to four in 2020. This season, Mulholland became the first coach and Mines became the first team in the history of men's soccer in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to win five straight regular-season championships. Mulholland and the Orediggers were previously tied with Fort Lewis which claimed four straight from 2003-06 including a national crown in 2005. The head man for those FLC squads was RMAC Hall of Fame member Jeremy Gunn who is now the head coach at Stanford where he has won three NCAA Division I National Championships. Mulholland, since taking over head duties at Mines in 2017, boasts a career record of 71-13-8 while going 50-2-6 in RMAC play.
 
EVERYONE GETS A GOAL
Vaughn Simpson's goal at Westminster last Sunday made him the 19th Oredigger to find the back of the net this season. Only seven individuals to appear in a match for Mines this fall have not found the back of the net. Two of those Orediggers are goalkeepers and three others play on the back line. Tristan Semelsberger and Gabe Rodriguez lead the team with six goals each. Lucas King leads in overall points thanks to three goals and 12 assists. Speaking of goals, Ian Kugler, Azad Iliozer, Chris Seery, Baptiste Debuire, Lucas King, Michael Sprauer, Patrick Allan, and Tristan Semelsberger have all scored at least one goal at some point in the last three RMAC Tournaments.
 
THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
After clinching the RMAC's regular-season title, Mines jumped from #17 to #12 in the nation. It marked the fourth straight week that the Orediggers improved their standing. Colorado Mesa remained in the polls despite its loss to Mines. The Mavericks slotted in at #16 as the only other RMAC program inside the top-25. CSU Pueblo did appear in the receiving votes section. Other teams featured from Super Region IV included Midwestern State at #6, Cal State L.A. at #8, Azusa Pacific at #10, Seattle Pacific at #18, West Texas A&M at #22 and Cal Poly Pomona at #24.
 
SUPER REGION RANKINGS
As stated last week, with the unveiling of the NCAA Super Region rankings, the national rankings no longer matter. In the second publication of the NCAA's list, Mines jumped from #6 to #2. The NCAA Regional Rankings are the sole decider for which teams qualify for the national postseason. Men's soccer changed to a super region format in 2019. That put the RMAC in Super Region IV with the Lone Star Conference (LSC), California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest). Ten of the 49 teams in those five conferences will earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  As stated above, Mines was #2 in the second rankings of 2021. If that standing holds, the Orediggers will host a first-round match between the #7 and #10 teams before facing the winner of the match. The rest of the top-10 includes Midwestern State at #1, Cal State L.A. at #3, Cal Poly Pomona at #4, Colorado Mesa at #5, West Texas A&M at #6, Azusa Pacific at #7, CSU Pueblo at #8, Biola at #9 and Seattle Pacific at #10. That means if the season ended today, Mines would host a neutral match between Azusa Pacific and Seattle Pacific with the winner face the Orediggers two days later.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
Mines' men have not lost a match since Sept. 24 in a 2-1, non-conference decision at home against CSU Pueblo. That puts the Orediggers on an 11-match unbeaten streak which started with a 4-0, non-conference win at MSU Denver. During the unbeaten run, Mines has registered six shutouts and outscored its opponents 34-7. The streak without a loss also extended the Orediggers' run without a RMAC loss at home to 27 straight. As a bonus, let's not forget that Mines is a perfect 3-0 against nationally-ranked opponents this fall including a 3-1 over #24 St. Mary's, a 3-2 overtime victory at #11 Seattle Pacific and last Friday' 2-1, overtime win against #12 Colorado Mesa.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
If Mines wins on Sunday, the Orediggers will host the winner of Colorado Mesa vs. Regis on Friday at 5 p.m. If Mines falls or fails to advance on penalty kicks, it awaits the NCAA Selection show slated for the evening of Nov. 14.
 
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.