(2) #9 Mines (15-1-3, 10-0-2 RMAC) vs. (6) #19 UCCS (14-3-4, 9-1-2 RMAC) – Sunday, 1 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

THE ROAD TO SEATTLE
Coming off a 2022 RMAC Women's Soccer Tournament title, #9 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team will begin their run in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Sunday afternoon at Stermole Stadium in a 1 p.m. contest against the winner of the first round match played Friday, sixth-seeded #19 UCCS.
 
FAN INFORMATION
For those planning on attending this weekend's matches, tickets can be pre-purchased here. Parking for the matches is available in Lot K located on the north side of Stermole Stadium. On-campus parking for Sunday's match in Lot K will be free of charge. The official digital program of the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship can be accessed on the NCAA Division II women's soccer home page.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The match this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through Sidearm.
 
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 205-36-35. His .804 career win percentage is currently among the top-10 active NCAA Division II coaches, and on October 6 at CCU, he became just the second RMAC coach to reach 200 career victories, joining current UCCS boss J.B. Belzer. Heading into the 2022 national tournament, Fickes has overseen 24 All-American selections, 12 Academic All-Americans, 69 all-conference honorees, and 21 RMAC major award winners while guiding Mines to six RMAC regular-season titles and nine RMAC Tournament trophies, with 14 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.
 
BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
When the RMAC announced their All-Academic teams and Honor Roll along with All-Conference Team and major award winners, the Mines women's soccer program was well-represented. Katie Koehler and Reese McDermott were named All-Academic First Team honorees while an additional 13 players were named to the Academic Honor Roll on Monday. Six Orediggers named All-RMAC selections in addition to earning two superlative awards, while head coach Kevin Fickes was voted Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. Jordan Barnhart was selected as RMAC Defensive Player of the Year and named to the league's First Team, while Afton Rasco was tabbed as the RMAC Freshman of the Year and was named to the Second Team, the only freshman named to either All-RMAC squad. Reese McDermott landed a spot on the First Team for the second time in as many seasons while Laura Butler rounded out the trio of First Team selections with her first career postseason honor. Joining Rasco on the second team was Koehler while Lauren Clingman was named Honorable Mention All-RMAC. In addition, six players landed All-Tournament team honors, headlined by McDermott as the Most Valuable player with Rasco, Butler, Sadie Wolf, Barnhart and Landry Corbett all being recognized for their outstanding efforts in the tournament.
 
WEEK 11 REVIEW
Mines finished off a clean sweep of the 2022 RMAC Women's Soccer Tournament last Saturday, defeating Regis for the second time in less than a week by a score of 2-0 at Stermole Stadium for the program's ninth tournament crown. After a scoreless opening period, the Orediggers struck first in the 66th minute when Afton Rasco managed to get open behind the Rangers' defense and scored on a shallow cross from Landry Corbett for the first goal of the match. Michelle Easley doubled the lead about 10 minutes later, firing a hard angle shot from just about the end line as it deflected off the gloves of the keeper to make it 2-0. Sadie Wolf recorded three saves in goal as the defense held Regis to just nine shots in the match as Mines clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were chosen atop the RMAC preseason coaches' poll announced earlier this season and maintained their standing at #9 in last week's 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 with UCCS checking in rising from 25 to 19, while Seattle Pacific continued to receive votes.
 
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 UCCS
The Mountain Lions knocked off Angelo State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday in overtime. Following a scoreless first half, Fie Steenberg converted a penalty kick in the 60th to break the seal and that looked like it might be enough to win in a battle of conference goalkeepers of the year, but ASU tied things late in regulation, scoring off a corner kick to even the match at 1-1. After the first overtime period saw no change on the scoreboard, the Mountain Lions put up a pair in the final 10 minute period, with Makayla Merlo and Jadyn LeDoux scoring within 67 seconds of each other to secure the 3-1 win to advance. For the season, LeDoux and Kaitlin Hinkle lead UCCS with seven and six goals apiece while both having assisted on an additional four. Sydney Lasater is next on the list with five goals and leads the club with eight assists. In all, 17 different players have scored a goal this season, with 13 scoring at least twice and eight registering four or more goals. Lasater heads up a list of 14 players who have an assist this season, as Fabiola Estrada has six, good for second on the club, while Merlo and Abby Barhydt are tied for third on the club with five assists. In goal, it has been all Alexis Walker in the Mountain Lions' 21 matches this season, playing 1,930 minutes and recording an RMAC-leading 11 shutouts while making 61 saves to post a GAA of 0.79 and a .782 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Against UCCS, Mines leads the series 16-7-2 after coming from behind earlier this season in Colorado Springs to earn a 2-2 draw to snap a two-match losing streak in the series. The Mountain Lions ended the Orediggers' season in 2021, knocking them out of the second round by a score of 2-0. The last Mines home win in the series came back in 2019 by a score of 2-1.
 
LOOKING AT THE STAT SHEET
Reese McDermott logged her team-leading 14th goal of the season in the RMAC semifinals and while she didn't score in the title match, the tournament MVP has found the net at least once in six of the last eight matches she's appeared in. Laura Butler scored twice in the RMAC tournament and has seven goals on the season and is now tied for the team lead in assists at six with Landry Corbett. Afton Rasco and Jordan Barnhart each have six goals and three assists on the season while Paola Rubi has scored five times and assisted on a sixth. 13 different Orediggers have scored this season with 15 recording at least one assist, with Colleen Tyrrell finding herself third in that category, trailing only Butler and Corbett. Freshman netminder Sadie Wolf has been outstanding in goal since taking over the starting job on October 2, logging 920 minutes and recording seven shutouts in 10 matches. She's made 30 saves and allowed just five goals, good for a GAA of 0.49 and an .857 save percentage. Emma Carstens, who started the first nine matches of the year has 20 saves in 791 minutes and recorded five shutouts while posting a 0.91 GAA and .714 save percentage.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Not even two full seasons into her time as an Oredigger, Reese McDermott has penned her name into the record books when it comes to career marks; her 22 career goals are sixth all-time, having now passed Brooke Stoermer (2014-17). In addition, her 47 points are good for eighth, now eclipsing Haley Cole (2014-17) on that list. Her seven game-winning goals are tied for sixth in program history with Erin Onat (2008-11) and Caitlin Kaltenbaugh (2013-16). McDermott is now tied with Anna Evans (2013) for the fourth-most goals in a season at 14. When it comes to shutouts, Sadie Wolf now has seven in her young career and has now passed Penny Rogers (2008-11) for sixth all-time and now trails Sierra Roth (2018-21) by five.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Orediggers advance to the third round, they will travel to the highest remaining in the West Region to take on the winner of South Central region between top seed Dallas Baptist and the winner of the first round match between West Texas A&M and St. Mary's (TX). The top two seeds in the West region are Hawai'i Hilo and Western Washington. The full bracket can be found here.
 
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.