Mines (9-3-2, 6-0-0) vs. #3 CSU Pueblo (11-2-1, 5-0-1) – Thursday, 5 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (9-3-2, 6-0-0) vs. #17 UCCS (10-1-3, 5-0-1) – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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THE HOME STRETCH
Only four matches remain in the regular season for the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team, as three of those four dates will be played in the familiar confines of Stermole Stadium against the two teams immediately trailing Mines in the RMAC standings, beginning this Thursday October 13 with a rematch against #3 CSU Pueblo before taking on #17 UCCS Sunday afternoon October 16 in a contest set for 2:30 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through SIDEARM.
 
HAVE A SLICE AND KICK IT
Thursday night's match with #3 CSU Pueblo also features free pizza from Dominos for Colorado School of Mines students who attend the match at Stermole Stadium while supplies last. Plan accordingly, bring your Blaster Card and get loud.
 
WEEK SEVEN RECAP
The Orediggers chalked up two more wins over the weekend to remain unbeaten in RMAC play and maintain their position atop the conference standings heading into this weekend's matches. Last weekend, Mines wrapped up a season-long four-match road trip against South Dakota Mines and Regis. Friday against the Hardrockers, the Orediggers raced out to an early 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes before SDM worked their way back to tie things with less than 20 minutes to play. With time ticking down, it was Michael Sprauer who played the hero, scoring on a pass from Azad Iliozer with 14 seconds remaining to record a 3-2 win. Sunday against the Rangers, it was Sprauer who scored the game winner, this time doing so in the sixth minute before Chris Seery added an insurance goal late in the second half, while Brian Doherty recorded four saves in goal as her recorded his fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
Thursday night will be the second time the Thunderwolves and Orediggers have met in 2022. The teams tangled previously almost a month ago back on September 15 in Pueblo in a match that was scoreless through the first half but saw a four-goal second half outburst from CSUP that ended up being the difference. Gabriel Campora, who scored twice in that match and assisted on a third goal, leads the team and the RMAC with 11 goals and 25 points, which is second in the league. Behind Campora offensively are Ricardo Schroeder with six goals and three assists, and Division I transfer Reggie Nicolas with five goals and two assists. Mario Sandoval, who also scored in the September 15 match, leads the team with five assists. In goal, Nils Roth, who was named RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week on Tuesday, has started all 14 matches for the Thunderwolves and played 1,100 minutes, recording 17 saves to rank in the top 10 of the RMAC while posting four shutouts and a GAA of 0.65. CSUP brings a four-match winning streak to Golden, outscoring their opponents 13-2 during that span.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
UCCS has also won their last four matches heading into this weekend and takes on CCU Thursday night before making the trip to Golden Sunday. The Mountain Lions are so far unbeaten on the road in 2022, posting a record of 3-0-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to Northwest Nazarene in a neutral site contest back on September 1. Offensively, Kolby Raineri leads the club in both goals and assists with 11 and eight respectively for a total of 30 points, all of which either lead or are tied for the league lead. Marvin Putu is next on the list with seven goals and six assists and has four game-winning scores this season. Liam McGuire and Lars Walczyk each have four goals to their ledgers while nine other players have at least one goal this season. In goal, Declan Domyan has started all 14 matches and played all but 48 minutes this season and has six shutouts and 44 saves, fourth-most in the RMAC, along with a GAA of 0.52, the best mark in the league.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday with be the 60th meeting between Mines and CSU Pueblo with the Thunderwolves having on the last two meetings and three of the last five, including the first match this season in non-conference play. Overall, Mines leads the series 41-12-6 and is 23-5-1 all-time at home but hasn't notched a home win since a 1-0 contest in 2019. Sunday will be the 64th time the Orediggers and Mountain Lions have tangled with Mines leading the series 48-15-3 and having won the previous eight meetings dating back to 2015. Mines is 26-6-2 at home against UCCS, most recently winning 2-0 in Golden back in 2019.
 
THE SKIPPER
Head Coach Greg Mulholland joined the program in 2007 as an assistant coach before taking over as interim head coach in 2017 and full head coach in 2018, making the 2022 season his 16th with the Orediggers. Through five years at the helm, Mulholland 80-17-11 overall with a mark of 54-2-6 in RMAC play. His overall winning percentage through the 2021 season ranks #1 among all active coaches in NCAA Division II with a minimum of five years as a DII head coach. Last season, Mulholland became the first men's soccer coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to win five straight RMAC regular-season championships. He is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year and headed the 2019 and 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches South Central Region Staffs of the Year.
 
THEY ARE THE CAPTAINS NOW
One day prior to the season opener, Coach Mulholland announced that the 2022 team captains are Lucas King and Grant Bell. King is entering his sixth season with the program and fifth as a starter between outside back and the midfield. He led the team in assists in 2021 on his way to Second-Team All-America status. Bell, an outside back, is a true sophomore who started 13 of 20 matches in 2021 and appeared in 18 while scoring one goal with two assists and serving on a back line that helped post eight shutouts thanks to a combined 0.87 goals-against average.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Looking at the season stats with just four matches before the postseason, Tristan Semelsberger leads Mines with nine goals and saw his streak of five consecutive matches with a goal come to an end Sunday at Regis. The Los Alamos native ranks third in the RMAC in goals and fourth with 19 points. Chris Seery and Michael Sprauer each scored twice over the weekend to raise their season scoring totals to five goals each, second only to Semelsberger. Azad Iliozer recorded two saves against South Dakota Mines while Lucas King added one against Regis, giving both five dimes on the season to lead the team. All told, nine different players have scored and 11 have registered an assist for Mines in 2022. In goal, Brian Doherty continues to be the main man between the pipes, playing 1,067 minutes this season and logging 26 svaes and turning in five clean sheets along with a GAA of 1.10. Kenneth Symmes, who played the second half Friday against SDM to earn the win, has six saves against 12 shots faced and a GAA of 0.93.
 
ON A HOT STREAK
Chris Seery has been undoubtedly one of the hottest players in the RMAC in recent weeks, having registered a point in seven consecutive matches going back to Westminster on September 18. Over that span, he has scored in five matches, recorded an assist in three and Sunday was able to do both against the Rangers, assisting on the first goal of the game before scoring in the closing moments. His 13 points on the season are second-most on the team behind Semelsberger and currently tied with Azad Iliozer.

SPRAUER TAKES HOME PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Midfielder Michael Sprauer was recognized Tuesday by the RMAC as the league's Offensive Player of the Week after he scored game-winning goals in both of Mines' wins last weekend over SDM and Regis. It is the first time Sprauer has won the award in his career. as he joins Tristan Semelsberger and Lucas King (9/27), and Brian Doherty (10/4) as the fourth Oredigger to win a weekly accolade this season.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Two different Orediggers are currently making moves in the program record book. Lucas has passed Jared Peacock's mark of 32 and is now tied with Tesho Akindele at #2 all-time with 33. King now needs eight more assists to break Niki Grotz' (2014-17) all-time record of 41. Also making moves is goalkeeper Brian Doherty. His shutout against San Francisco State gave him sole possession of #5 on the Orediggers' all-time shutouts list. Doherty's 13 clean sheets during his time at Mines put him ahead of OJ Bullard (2000-03) and sit two back of Kevin Galloway (2003-06) at #4 with 15.
 
NEW RULES
NCAA soccer has implemented a major rule change this season with the elimination of overtime in the regular season, bringing college soccer more in line with the FIFA Laws of the Game. Any match that is tied at the 90-minute mark will now end that way. In the postseason, there will be overtime but no more golden goal; teams will play two full 10-minute extra periods regardless of any goals and if it is still tied, the advancing team will be decided on penalty kicks.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines was picked #2 in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll announced earlier this month while making an appearance at #20 in the first United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 of the season. The Orediggers were edged on the conference list by Colorado Mesa which earned eight first-place votes and 97 points while Mines totaled three first-place votes and 92 points. On the national list, CSU Pueblo checks in this week at #3 with UCCS surges into the Top 25 at #17, while early-season opponents Cal Poly Pomona and Western Washington check in at #14 and #24 respectively.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's matches at Stermole, just two more dates remain on the regular season calendar. Mines will head to Grand Junction Friday October 21 to take on Colorado Mesa at 7 p.m. before returning to Golden Sunday October 23 for an 11 a.m. match with Westminster before the RMAC Tournament begins.
 
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.