DENVER, Colo. – With time running out on the regular season and their postseason fate still in the air, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team was on the road for the final time in 2023 as they made the short trip downtown to the Assembly Athletic Complex to take on MSU Denver. Despite falling behind early and eventually trailing by two with less than 20 minutes to play, the Orediggers (5-5-6, 4-3-2) staged a rally for the ages in the final nine minutes, scoring twice to stun the Roadrunners (6-7-4, 4-3-2) and earn a point to start their weekend with a 2-2 result.
 
The night got off to an ominous start for the Orediggers despite an early shot on goal from Ian Kugler as in just the seventh minute, Caelin David was whistled for a penalty and issued a yellow card as MSU Denver was awarded a penalty kick. Aaron Biggerstaff stood over the ball and was able to convert the try to put the home team out front early on.
 
Mines looked to regroup and draw back even in the minutes that followed as David and Chris Seery both had looked around the 20-minute mark but came away empty at the hands of Ross Miller. Caden Allaire responded in his own right after not being able to save the penalty as he posted two more saves over the remainder of the half as the first 45 minutes came and went with MSU Denver out front.
 
Following the intermission, the Orediggers came out in the second half looking like a completely different team. Six shots went up in the first nine minutes of the period as Mines leveled up their aggressiveness and caught the Roadrunners off guard and put them on their heels defensively. One shot in particular in that sequence nearly ended up being the equalizer in the 50th minute, as a volley from Seery caught Milelr out of position, but an MSU Denver defender was able to get a foot on the ball just before if cross the goal line to flick it clear and keep it a one-score game.
 
Following a series of substitutions, the Roadrunners doubled their lead to 2-0 in the 71st minute when Zack Williams was able to find the lower left corner of goal, having to shoot around one of his teammates who was seated on the turf after getting tangled up with a Mines defender just inside the box.
 
Now with time working against them, Mines redoubled their efforts in their offensive third of the field and in the 81st minute were rewarded. A bullet of a shot from Chris Seery was knocked down for the initial save by Miller, but the ball caromed back into play right to John Burnett, who was racing through the box and collected to rebound to score the second-chance goal and make it a one-score game once again.
 
Similar to the Roadrunners' second goal, the Orediggers' second of the night came shortly after some substitutions. Marc Zimmerman checked on in the 82nd minute to get some fresh legs for the final stint of the night and shortly after was able to come up with the ball on the far side of the field before playing a perfect cross to the top of the six, finding Seery on the back end as he took care of the rest, redirecting it just enough to tuck it inside the far post as Miller had no chance to make the save as the teams found themselves even at 2-2 in the 84th minute.
 
MSU Denver, now reeling after giving up two goals in just over three minutes tried to recollect and regain the lead in the 88th minute, but Allaire was up to the task to make the save as the evening came to a close with the result of a draw after 90 hard-fought minutes.
 
NOTABLES
-Burnett's goal was his first of the season and the sixth of his Mines career as he has now scored in each of his three seasons in Golden
-Seery picked up his second assist of the season as well as his seventh goal of 2023 as he continues to add to his team-leading total of 16 points with his second three-point outing in a row; he's now scored in three consecutive matches for the second time this season and has found the net six of the last seven matches and now has 14 points over that span
-Seery also led the way on the shot chart with eight attempts, five of which were on goal
-Zimmerman recorded his first assist of the season and now has two in as many seasons in a Mines uniform
-Allaire ended the night with five saves in goal
-The Orediggers ended the night with a 17-14 edge in shots and a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal while also attempting 10 corner kicks
-With the draw, Mines and MSU Denver now each have 14 points along with Westminster, who has yet to play this weekend, as all three teams are now tied for fourth in the standings
-The 2-2 result was the sixth time this season the Orediggers have played to a draw, setting a new program record in doing so as the previous single-season high number of draws was five back in 2004
 
UP NEXT
Mines closes out the regular season Sunday afternoon at Stermole Stadium at 12 p.m. against Colorado Christian. Senior Day festivities for the three members of this year's class will be held in a pre-match ceremony.
 
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.