GOLDEN, Colo. – It was a brisk night for soccer Thursday night at Stermole Stadium as the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team played host to Regis to open a pivotal stretch over the final three weeks of the regular season. The Orediggers (3-4-5, 2-2-1) and Rangers (3-8-2, 1-3-1) entered the night tied for sixth in the RMAC standings and with three points up for grabs, it was Mines who was able to cash in behind goals from Chris Seery and Gabriel Rodriguez along with an eight-save shutout from Caden Allaire and the defense to notch a 2-0 win.
 
It took all of 43 seconds for the fireworks to get going in the match as both offenses came out firing early, with Mines posting four of the first five shots of the night including a near-miss off the cross bar from Marc Levin. Caden Allaire went to work in the eighth minute, making a save against Vilhjamur Kaldal before making a pair of spectacular saves in succession in the 17th minute to deny Jacoba Betancourt-Tovar and Diego Berumen a chance as the first goal of the night.
 
The high tempo of the first half didn't relent as the night wore on, with possession changing constantly all the while the race to get on the board didn't slow down either. Allaire made another save against Kyle Bergmeier in the 30th minute while Collins was done in by Regis keeper Cristian Sattin in the 34th minute as neither team was able to crack the scoreboard in the opening 45 minutes.
 
With the resumption of play in the second half, things picked up right where they left off as Seery took his turn in the 56th minute but much like his mates, came up empty at the hands of Sattin. The Englishman wouldn't have to wait long for redemption as moments later, a whistle for a foul committed by the Rangers against Rodriguez on the edge of the 18-yard box resulted in a penalty kick being awarded. Seery, who was entered the night 1-1 from the spot on the season, delivered a strike but Sattin guessed correctly, diving to his left to make the save but was unable to secure the ball as it rolled back to Seery who was able to finish on the second attempt and put Mines ahead 1-0.
 
Reigning RMAC Player of the Year Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit led the effort by Regis to get back even on the scoreboard, putting a shot on goal in the 66th minute but being turned away by Allaire. Perhaps the best chance for Regis to score the equalizer came in the 71st minute when Michael Jimenez pulled up from the top of the six-yard box and looked to beat Allaire to his right, but instead connected with the post as the shot attempt ricocheted clear and away to the far side of the field to the collective relief of the Mines faithful.
 
As the minutes ticked away, Allaire shined under pressure from the Regis attack, making two more saves as the clock moved under 20 minutes to play to preserve the one-goal advantage. As Mines started rotating players in and out to get some fresh legs on the field for the final 10 minutes, one of those substitutions was able to find the back of the net and make it a two-goal affair. John Burnett played a ball from the near side of the 18-yard area to the top of the six to Rodriguez, who fired a point-blank strike that was saved by Sattin, but once again the recoil of the shot saw the ball land back at Rodriguez's feet, as his second attempt was good to make it 2-0 Orediggers in the 84th minute.
 
The defense dug their heels in over the final six minutes, allowing just two shots by the Rangers, both of which missed their marks high and wide while the offense looked to put things out of reach with a third goal, but in the end two scores would be enough as Mines picked up three more points, winning their second match in a row and doing so by a score of 2-0.
 
NOTABLES
-Seery extends his scoring streak to three consecutive matches and now has four goals on the season to tie for the team lead with Marc Zimmerman
-His three-match scoring streak is the longest for an Oredigger since Tristan Semelsberger also scored in three straight matches last season from October 16-23 and is the second three-match scoring streak of his career, last doing so from September 18-25 last season as well
-Rodriguez found the scoring column for the first time this season and now has five career goals in his time at Mines
-Allaire ended the night in goal with eight saves, just one shy of his season high mark of nine that came on September 8 against Cal Poly Pomona and recorded his third shutout of the year
-Seery led the Orediggers with seven shots in the match while Rodriguez had six and Collins added another five of his own
-Mines put up their highest shot totals of the season with 23 attempts on the night, of which eight were on goal
-The teams combined for 44 total shots on the evening, the highest combined total in game this season
-The Orediggers are now fifth in the league standings with the win and now have seven points, passing Colorado Christian who dropped to sixth with a 1-1 draw against UCCS, while Regis dropped to eighth
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers take on South Dakota Mines Sunday October 15 at 12 p.m. before hitting the road next weekend against Fort Lewis and Adams State.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's soccer on Twitter and Instagram at @MinesMSOC and @mines_msoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.