GOLDEN, Colo. – Back at home for the first of four matches over the next two weeks, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team continued Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Thursday evening against Colorado Mesa. After falling behind the Mavericks (7-2-2, 2-0-1) just five minutes in, the Orediggers (1-4-5, 0-2-1) rallied to tie things before falling behind again in the second half, and despite a frenzied rally in the final minutes that saw them close the deficit, they came up short by a final of 3-2.
 
The first shot of the night resulted in the first goal of the night for CMU, as Fernando Morales snuck one by Caden Allaire with some help from Connor Chilson to take the early lead. Allaire rebounded in the 13th minute with a save against Leo Mireles, as much like last Sunday, the Orediggers dug their heels in and did not relent on defense. Fortunately, their efforts were rewarded in the 28th minute, when a point-blank shot from Gabe Rodriguez in the far corner was saved by Diego Chavez, but caromed off the post and settled at the feet of Chris Seery, who was able to find the back of the net with the equalizer to draw even at 1-1.
 
Just more shot attempt came in the final 16 minutes of the period, as both teams went to the intermission right back where they started the night in terms of the score.
 
John Burnett looked to put Mines out front in the opening moments of the second half, dribbling through the defense to test Chavez who was able to make the save in the 48th minute. Just about nine minutes later, the score did change, but in favor of the visitors as Lluis Fabregat scored off a ball from Joey Joiner and Moises Martinez to retake the lead 2-1.
 
CMU made it a two-score game 10 minutes later, as Manuel Ponce Cases beat a diving try from Allaire to the lower left corner to make it a 3-1 contest amidst a flurry of yellow cards in a very chippy contest.
 
Shortly after a group of subs came on for the Orediggers, a frenzied comeback attempt began, starting with a shot by Seery in the 73rd minute that was on target but ended up being cleared by a CMU defender. Ian Kugler lined up a shot moments later and put a ball on goal but Chavez was able to corral it. As Mines picked up the pace, they put nearly unrelenting pressure on the Mavericks defense who managed just one shot attempt for the remainder of the match after their third goal, which was saved by Peter Saunders in the 85th minute. The Orediggers made it interesting in the waning moments, as a corner kick from the near side was headed on goal by Caelin David as the save was made again by a Maverick defender, who then proceeded to try and clear the ball but struck a teammate in the back as the resulting deflection saw the ball end up in the net to make it 3-2 with 90 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Mines couldn't muster up any more magic, as the rally came up just one goal short.
 
NOTABLES
-Seery's goal was his second of the season and the 11th of his Mines career
-Rodriguez picked up his first point of the season with the assist and now has five in his time at Mines
-Seery led the way with four shots while Kugler and Burnett each finished with a pair
-The Orediggers ended the night with a 13-8 edge in shots and 6-5 in shots on frame
-Peter Saunders, twin brother of Henry Saunders who debuted Sunday, made his collegiate debut in goal, posting 19 minutes and recording a save
 
UP NEXT
Mines gets ready for round two against Westminster at 12 p.m. on Sunday October 8. The match will be the front end of a doubleheader with the women's team.
 
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.