#14 (1) Mines (13-4-2, 9-1-0) vs (2) #9 CSU Pueblo (15-3-1, 8-1-1) – Friday, 6 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
 
ROUND THREE
Following a win in the semifinals of the 2022 RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament over UCCS, the #14 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team will line up opposite #9 CSU Pueblo for the third time this season and second time at Stermole Stadium, this time with the tournament title on the line.
 
FAN INFORMATION
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.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through SIDEARM.
 
WEEK 10 RECAP
After enjoying a first-round bye in the 2022 RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament, Mines took on UCCS in a hard-fought semifinal match with a berth in the title match awaiting the winner. The physical match saw just one goal scored, a 51st minute second-chance goal from Quin Collins following a corner kick from Lucas King and a first attempt from Tristan Semelsberger. The defense and netminder Kenneth Symmes made that goal hold up, posting their fourth straight shutout to set up a third meeting this season with CSU Pueblo for the tournament title.
 
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. Sprauer was also named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year and was one of three Orediggers named Academic All-RMAC alongside Iliozer and Grant Bell. An additional 10 players were named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves took both regular season meetings with Mines, winning a 4-0 non-conference affair in Pueblo back on September 15 before picking up a 2-0 win in Golden on October 13. Caio Oliveira scored in each match and has five goals this season, tied with Reggie Nicolas for third on the team. Gabriel Campora scored twice in the first match of the season and has 12 goals along with three assists for a team-best 27 points. Ricardo Schroeder is second on the club with seven goals and 16 points, while Mario Sandoval leads the way in assists with seven; he too scored in the match against the Orediggers in September. A total of 11 different players have scored this season for CSU Pueblo, while 13 have recorded at least one assist. In goal, Nils Roth has been a tough riddle for the Orediggers to solve, as they have yet to put one past the Englishman this season. In 19 matches, he has made 30 saves and recorded seven shutouts, posting a GAA of 0.70 and a .714 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
As previously mentioned, CSUP has taken both meetings between the teams this season and won three of four of the previous six meetings, including three straight. The last postseason meeting between the teams was in Golden nearly a year ago and saw the ThunderWolves advance with a 2-0 win. Mines' last win in the series did come in Golden, but was all the way back in September of 2019.
 
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 84-18-11 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
Heading into the tournament title match, a dozen different players have found the net this season, with Tristan Semelsberger leading the way with 13 goals along with two assists for 28 points. His six game-winning goals rank first in the RMAC this season and are among the national leaders as well. Azad Iliozer is second on the club in goals (6), assists (5) and points (17) while Chris Seery and Michael Sprauer have five goals apiece, with the former also tallying three assists. Gabriel Rodriguez and Marc Levin are the only other multi-goal scorers for Mines this season, with four and two respectively. Lucas King added to his team-leading total in assists and now has seven on the season. In goal, Kenneth Symmes shined against UCCS in the semifinal round in just his second start of the season. In his first shutout of the season, he notched four saves to bring his season total to 10 and has an .833 save percentage and 0.55 GAA in 328 minutes this season.
 
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 seven 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 moved 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 #14 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 dropped three spots to #16 with CSU Pueblo moved up one position to #9. Western Washington continues to receive votes in this week's poll. In this week's regional poll released Wednesday, Mines moved up one spot to #5 this week, trailing St. Mary's (TX), Cal State Los Angeles, CSU Pueblo and Cal State Dominguez Hills. UCCS is the lone other RMAC member in the 12-team rankings.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following Friday night's match, the Orediggers will await hearing their name called in the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Selection Show on November 7 at 4:30 p.m. MT.
 
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.