#15 (1) Mines (12-4-2, 9-1-0) vs (4) UCCS (11-4-4, 5-3-2) – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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POSTSEASON PLAY BEGINS
After locking up the top seed and a first-round bye in the 2022 RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament after capturing a sixth-straight regular season title, the #15 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team will open their postseason campaign in pursuit of their 11th tournament title on Sunday afternoon at Stermole Stadium, when they take on fourth-seeded UCCS at 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.
 
WEEK NINE RECAP
Mines closed out the regular season in style, posting a pair of shutout wins over Colorado Mesa and Westminster to secure the RMAC regular season championship for the 12th time in program history. Azad Iliozer kicked things off Friday against the Mavericks before Tristan Semelsberger added two of his own as the second half outburst propelled Mines to a 3-0 win. Sunday's regular season finale saw the Orediggers race out to a 3-0 first half lead before tacking on a fourth goal in the second half , as Semelsberger, Iliozer, Ian Kugler and Gabriel Rodriguez all found the net while Brian Doherty, Kenneth Symmes and the defense posted the team's ninth shutout of the season.
 
BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
Thursday saw the RMAC release the All-Conference teams and major award winners for the 2022 soccer season, and Mines was well-represented on the list. Head Coach Greg Mulholland was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time after leading the Orediggers to a sixth consecutive regular season title, while six players garnered All-RMAC honors. Tristan Semelsberger, Michael Sprauer and Lucas King were all named First Team selections, with Azad Iliozer earning Second Team laurels. Brian Doherty and Caelin David rounded out the contingent, as both were named Honorable Mention selections.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The Mountain Lions opened their postseason Thursday night at home against Regis in the first round of the 2022 RMAC Tournament. UCCS scored twice in the first half and added a third goal in the final seven minutes but couldn't quite complete the shutout against the Rangers, surrendering a late PK goal in regulation but secured a 3-1 win to advance to Sunday's semifinal match against Mines. The win last night was the first for the Mountain Lions since October 9 against Fort Lewis, as they went 0-3-1 to close the regular season with a draw against Colorado Christian and losses to Mines, CSU Pueblo and MSU Denver. First Team All-RMAC selection Kolby Raineri continues to lead the team in goals (11), assists (8) and points (30) while fellow First Teamer Marvin Putu ranks second in each of the aforementioned categories, with seven goals, six assists and 20 points. 14 other players have scored this season for UCCS, with five of those scoring at least twice. RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year Matteo Moreno Madrid helped lead a defense that allowed less than 0.65 goals per game while in goal, Second Team All-RMAC selection Declan Domyan started 18 times and logged 1,572 minutes and posted 59 saves, fourth most in the league, and recorded seven shutouts while posting a saver percentage of .855 and a GAA of 0.57.
 
SERIES HISTORY
In their first matchup this season back on October 16, Mines knocked off UCCS 1-0 to extend their winning streak in the series to nine and move to 49-15-3 all-time. The Orediggers haven't lost in the series since 2014 and haven't dropped a match in Golden since 2005. The last postseason meeting between the two came in 2018, when Mines posted a 3-1 win over the Mountain Lions before going on to take the tournament title over Colorado Mesa two days later.
 
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 83-18-11 overall with a mark of 57-3-6 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 four-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
As the postseason gets underway, Tristan Semelsberger's 13 goals lead the team and are tied for the RMAC lead, while Azad Iliozer is second on the team in goals and assists with six and five respectively. Chris Seery and Michael Sprauer each have five scores to their ledgers this season while Gabriel Rodriguez netted his fourth in the win over Westminster. He and Seery each have three assists, third most on the club while Lucas King leads the team with six, tied for fourth in the conference. In goal, Brian Dohertyhas played over 1,382 minutes this season and notched seven shutouts while making 47 saves to rank among the league leaders and posted a GAA of 0.98 and a saver percentage of .758. Fellow senior Kenneth Symmes helped post the team's ninth shutout of the year against Westminster Sunday and has started once in five appearances for 238 minutes this season, registering six saves and allowing just two goals against 14 total shots for a .750 save percentage and a 0.76 GAA.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Two different Orediggers are currently making moves in the program record book. Lucas has passed Tesho Akindele and moved into sole possession of second place all-time with 34 assists. 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 Colorado Mesa in the penultimate match of the regular season gives him 15 in his career and moves him into a tie for fourth all-time with Kevin Galloway (2003-06).
 
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 season while making an appearance at #20 in the first United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 of the season. This week, Mines advanced one spot up to #15 in this week's edition of the poll. 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, early season foe Cal Poly Pomona remains at #13 with CSU Pueblo moving into the #10 spot while Western Washington is receiving votes. In the latest batch of regional rankings, the Orediggers currently sit sixth among the 12 teams in Super-Region 4 currently under consideration for the NCAA Tournament.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Orediggers advance, the RMAC Tournament Final will be held Friday evening November 4 at 6 p.m. at Stermole Stadium against the winner of CSU Pueblo and Westminster.
 
Fans are reminded that there is no passlist for the postseason. All students with a valid ID card will be admitted free of charge to all matches. All matches will be streamed on the RMAC Network. Tickets and additional tournament information can be found here.
 
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.