Mines (3-1-0) at Western Washington (0-2-0) – Thursday, 7 p.m. PT – Bellingham, Wash. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (3-1-0) at #11 Seattle Pacific (1-0-1) – Saturday, 7 p.m. PT – Seattle, Wash. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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HITTIN' THE ROAD
After three home matches and one local trip, the Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team takes its first true road trip of the year this Thursday-Saturday to the Pacific Northwest. The Orediggers face Western Washington in Bellingham on Thursday at 7 p.m. (PT) before coming back south to Seattle where they take on #11-ranked Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. (PT) on Saturday evening.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Western Washington policy requires face coverings/masks for all fans and social distancing in the stands is required. Seattle Pacific is also welcoming fans to their stadium and similar expectations should be anticipated.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both of this week's matches will be streamed live on YouTube with links offered above.
 
LAST WEEK
Mines suffered its first loss of the season last week at the hands of Regis in Denver. The Rangers claimed a 2-1 victory thanks to an early goal in each half. Lucas King provided the Orediggers' lone tally on a free kick for his first goal of the season. Mines bounced back on Friday with a 2-0, non-conference victory over Fort Lewis at Stermole Stadium. Quin Collins and Zane Sokolowski both scored the first goals of their respective Oredigger careers. Azad Iliozer and Lucas King chipped in on the assists. Additionally, Kenneth Symmes made his first start in goal wearing a Mines kit and recorded the shutout and the victory thanks to two saves.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings of Western Washington welcome Mines to the far northwest after a two week break following their season openers. A 1-0 loss at Chico State and a 2-0 defeat at Sonoma State put WWU's record at 0-2-0 early in the year. With no scoring yet, Drew Farnsworth and Alex Whiting serve as the offensive leaders with three shots apiece. Goalkeeper Brandon Wolter boasts 10 saves in 180 minutes compared to three goals against while facing 31 shots. Last spring, the Vikings completed a 3-1-1 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That followed 13-5-1 campaign in 2019 in which they advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to St. Mary's in the first round.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
Seattle Pacific started the season completely unranked without even receiving a vote in the preseason poll. The Falcons posted a 2-0-0 start with a 2-1 win at Sonoma State and a 1-0, overtime victory at Chico State. Those results pushed SPU from unranked to #14. During the Falcon's idle week, they jumped to #11 in the nation. Alex Mejia owns two of SPU's three goals thanks to six shots with five going on frame. Three different Falcons tout assists. Goalkeeper Lars Helleren boasts 16 saves on 25 shots and has surrendered only one goal in 188 minutes of action. Seattle Pacific was 3-2-1 in the spring and 7-9-1 in 2019. The Falcons are playing under the guidance of an interim head coach in Kevin Sakuda.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines is 1-1-0 in the all-time series against Western Washington while leading 2-1-0 against Seattle Pacific. The Orediggers last played both teams in 2019 when they hosted WWU and SPU in Golden. It proved to be a split weekend as Mines defeated the Falcons 2-1 before falling to the Vikings 4-3 in overtime. Prior to the 2019 affair, the Orediggers hadn't faced either team since 1998.
 
CLIMBING THE LADDER
With a record book filled with names like Tesho Akindele, John Haist, Niki Grotz and more, new entries can be hard to come by. However, in his fifth season with the Orediggers, Lucas King is making his move. Through four games in the fall of 2021, King leads Mines in scoring with six points on four assists and one goal. Those four assists (one per game) have the Seattle, Wash., native boasting 20 assists in his career. That number ranks #6 on the Orediggers' all-time list. The only former players for Mines with more assists in more than 60 years as a program are Niki Grotz, Tesho Akindele, Jared Peacock and Alex Nass.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
After starting the season ranked #8 in the nation, Mines rose to #4 following their first 2-0-0 start since 2015. However, last week's loss to Regis dropped the Orediggers completely outside the top-25 and into the receiving votes section. Meanwhile, Seattle Pacific rose to #11 without playing a match and Regis – the team that dealt Mines the loss rose to #22. Additionally, Colorado Mesa took over the #10 spot.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
While coaches, fans and staff alike tend to lean towards the superstitious side, this author cannot do his job without acknowledging the following. After starting the season 3-1 with all three wins coming at home, the Orediggers extended their home winning streak to 13. In fact, the last team to defeat Mines at Stermole Stadium was Western Washington on Sept. 16, 2019. Furthermore, the Orediggers have won 29 consecutive home matches against RMAC opponents. They haven't lost to a conference foe at home since Oct. 1, 2017 when MSU Denver claimed a 1-0 victory. And now you know.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines rounds out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Sept. 24 and Sept. 26. The Orediggers host CSU Pueblo in a non-conference showdown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before heading in to MSU Denver for a 12 p.m. kickoff on Sunday. Tickets are available online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will also be linked 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.