#9 Mines (12-1-3, 9-0-2) vs. Regis (10-4-2, 9-1-1) – Wednesday, 6 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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THIS IS IT
Just one match remains for Mines before postseason play opens and the RMAC Championship is on the line in a showdown with Regis Wednesday night at Stermole Stadium. The Orediggers will be seeking their sixth RMAC Regular Season title in program history and first since 2018.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Wednesday's will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through Sidearm.
 
SUPER SIX
As Wednesday is the final home match of the regular season, the Orediggers will be recognizing the six seniors on this year's team. Those playing their final home match include Meg Zimmerman, Amena Nelson, Eliot Edwards, Karolina Sidebaeck, Jordan Barnhart and Lauren Sherburne.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Kevin Fickes is in his 13th season leading the Mines women's soccer program, already the program's all-time leader in wins at 203-36-35. His .805 career win percentage is currently among the top-10 active NCAA Division II coaches, and Friday at CCU he became just the second RMAC coach to reach 200 career victories, joining current UCCS boss J.B. Belzer. Through 2021, Fickes has overseen 24 All-American selections, 12 Academic All-Americans, 63 all-conference honorees, and 19 RMAC major award winners while guiding Mines to five RMAC regular-season titles and eight RMAC Tournament trophies, with 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
WELCOME TO THE 200 CLUB
As previously mentioned, head coach Kevin Fickes collected his 200th career win on October 6 when Mines defeated Colorado Christian in Lakewood 3-0 behind goals from Colleen Tyrrell and Reese McDermott. Fickes, who took over as head coach ahead of the 2010 season, has won no fewer than 11 games in a season during his tenure at Mines, notwithstanding the 2020-21 season played in the spring on account of CoVID-19. The Orediggers are poised for another double-digit win season again in 2022, currently having won nine times this season and sit just two points back of Regis for the top spot in the league as they pursue a sixth RMAC regular season crown.

WEARING THE ARMBAND
The Orediggers have selected Jordan Barnhart and Meg Zimmerman as their captains for the 2022 season. Barnhart is entering her third season as a starter at centerback and played more minutes than any other Oredigger last season in guiding a defense that had a 0.73 GAA. Zimmerman, a forward, is a fifth-year senior returning from an injury-shortened 2021 season that saw her score a goal in the season opener; she has five career goals and three assists.
 
WEEK NINE REVIEW
Mines scored early and never looked back Sunday afternoon against CSU Pueblo, cruising to a 4-0 win over the ThunderWolves for their seventh win the last nine meetings. Reese McDermott returned to the lineup and announced her presence with two goals, one in each half, to become the first Mines player to score 10 or more goals in a season since Nicole LaTourette did it in 2019. Paola Rubi and Katie Koehler also found the net while Sadie Wolf and the defense kept CSUP off the board and allowing just three shot attempts over the course of 90 minutes. With the win, Mines now moves atop the RMAC standings, holding a one-point lead over Regis for the regular season title.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were chosen atop the RMAC preseason coaches' poll announced earlier this season and rose on spot to #9 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top-25 poll this week. It was a close race in the RMAC poll with Mines, UCCS, and Colorado Mesa all splitting the bulk of the first-place votes and just three points overall separating the three teams. One of Mines' previous opponents, Dallas Baptist, continues to remain in sole possession of first place in the poll, while early season foe Angelo State returns to the rankings at #23 while Seattle Pacific and Westminster are receiving votes this week.
 
ON TRACK
This year's roster boasts not one, but two dual-sport athletes as both senior Amena Nelson and freshman Callie Fuhr will spend their winters and springs competing for the Mines track & field program. Nelson can rightly claim to be the RMAC's fastest woman on the track or the pitch, coming off a superb outdoor season that saw her win the RMAC 400m dash title and claim RMAC 4x400 gold both indoors and out. Fuhr is also a 400m runner as a four-time Colorado 5A state qualifier and two-time top-10 placer in the event.  

THEM'S THE 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.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers dropped their first RMAC contest of the season last time out on Thursday against UCCS, falling 2-0 to the Mountain Lions in Colorado Springs as their three-match winning streak came to an end. One the year, the Rangers have a pair of six-goal scorers in Kelby Kuo and Audrey Teague, with the latter also tied for the team lead in assists at three alongside Natalie Bunch. Bunch has also scored three times as has Madison Hand, while six other players have found the next this season, while 11 different players account for the team's 18 assists this season. In goal, it has been Katelyn Martin for more than 1,400 minutes this season, as she has started 16 of 17 matches and made 77 saves, second most in the RMAC in 2022, to go with a GAA of 0.89 and an .846 save percentage and seven shutouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers suffered their first loss to the Rangers since 2014 last season, dropping a 1-0 contest in overtime on the road in Denver. All-time, Mines leads the series 18-9-2 and had won six the last eight meetings before last season. Close matches have been common in the series as well, as six times since 2014 the teams have gone to overtime.
 
LOOKING AT THE STAT SHEET
With match number 17 of the season coming up, Reese McDermott remains the team leader in scoring with 11 goals and now has 23 points on the season, and trails only Lila Dere of CMU for the league lead in scoring. Laura Butler added an assist Sunday and continues to lead the team in that department with six in addition to scoring five times herself. Afton Rasco has also scored five times while Katie Koehler and Paola Rubi are now up to four goals each on the season, joining Jordan Barnhart for the fourth-most on the club. For the season, Mines has outscored the opposition 41-11 and recorded 30 assists on those goals. In goal, Sadie Wolf collected her fourth shutout in her first six collegiate matches and has now logged 540 minutes between the pipes, making 12 saves and recording a GAA 0.50. Emma Carstens, who started the first nine matches of the season in goal, has a team-high 20 saves in 791 minutes and five shutouts while posting a GAA of 0.91 while Allie Lundgren has four saves in 109 minutes without allowing a goal.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Up next for the Orediggers, the 2022 RMAC Women's Soccer Championship which will begin Sunday October 30 at 12 p.m. at Stermole Stadium. The top eight teams in the league will advance to the postseason, with the top four seeds all hosting matches in the first round. The semifinals are set for Wednesday November 2 and the championship match the weekend of November 5-6.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on Twitter at @mineswsoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.