GOLDEN, Colo. – It was a rematch of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Second Round from a year ago Sunday at Stermole Stadium as the #9 Colorado School of Mines hosted #19 UCCS, but as was the case last season, the home team emerged victorious as a second half goal with 20 minutes to play was the difference as Mines advanced to the third round with a 2-1 win.
 
The Orediggers (17-1-3, 10-0-2 RMAC) scored inside the opening minute on yet another goal from Reese McDermott, but the Mountain Lions (14-4-4, 9-1-2) were able to answer in the 16th minute when Kaitlin Hinkle scored the equalizer. As the score remained tied at 1-1 well into the second half, it was Ellise Putnam who was the hero, as her 70th minute goal from Kaitlyn Manalili was the game-winner.
 
McDermott got the afternoon started with a bang right off the opening kick. A disruption from Paola Rubi resulted in a UCCS turnover as she played the ball ahead to Landry Corbett on the far side of the center circle. Corbett then passed ahead to McDermott just outside the 18-yard box as she was able to get behind the defense and win a one-on-one battle with RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Lex White to finish with her right foot and make it 1-0 Orediggers.
 
Right away, the Mountain Lions looked to answer as Kelsey Takahashi and Fie Steenberg both put Sadie Wolf to the test in the opening 10 minutes, but the freshman was able to make a pair of saves on both attempts. It ended up being Kaitlin Hinkle who netted the equalizer in the 16th minute of play, firing a shot past Wolf on a ball ahead from Zoe Sims to bring the match back even at 1-1.
 
Neither side was able to gain much of an advantage in their respective offensive thirds as quality shots were hard to come by. The Orediggers had a trio of shots in succession around the 17-minute mark from Afton Rasco and Jordan Barnhart, but all were either blocked or missed off target. UCCS had the best chance at the third goal of the day shortly before the break, when Emily Aguilar got space and had Wolf beat to the near post, but her shot in fact found post instead of net as the first 45 minutes came and went.
 
UCCS opened the second half and threatened right away on offense, as a pair of shots from Jadyn LeDoux looked promising, but the first was saved by Wolf before the second again ricocheted off the woodwork as it remained a 1-1 contest.
 
It wasn't until the 70th minute that Mines, with just the second shot on goal of the match, was able to regain the lead. A cross into the box from Corbett was headed out to the far side by Amena Nelson to Manalili, who quickly passed back inside to Putnam, who displayed some fancy footwork to elude two defenders before firing a shot past Walker into the lower right corner to make it 2-1 Orediggers.
 
As play resumed, the Mountain Lions again looked for a way to knot things back up with time winding down in hopes of forcing overtime, where they emerged victorious in the first round Friday against Angelo State. Hinkle, LeDoux and Fabiola Estrada all put shots on goal, but Wolf was up to the task when needed most, making a pair of spectacular saves along the way while the Mines defense did their part over the final 20 minutes as the Orediggers advanced to the third round for the first time since 2017 with the 2-1 victory.
 
NOTABLES
-McDermott's goal just 35 seconds into the match is now the fastest goal to open a game in program history, 14 seconds faster than Giselle Sawaged did against Colorado Christian on November 3, 2019
-McDermott has now scored in four of Mines' five postseason matches, and seven of the previous nine going back to the regular season; her 15 goals are now fourth-most in a season in program history
-Corbett's assist now gives her seven on the season to lead the team, she is now three away from the fourth-most in a season all-time
-Putnam's goal was her first of the season, second of her career and second in the NCAA Tournament in her career; she also hit the game-winner in last season's First Round match against Midwestern State
-Manalili recorded her second assist of the year and first since September 23 against Black Hills State
-Wolf posted her second-highest save total of the season Sunday, saving six shots to pick up her 10th win of the season
 
UP NEXT
Mines will head back to Washington State for the second time this season, this time back to Bellingham as Western Washington will host the third round and quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship. The Orediggers advance to the final of the South Central Regional and will take on South Central Region #1 seed and #1 team in Division II in Dallas Baptist Thursday November 17 at 10 a.m. PT.
 
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.