ALAMOSA, Colo. – With the regular season winding down and a spot in the postseason still up for grabs, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team looked to rebound Sunday following a tough result last time out as the took on Adams State at the ASU Soccer & Lacrosse Field and rebound they did. The Orediggers (5-5-5, 4-3-1) scored five times in the final 19 minutes of the match to produce their highest scoring output of the season while holding the Grizzlies (0-14-0, 0-8-0) to just seven shots in the match to post the 5-0 win.
 
Neither side wasted much time putting the other to the test in the early going, as Adams State put their first shot on goal of the day at the 1:49 mark against freshman Peter Saunders who made the save, while Ian Kugler and Henry Saunders each put a ball on target against Zach Carr but to the same result around the 17-minute mark in the half before Saunders made his second save of the day in the 20th minute against Esteban Tavira.
 
As the half went on, the Orediggers' defense tightened down not allowing a shot for the final 25 minutes following the Tavira try while putting up four more shots on goal of their own, but ending up with nothing to show for their efforts as the first half ended as it started with no change on the scoreboard.
 
The final 45 minutes of the day saw a flurry of shots right away by Mines, as Luke Hanna, Tommy Jernigan and Chris Seery put up four shots on goal between them in the first nine minutes of play but were all turned back by Carr. Saunders matched his opposite number in goal, making four more saves over the next 12 minutes before Mines managed to break the seal in the 71st minute.
 
A corner kick into the box from Quin Collins could not have been better placed as Caelin David maneuvered his way through the ASU defenders in the box to finish with a soft touch off his right foot just inside the far post to make it a 1-0 game.
 
Borrowing some inspiration from Smash Mouth, once the goals started coming for Mines, they didn't stop coming. Marc Levin scored in the 76th minute on a ball from John Burnett off a throw in to make it a two-goal game before flipping roles and assisting on a goal from Chris Seery in the 81st minute as the lead swelled to 3-0 in just 10 minutes.
 
Within seconds of subbing back into the match in the 83rd minute, Graham Shoaps joined the scoring party. A free kick from Raul Gerhardus straight into the box caught ASU off guard as Bryce Bowman collected it and played a quick touch to Shoaps who tucked it inside the far post to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
Gerhardus closed things out in the 87th minute as he too found the net, this time from Seery for the fifth goal of the day to cap off a second half performance for the ages as the Orediggers posted the win to collect three more valuable points in the standings and get back to the .500 mark on the season.
 
NOTABLES
-David's goal was his second of the season, second in as many weeks and second of his career
-Levin also scored and recorded an assist for the second Sunday in a row, doing so last week against South Dakota Mines although the order of events was flipped this week with the goal first followed by the assist
-Seery eclipsed his previous single-season scoring mark with his sixth goal of the season and the 15th of his Mines career, now giving him 38 points as he also registered an assist in the match; he has now scored in back-to-back matches for the second time this season and also scored in five of Mines' last six outings
-Shoaps scored the first goal of his collegiate career while his freshman running mate Bowman recorded the first assist of his career
-Gerhardus, playing in just his third collegiate match, recorded his first three collegiate points with an assist on the Shoaps goal and his first collegiate goal to close things out in 28 minutes of action
-Peter Saunders turned in a shutout performance in goal in his collegiate debut, making six saves and playing all 90 minutes
-Luke Hanna returned to the starting lineup, making his first start since September 16 against Seattle Pacific
-At the conclusion of play Sunday, the Orediggers are tied for fifth in the RMAC standings with MSU Denver with 13 points, one ahead of UCCS in seventh with 12 and four points behind league leader Fort Lewis with 17
 
UP NEXT
Mines heads downtown Wednesday night for a critical showdown with MSU Denver with whom they are currently tied with in the RMAC standings before hosting Colorado Christian in the regular season finale on Sunday.
 
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.