CARSON, Calif. – The #14 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team saw their remarkable 2022 season come to an end Saturday evening in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, dropping a 3-1 contest to #3 Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
The Orediggers (13-5-3) fell behind near the midway point of the first half and allowed two more goals to the Toros (15-1-5) in the opening moments of the second half fall behind 3-0. Michael Sprauer found the net in the final five minutes of regulation and looked to light a fire and spark a rally, but it wasn't meant to be as Dominguez Hills advanced to the third round with a 3-1 win.
 
Back in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row, the #14 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team lined up opposite #3 Cal State Dominguez Hills in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.
 
Dominguez Hills put up the first shot of the evening in the third minute, when Martin Velasquez pulled up from distance but missed just outside the far post. Kenneth Symmes made his first save of the night in the ninth minute when he turned away a try off the foot of Jhoel Sarraude
 
Quin Collins turned in Mines' first shot attempt of the night in the 19th minute, but his touch was a bit too wide as his shot missed just wide of the right post.
 
Sulaiman Bah scored the night's first goal in the 21st minute, as Michael McKibbin received a pass into the box and dished back out toward the top of the area, where a waiting Bah beat a diving try from Symmes to make it 1-0.
 
The Orediggers had a pair of promising looks at an equalizer, but tries from Caelin David and Azad Iliozer in the 28th and 32nd minutes were both blocked by the defense. Likewise, CSUDH had a pair of shots from McKibbin and Christian Briseno but both shots missed wide as it remained a 1-0 game.
 
Chunghwan Lee put up a shot in the 43rd minute, but he too misfired as the Toros remained unable to add onto their lead as the first 45 minutes came and went, as Dominguez Hills finished the half with a 6-3 edge in shots.
 
Dominguez Hills scored their second goal of the night shortly after the action resumed in the 47th minute. A free kick from near midfield was played to the edge of the 18-yard box where it was played back out to Zane Baumgart, who passed ahead to McKibbin who snuck a shot in a tight window between Symmes and the near post to make it a 2-0 game.
 
A deep throw in in the 50th minute by Lucas King set up a promising opportunity for the Orediggers to get on the board, as the throw in was headed across the face of goal by Chris Seery as Michael Sprauer came charging in, but was just a step late as the cross sailed out of bounds.
 
The Toros added their third goal of the evening in the 53rd minute, as Jesus Virgen pulled up from about 25 yards out on a ball played back out from back to find the upper right corner to make it a three-goal advantage.
 
Backs against the wall, the Orediggers tried to find a way through the Toros defense. Tristan Semelsberger and Ian Kugler both put up shots, but both ended up either being blocked or saved as it remained 3-0.
 
The Toros kept up the offensive pressure as they looked to keep adding on. A save by Symmes denied Sarraude in the 64th minute was bracketed by a pair of misfires. Iliozer had another look in the 66th minute, but much like most of Mines' shot in the match, it too was blocked.
 
As time wound down, the intensity increased as play became more aggressive on both sides of the ball. Jonh Burnett had a shot to get Mines on the board in the 77th minute, but he missed just wide right before Marc Zimmerman's shot in the 80th was again blocked away.
 
Sprauer missed just high over the crossbar in the 83rd minute, but found pay dirt just two minutes later, as he fired a strike into the lower right corner on a ball from Gabriel Rodriguez to break up the shutout and make it 3-1.
 
Having been given some life, Mines looked to try and to rally in the closing minutes, as Rodriguez ripped a shot that was blocked while another volley from Sprauer was saved by Sebastian Ascencio. Dominguez Hills looked to answer back as a shot from Alfredo Garcia was on target but saved by Symmes. Kugler put up a shot in the moments that followed as Mines turned up the offensive pressure, but Ascensio was there to make the save. Unfortunately for the Orediggers, a comeback wasn't in the cards as the Toros advanced to the third round with a 3-1 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Sprauer's goal was his seventh of the season, now second-most on the team and was good for the 13th of his career
-Rodriguez's assist was his fourth of the season, now third-most on the team
-Nine different players recorded a shot attempt in the match
-The senior class on this year's team finished their career with a record of 84-19-12 with five NCAA Tournament appearances, six-straight RMAC regular season titles and five RMAC tournament titles
-Mines finished the season with 13 wins, marking the 13th time in the last 14 seasons they've hit double-digit wins with the lone exception being the CoVID-shortened spring 2021 season
 
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.