#20 Mines (0-0-0) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (0-0-0) – Friday, 5 p.m. – Stermole Stadium [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#20 Mines (0-0-0) vs. San Francisco State (0-0-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. – Stermole Stadium [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SEASON STARTS AT STERMOLE
College soccer has returned for the fall of 2022 and the #20 Colorado School of Mines Men's Soccer team get to open their campaign inside the friendly confines of Stermole Stadium in Golden. The Orediggers will host Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday at 5 p.m. with San Francisco State coming to town Sunday for at 12 p.m. kickoff.
 
IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION
Due to construction to install solar canopies in Lot K adjacent to Stermole Soccer Stadium, fans should be aware that there is very limited parking in that lot for this weekend's games and it will be first-come, first-served both days. Additional parking is available in Lot Q located at Elm and West Campus Drive, the parking garage located at 14th and Maple Streets, and in City of Golden municipal parking along 11th Street. Visit mines.edu/parking for a parking map.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network, which can be accessed at minesathletics.com/tv as well as with apps on all major smart TV platforms by searching "RMAC". 
 
LAST SEASON
The Orediggers finished the fall of 2021 with an overall record of 14-4-2 while going 9-0-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Mines' mark in RMAC action secured its record-setting fifth straight regular-season championship. A first-round bye in the NCAA tournament gave the Orediggers their fourth straight appearance in the national postseason and 10th overall. They eventually battled #11 Colorado Mesa to a 0-0 draw in Grand Junction, Colo., before falling 2-3 in penalty kicks. Head Coach Greg Mulholland was crowned RMAC Coach of the Year as five individuals earned All-RMAC status. Lucas King was then voted all-America by the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay come to Golden, Colo., for the 2022 opener following a 7-4-6 (3-4-4 CCAA) campaign in 2021. As members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, CSUMB played the likes of Cal Poly Pomona, #8 Cal State L.S. and Cal State San Bernardino in three of their last five matches of the season, but posted an 0-1-2 record against the perennial powers. The Otters were voted #7 out of 12 in the CCAA preseason poll. All three of CSUMB's leading scorers from 2021 are unavailable in 2022, but Colin O'Mahony does bring back six points off of one goal and four assists.
 
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO STATE
The San Francisco State Gators will play their 2022 opener on Friday night against MSU Denver at Assembly Athletic Complex in the Mile High City with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Fresh off a 6-9-3 (2-6-3 CCAA) season, SFSU was tabbed #9 out of 12 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll. Like their conference counterpart CSUMB, the Gators did manage a 0-1-2 record against the top teams in the CCAA last season. Looming large in the San Francisco State lineup will be returning, senior strike Gustavo Ferrari who led SFSU with 14 goals and seven assists for 35 points in 2021. He was a D2CCA Second-Team All-American. Starting Goalkeeper Matias Herrera Fuentes also returns for 2022 after making 54 saves for a 1.57 goals-against average and a total of three shutouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Since 1974, Mines has faced Cal State Monterey Bay twice, both in recent history. The Orediggers boast a 2-0 record over the Otters thanks to a 4-2 victory on Sept. 8, 2017, in Golden and a 2-1, double-overtime win in California on Sept. 7, 2018. Sunday will mark the first-ever meeting between Mines' men and San Francisco State.
 
A NEW LOOK FOR STERMOLE STADIUM
Stermole Stadium looks a little different this season with a new playing surface installed over the summer. The AstroTurf LigaTurf pitch was complete in early July, replacing the original artificial turf surface that was installed in 2008. The most noticeable change is in the middle, where the M logo has been replaced by Blaster. 
 
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.
 
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 71-14-9 overall with a mark of 50-2-6 in RMAC play. His overall winning percentage 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 three-time RMAC Coach of the Year and headed the 2019 and 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches South Central Region Staffs of the Year. Through 2021, the Littleton, Colo., native and Millersville (Pa.) graduate has coached four individuals to a total of 11 all-America awards, eight Academic All-Americans including a CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 28 All-RMAC honors and four RMAC major award winners while guiding Mines to five RMAC regular-season titles and four RMAC Tournament trophies with four NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
THEY ARE THE CAPTAINS NOW
Late on Thursday afternoon, Coach Mulholland announced that the 2022 team captains will be 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.
 
THAT'S OFFENSIVE
Nineteen Orediggers scored at least one goal in 2021 and 12 of those individuals return for 2022. Mines' top five goal scorers and four overall scorers are back on the pitch as well. Lucas King will key the attack after 12 assists and three goals last season which led the team with 18 points. Tristan Semelsberger and Gabriel Rodriguez led Mines with six goals apiece and both return to the pitch in 2022. Also notable are sophomores John Burnett and Quin Collins bringing back a total of eight goals and one assist. Offensive to the opposition but pure poetry for Oredigger nation.
 
MIDFIELD MAYHEM
While Mines' formation is fluid, the midfield will undoubtedly be anchored by 2021 Second-Team All-RMAC and D2CCA Second-Team All-Region selection Michael Sprauer. His three goals and three assists proved key last season as one tally was the go-ahead goal against Regis to help force overtime and another was the game-winner in double overtime against Colorado Mesa to help clinch the RMAC regular-season crown. While Sprauer's midfield running mates are to be determined, fans can bank on seeing a lot of Lucas King on the outside while John Burnett (4G in 2021) and Quin Collins (4G in 2021) provide two other quality options.
 
THE BACKLINE
The Orediggers lost Greyson Adams and Patrick Allan from their 2021 backline, but they do return Vaughn Simpson and Grant Bell for 2022. That duo proved key in eight combined shutouts which led to a an overall goals-against average of 0.87. Likely filling the shoes of the lost duo will be the capable leadership of Joe George and the fresh legs of redshirt freshman Maxwell Stultz. In any case, plenty of options exist to help protect the goalkeeping duo of Brian Doherty and Kenneth Symmes. Doherty's five saves in a 0-0 draw at Colorado Mesa in the second round of the 2021 NCAA tournament certainly provide momentum for the net minders headed into a fresh season.
 
FRESH FACES
Coach Mulholland and his assistant Clint Moore wanted to leave no doubt in the defense of their five straight conference crowns. That is why they brought in six newcomers including Tommy Jernigan, Marc Zimmerman, Nathan Dreher, Marc Levin, Joshua Kiyaga and Hilmir Arnarsson. Zimmerman, Kiyaga, and Arnarsson are all transfers while Jernigan, Dreher and Levin are true freshmen.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines was picked #2 in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll announced early this month while appearing #20 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25. 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, two RMAC counterparts joined the Orediggers with Colorado Mesa appearing #9 and CSU Pueblo slotting #23. Mines had another 2022 opponent earn national standing with Cal Poly Pomona ranked #5. The Orediggers are set to play Cal Poly Pomona and Colorado Mesa once during the regular season while facing CSU Pueblo twice.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers hit the road next weekend for a pair of non-conference matches in California. Mines faces #5 Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday at 7 p.m. (PT). The trip closes Sunday against Cal State San Bernardino at 11:30 a.m. (PT). Live stats and pay-per-view video of both matches will be offered at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.