Mines at #25 Angelo State, Thursday, 7 p.m. CT [Live Video] [Live Stats]
Mines at #3 Dallas Baptist, Saturday, 2 p.m. CT [Live Video] [Live Stats]

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OREDIGGERS FACE TOP-25 OPPONENTS ON THE ROAD
After a 2-0 start to the season, Colorado School of Mines heads to Texas for a pair of challenging road matches, visiting #25 Angelo State Thursday evening before playing at #3 Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon. It is the start of a six-match road swing for the Orediggers over the next three weeks. 

LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches will stream live on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network, which is a pay-per-view service costing $10 for a 24-hour pass. 

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
Mines' next two weeks has them visiting not only four straight teams that qualified for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but four straight nationally-ranked opponents including three straight top-10 teams. Angelo State checks in at #25 in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason top 25, and Mines then visits #3 Dallas Baptist, #5 Seattle Pacific, and #10 Western Washington. 

AT THE HELM
Head Coach Kevin Fickes is in his 13th season leading the Mines women's soccer program, already the program's all-time leader in wins at 193-35-32. His .804 career win percentage is currently third among active NCAA Division II coaches, and he could become just the second RMAC coach to reach 200 career victories this season joining current UCCS boss J.B. Belzer. Through 2021, Fickes has overseen 24 All-American selections, 12 Academic All-Americans, 63 all-conference honorees, and 19 RMAC major award winners while guiding Mines to five RMAC regular-season titles and eight RMAC Tournament trophies, with 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

WEARING THE ARMBAND
The Orediggers have selected Jordan Barnhart and Meg Zimmerman as their captains for the 2022 season. Barnhart is entering her third season as a starter at centerback and played more minutes than any other Oredigger last season in guiding a defense that had a 0.73 GAA. Zimmerman, a forward, is a fifth-year senior returning from an injury-shortened 2021 season that saw her score a goal in the season opener; she has five career goals and three assists.

WEEK 1 REWIND
Mines made a statement with a pair of big wins to open up the 2022 season, defeating Texas Woman's 4-0 and Midwestern State 5-0 at Stermole Stadium. Laura Butler powered the Orediggers with a goal and four assists across the two matches, while Reese McDermott netted three vs. Midwestern State and Paola Rubi had goals in both matches. Mines outshot opponents by a combined 46-15. Mines 9-0 goal margin marks the largest through two matches to start a season in program history. 

BUTLER, CLINGMAN AWARDED BY RMAC
Earlier on Tuesday, Laura Butler and Lauren Clingman were named the RMAC's Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for their performances on opening weekend. Butler tallied a goal and four assists across the two matches with multiple points each day; Clingman had an assist and helped Mines produce a pair of clean sheets at outside back. 

HAT'S OFF
Sunday's match featured a pair of hat tricks as Reese McDermott scored three and Laura Butler assisted on three. It was only the second time in program history that's happened before, as Hannah Rowan's hat trick against Western Colorado in 2019 also featured three Jordan Barnhart assists. McDermott's performance marked the 17th hat trick in program history, while Butler became only the third Oredigger to notch three assists in a match.

CARSTENS EARNS SHUTOUTS IN DEBUT
Last weekend marked the debut of redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Emma Carstens, who recorded a pair of clean sheets. Carstens made three saves in each match, and her backline kept her clean as she faced only 15 total shots. 

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Last weekend saw plenty of firsts for the Orediggers in both scoring and appearances. Paola Rubi, Brooke Pennington, and Afton Rasco netted their first career goals, while Emma Carstens, Rubi, and Ellise Putnam made their first career starts. Freshmen Rasco, Callie Fuhr, Kaitlyn Manalili, and Jolie Jiricek came off the bench for their first collegiate appearances.

IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were chosen atop the RMAC preseason coaches' poll announced earlier this month, and are also receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 poll. It was a close race in the RMAC poll with Mines, UCCS, and Colorado Mesa all splitting the bulk of the first-place votes and just three points overall separating the three teams.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
This weekend marks a homecoming for nine Orediggers who hail from the Lone Star State, including three who will get to play in Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex near their hometowns: Brooke Patterson (Rockwall), Cloey Seltzer (Hasley), and Landry Corbett (McKinney). In addition to that trio, Mines has Katie Koehler (The Woodlands), Michelle Easley and Jordan Barnhart (Cypress), Reese McDermott (Houston) and Gabriella Rodríguez (Katy) hailing from the Houston area, and Ellise Putnam from Austin. 

ON TRACK
This year's roster boasts not one, but two dual-sport athletes as both senior Amena Nelson and freshman Callie Fuhr will spend their winters and springs competing for the Mines track & field program. Nelson can rightly claim to be the RMAC's fastest woman on the track or the pitch, coming off a superb outdoor season that saw her win the RMAC 400m dash title and claim RMAC 4x400 gold both indoors and out. Fuhr is also a 400m runner as a four-time Colorado 5A state qualifier and two-time top-10 placer in the event.  

THEM'S THE 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.

SCOUTING ANGELO STATE
Angelo State had a 2-0 start to the season with wins over a pair of RMAC teams, beating Colorado Christian 3-0 and CSU Pueblo 3-1 on the road. Grace Jordan scored in each match and four other goalscorers tallied for the Rams. Kira Miller and the ASU defense allowed just one goal and 13 total shots on the weekend. 

Mines and Angelo State are 1-1 against each other, both winning at home 1-0 in 2018 and 2019. Ally Warren had the Rams' lone goal the last time they met in 2019 in San Angelo. 

SCOUTING DALLAS BAPTIST
Coming off a national semifinal appearance a year ago, DBU played a single match over the weekend, overcoming a one-goal deficit to defeat #8 UCCS 3-1 in Colorado Springs. Sophia Schrock and Kathryn Mullis scored second-half goals around an own goal as UCCS held a 17-14 shots advantage. Adrianna Schroeder made seven saves in the win. The Patriots play Rogers State Thursday before hosting the Orediggers. 

The Orediggers hold a 4-2-4 all-time edge over DBU in a series dating back to 2012. DBU has not won in the series since 2015, with their last four meetings all going to overtime in the postseason; Mines won 2-1 in the 2017 Second Round, and the two teams tied in the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Second Rounds with DBU advancing on PKs both times. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers remain on the road but head to the Pacific Northwest to visit Seattle Pacific and Western Washington on Sept. 9 and Sept. 11.