#RV Mines (2-1-1) at #17 Seattle Pacific – Friday, 7 p.m. PT – Seattle, Wash. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
#RV Mines (2-1-1) at Western Washington – Sunday, 12:30 p.m. PT – Bellingham, Wash. [Live Video] [Live Stats]

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team is in the midst of a six-game road trip this weekend with a trip to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of matches against teams from the Evergreen State, taking on #17 Seattle Pacific Friday evening before lining up against Western Washington Sunday afternoon.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches will be streamed on each school's respective YouTube channels, while live stats for both contests will be available through SIDEARM at the links above.
 
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 193-36-33. His .800 career win percentage is currently among the top-10 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 TWO REVIEW
Mines opened their six-game road swing with a trip to the Lone Star State last weekend for a pair of matchups against top-25 opponents. Mines played then-#25 Angelo State to a 2-2 draw last Thursday. Following a scoreless first half, ASU netted the opening salvo in the 52nd minute before Reese McDermott answered less than 10 minutes later with her fourth goal of the campaign. Afton Rasco put the Orediggers up with a goal in the 75th minute, the visitors looked poised for the win, but the Rams tied things at 2-2 with seven minutes to play to force a draw. Sunday at then-#3 Dallas Baptist saw the Patriots go up 1-0 in the first half before Laura Butler tied things in the 65th minute on her second goal of the season. DBU then found the back of the net two more times in the span of less two minutes immediately after to regain the lead 3-1. Another McDermott goal, her fifth, closed the gap to 3-2 with just under nine minutes to play but Mines couldn't quite complete the comeback against the then #3 Patriots.
 
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. Mines' last opponent, Dallas Baptist, jumped up and is now tied for first in the country along with College of Saint Rose. Mines' second opponent of this weekend, Seattle Pacific, checks in at #17 in the latest rankings.
 
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.
 
HOMECOMING
Junior outside back Ava Harman and freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Manalili, the two members of this year's Mines club who hails from the Evergreen State, will be back playing their home state for the first time in their collegiate careers. Harman prepped at Skyview High School in Vancouver and registered 40 points in her career, scoring 10 times and assisting on and additional 20. Manalili starred at Shorewood High School near Seattle and scored 53 times while being named a three-time offensive player of the year.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Falcons remain unbeaten in 2022 and enter Friday with a mark of 2-0-1 following a 2-2 draw against Westminster in Salt Lake City on Monday. SPU opened the season with back-to-back 1-0 wins against San Francisco State and Chico State at home. Chloe Gellhaus is responsible for two of the team's four goals, with Sophie Beadle and Kayla Wallace having netted one each. Laruen Forster has two assists this season while Gellhaus, Beadle and Kathryn Nyone have one apiece. In goal, Mercedes Cullen has played all 270 minutes this season and has registered 11 saves to go with two shutouts in the early going. 
 
SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings enter this week with a mark of 1-1-2 on the season after playing a pair of Top-25 opponents from the state of California last week, dropping a 2-1 decision to #20 Sonoma State before working a 1-1 draw with #13 Point Loma. WWU has been able to distribute the wealth on offense this season, with five different goal scorers and four different players registering an assist. Three different netminders have been utilized thus far for the Vikings, with Claire Henninger and Abigail Trengove each starting both matches in which they have played. Henninger has played 180 minutes to lead the way with eight saves, while Trengove has logged over 154 minutes and made eight saves while surrendering just one goal. Grace Wales rounds out the trio with 26 minutes of time in goal and has made three saves while combining with Trengove for a shutout against Puget Sound to open the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's match in Seattle will be the first-ever meeting between the Falcons and Orediggers while Sunday will be the fifth time Mines has lined up opposite Western Washington and just the second time doing so outside Golden. The Vikings hold a 2-1-1 lead in the all-time series, winning the first two meetings in 2016 and 2018 before Mines notched their first win in a 2-1 decision in 2019. Last season's meeting in Golden resulted in a scoreless draw.
 
EARLY LEADERS
Four matches are in the books in 2022 for Mines and six different players have found the net this season, with four scoring multiple goals. Reese McDermott's five goals lead the team and ranks seventh in the nation and second in the RMAC. Laura Butler, one of a trio of Orediggers with two goals this season, leads the team with four assists, a mark which is also tied for the top of the RMAC with Alexa Maple of Westminster. In goal, Emma Carstens has played all 360 minutes this season and made 13 saves while posting a GAA of 1.25 to with a pair of shutouts, all of which rank in the top-10 of the league in the early going.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's trip west, the Orediggers will close out their six-match road trip with the start of RMAC play, lining up opposite Adams State September 16 at 3 p.m. before taking on New Mexico Highlands September 18 at 12 p.m.
 
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.