Mines (2-2-2) vs CSU Pueblo (4-2-0) – Thursday, 7 p.m. – Pueblo, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (2-2-2) vs Westminster (3-2-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. – Salt Lake City, Utah [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

 

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After returning home for two matches following a trip to California, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team is back on the road for two non-conference matches against RMAC opponents, first taking on CSU Pueblo Thursday night at 7 p.m. before heading to Salt Lake City to take on Westminster Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through SIDEARM.
 
WEEK THREE RECAP
Returning home last weekend following their west coast swing, Mines hosted Western Washington Thursday and Seattle Pacific Saturday. Tristan Semelsberger got the Orediggers on the board first against the Vikings in the ninth minute but it wasn't enough as WWU tied things up in the moments leading up to halftime before scoring the go-ahead goal in the final two minutes to take a 2-1 win. Saturday night against the Falcons, it was again Semelsberger who got Mines on the board first, this time converting a PK in the 66th minute in what would end up being the go-ahead goal. Michael Sprauer added his second goal of the season in the 84th minute off a set piece to seal a 2-0 win.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
The Thunderwolves hosted two teams from Texas last week and went 1-1 in matches against St. Mary's and Lubbock Christian, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Rattlers Wednesday night before bouncing back with a 1-0 win over the Chaps Friday evening. Pueblo enters the week as one of the most high-powered offenses in the RMAC this season, ranking second in the league with 15 goals trailing only Colorado Mesa with 17. Gabriel Campora's six goals this season are tied for the league lead, two of which have been games winners, while also having an assist to his credit. Six other Thunderwolves have found the net this season, with Reggie Nicolas, Caio Oliveira and Ricardo Schroeder having two goals to their credit with three more players each scoring once in Pueblo's first six matches. A club with no problems distributing the ball, nine different players have recorded at least one assist this season, including four with multiple assists led by Mario Sandoval's three while three others have two assists to their ledgers this season. Nils Roth has seen the bulk of action in goal this season, playing 495 of 540 minutes this season and recording eight saves while posting two solo shutout and being part of a third shutout with backup netminder Will Whitworth, who has two saves in his limited action this season.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
The Griffons travel to Colorado Mesa in non-RMAC action Friday for the final leg of a three-match road trip before returning to Salt Lake City to host Mines Sunday. Over the weekend, Westminster made the trip to the Aloha State for pair of matches against Hawai'i Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific and went 2-0 in those matches, winning over the Vulcans on Friday 3-1 and 2-1 Sunday over the Sharks. Westminster has seen six players find the scoring column this season led by Din Huremovic with three, while Luke Merrill and Zach Moss has two each. Huremovic and Merill also lead the club with two assists each, while Armin Hasonovic has one goal and one assist, with Jace Vance posting one assist to his credit this season. In the Griffons' five matches this season, they have utilized two keepers with Noah Larkin starting three matches for 270 minutes and recording eight saves and posting the club's lone shutout this season. Roark Looney has started twice for 180 minutes and has made nine saves.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's meeting with the Thunderwolves will be the 59th meeting all-time between the schools with Mines leading the series 41-11-6. The two teams met three times last season with Pueblo taking two out of the three meetings, including a 2-0 decision in last year's RMAC Tournament. The last Orediggers win in the series came all the way back in 2019, which was a 1-0 win in Golden and the 13th-straight win the series. The last win in Pueblo for Mines was a 3-2 overtime decision in 2018.
 
Sunday against Westminster will be the 23rd meeting between the Orediggers and Griffons, with Mines leading the series 13-6-3 all-time and having won eight of the last nine meetings, including a 1-0 decision last year in Salt Lake City. The only match in the span that didn't result in a win was a 0-0 draw in double overtime back in 2019. Mines' last loss in the series came all the way back in 2003, a 1-0 decision also in Salt Lake City.
 
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 73-16-11 overall with a mark of 50-2-6 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 three-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.
 
EARLY LEADERS
Six matches into the season, Tristan Semelsberger leads Mines in scoring with four goals, scoring once in each of the matches this weekend. Azad Iliozer and Michael Sprauer each have two goals to their ledgers this season, while Gabriel Rodriguez has one to his credit. John Burnett, Caelin David, Lucas King and Marc Zimmerman each boast one assist apiece. Goalkeeper Brian Doherty owns 14 saves, two wins and two shutout after playing all 540 minutes to date.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Two different Orediggers are currently making moves in the program record book. Lucas King's assist against Cal State Monterey Bay gave the graduate student sole possession of #5 on Mines' all-time assists list with 29. He's one helper away from tying Alex Nass at #4, three away from Jared Peacock at #3 and four away from Tesho Akindele at #2. King now needs 13 more assists to break Niki Grotz' (2014-17) all-time record of 41. Also making moves is goalkeeper Brian Doherty. His shutout against San Francisco State gave him sole possession of #5 on the Orediggers' all-time shutouts list. Doherty's 10 clean sheets during his time at Mines put him ahead of OJ Bullard (2000-03) and sit five back of Kevin Galloway (2003-06) at #4.
 
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 month while making an appearance at #20 in the first United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 of the season. 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, Colorado Mesa rose to #10 this week while CSU Pueblo dropped out of the poll from their #25 spot last week. One of Mines' most recent foes, Cal Poly Pomona, rose from #15 to #11 this week. The Orediggers are set to play Cal Poly Pomona and Colorado Mesa once during the regular season while facing CSU Pueblo twice.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After this week's road trip, Mines returns home to Stermole Stadium for the beginning of RMAC play Friday September 23 at 5 p.m. against Adams State prior to taking on Fort Lewis Sunday September 25 at 12 p.m.
 
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.