BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A trio of first half goals turned out to be too much to overcome Saturday for the #9 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team, as their run in the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship came to an end against #10 Western Washington by a score of 3-1.
 
Three early goals by the Vikings (17-2-4) set the Orediggers (18-2-3) on their heels for the rest of the match. Despite a beautiful goal by Afton Rasco in the second half, Mines was unable to muster a rally to extend their season as they dropped just their second match of the year in the national quarterfinals.
 
Western Washington got the action going early on, scoring less than two minutes in when Estera Levinte played a ball across the face of goal to the back post to Morgan Manalili who chipped it past Sadie Wolf for the first goal of the day.
 
Reese McDermott looked to answer for Mines in the sixth minute, but her shot to the lower left corner was saved by Claire Henninger. Another shot from Laura Butler moments later was blocked before the Vikings doubled their lead to 2-0 in the 12th minute, as once more Levinte played a ball across to the far post, this time to Jaden Nguyen who headed it home for the second goal of the game.
 
Now in an unfamiliar position, the Orediggers looked to regroup and find a way to get on the board. Jordan Barnhart put a shot on target in the 16th minute but didn't find the net as Henninger made the save. Western Washington however continued to limit the chances for Mines while continuing to put up shots in their offensive third, coming close to a third goal in the 27th minute as Levinte pulled up for a shot but Wolf was there to make the save and keep it a two-score game.
 
Unfortunately for Mines, the Vikings found the net for a third time in the half in the 35th minute, as a corner kick played into the box from Emily Rice found its way through the crowd in front of the goal to Tera Ziemer, who chipped it inside the near post to make it a 3-0 game. Western Washington continued to keep their foot on gas as the half continued, testing Wolf over the final 10 minutes as they closed the period with an 11-5 advantage on the shot chart and leading by three.
 
The Vikings opened the second half up by going right at the Orediggers, putting up a shot within a minute of play resuming but Wolf was there to make the save. McDermott had a pair of chances to score beginning in the 51st minute, putting both shots on target but wasn't able to slip either past Heninger as it remained a 3-0 affair.
 
WWU had a trio of shots in near succession in the 55th minute, first from Ziemer who hit the right post before the rebound was collected by Levinte for a quick shot and save by Wolf before Ziemer came up with loose ball and fired again but had no luck as Wolf again made the save to end the sequence.
 
A beautiful sequence from Mines broke up the shutout bid from Western Washington in the 65th minute. After a throw in, Rasco gained possession and raced across the midfield before playing it out wide to Kaitlin Manalili. Manalili then worked around a pair of defenders to play the ball ahead to Landry Corbett before she played a long cross to the near side to Ellise Putnam. Henninger came off her line expecting the goal scorer from Thursday to take a shot but instead she dished off the endline to McDermott at the top of the six-yard box before passing ahead to Rasco for an easy chip-in goal to make it 3-1.
 
Unfortunately, that goal wasn't able to spark a rally over the final 25 minutes, as shots from Amena Nelson, Cloey Seltzer and McDermott missed their mark as Western Washington held on to advance to the final four by a score of 3-1.
 
NOTABLES
-McDermott led Mines with six shots and her assists was her second of the season
-Rasco's goal was her seventh for the season as she finishes the year tied for second on the team in scoring
-Putnam's assist was her fourth of the year and second of the postseason, now giving her six points since the end of the regular season
-Wolf finished with seven saves in goal
-The Orediggers outshot the Vikings 8-6 in the second half and finished with 13 shots in the match, five of which were on goal
-Mines finishes the season with 18 wins, the most in a season since 2019
 
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.