GOLDEN, Colo. – Opening up the weekend at home Thursday night, the #16 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team lined up against Fort Lewis looking to build off an impressive showing last weekend. Unfortunately for the Orediggers (6-2-3, 2-1-2), the Skyhawks (5-0-5, 1-0-3) had other ideas as despite finishing the night with an overwhelming advantage on the shot chart, the scoreboard never changed over 90 minutes as the teams played to a scoreless result.
 
The Orediggers offense went right to work in the match, putting up shots early and often but had a hard time working their way through the FLC defense to get those quality looks. The first shot on goal of the night actually came from the visitors in the 12th minute, as Ann Spence looked for the early lead but was denied by Sadie Wolf. Moments later, Mines put Riley Bravin to the test as Laura Butler looked for her second goal in as many games but came up empty in the 14th minute.
 
Mines kept working away against the Fort Lewis defense as the shot count continued to climb, but the next shot on goal didn't come until just before the break in the 40th minute, when Cloey Seltzer took aim but was also denied by Bravin as the first 45 minutes went in the books.
 
Ellise Putnam had a go at getting the Orediggers on the board to start the second half, as her shot in the 52nd minute was true, but was snared by new goalie Katlyn Rosenbaum as the Skyhawks continued their trend in recent years of swapping netminders at halftime.
 
Each time had a try in succession in the 57th and 58th minutes, but each goalie was able to make a save as the search for the first goal of the night wore on. As the half wore on, the Skyhawks switched to a more conservative approach, preferring to play keep away when in possession of the ball and swarming on defense without it. That strategy was able to frustrate the Mines attack and led to a chance for the lead in the 76th minute as Spence went head-to-head with Wolf again, but once more the advantage went to the keeper as the shot was saved to keep things level.
 
As the minutes ticked by, the desperation level rose with Mines doing anything in their power to find a way through the FLC defense. Afton Rasco put up one final try in the 83rd minute, looking to find the lower left corner but Rosenbaum made the stop as after a night that saw too many near-misses to count, the teams saw the night end as it started on the scoreboard in a 0-0 draw.
 
NOTABLES
-McDermott led the way with five shots in the match as eight different players logged at least two tries for Mines
-Rubi ended the night with four while Campos, Putnam and Rasco each added three
-Wolf posted three saves in goal to record the shutout, her third this season and the 11th of her career and is now one behind Sierra Roth (2018-21) for tying for fifth all-time
-Mines ended the night with 27 shots against just five from Fort Lewis, but only five of those shots were on goal
-FLC played an effective game of keep away when they did have the ball, finishing the night with 51% possession and spending 69% of that time on their side of midfield
-The draw with the Skyhawks is only the third in program history and first since the 2019 regular season
 
UP NEXT
Mines clashes with Western Colorado Sunday October 8 at 2:30 p.m. The match will be the second of a doubleheader with the men's team that day.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on Twitter and Instagram 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.