SEATTLE, Wash. – Closing out their trip to the Pacific Northwest and looking to bounce back after a loss Thursday night, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team lined up opposite Seattle Pacific Saturday night at Interbay Stadium. Despite falling behind early, the Orediggers (0-1-4) managed to once again rally in the second half, using a Marc Zimmerman in the final 15 minutes against the Falcons (2-3-1) to earn a 1-1 draw.
 
Gabriel Rodriguez got the action started in the fourth minute with the first shot off the night, but his try was blocked and allowed SPU to go on a run the other way to test Caden Allaire early in goal, as he was able to save a shot from Luis Zazueta to keep things scoreless in the opening minutes.
 
The next six shot attempts of the night all came from the Orediggers over the following 25 minutes as the defense was able to stymie the Falcons' offense, holding them at bay. Marc Zimmerman, John Burnett, Ian Kugler and Nathan Dreher all came up empty as the search for the night's first goal continued on.
 
Not too long after Kugler's try in the 31st minute, SPU had a pair in the 32nd and 36th minutes, the second of which was able to find its way past Allaire off the foot of Selgado Pena to put the Falcons on the board first.
 
Allaire bounced back in the 40th minute, turning away a try from Reymundo Mendez while Chris Seery looked to even things up in the closing seconds of the half, but 45 minutes of play saw Mines on the wrong end of a 1-0 score.
 
Coming out of the gates in the second half, it was again Mines in the persons of Rodriguez and Burnett who put the pressure on right away looking for the equalizer. Back-to-back tries from Zimmerman in the 52nd minute both missed their mark before two shots from Seattle Pacific were off target in the 60th.
 
With time winding down, the pressure seemed to build for the Orediggers with each passing second and each near miss meaning that many fewer opportunities were remaining. Quin Collins teed one up in the 67th minute and again in the 72nd to no avail each time.
 
As the Falcons' defense continued to stymie the Orediggers, a breakdown in the 76th minute allowed the Orediggers to capitalize. After a Mines corner kick ended up going over the end line past the goal on the near side, the ensuing goal kick saw an SPU defender turn the ball over with an errant pass to the top of the 18-yard box, where Zimmerman swooped in to finish with a left foot to the right of the goalie to even the score at 1-1.
 
With now less than 15 minutes to play, the intensity ratcheted up for both teams, knowing that the next potential goal might be the game-winner. A near-miss from SPU rattled off the cross bar in the 81st minute, while Marc Levin's bid to be the hero was denied by Mitchell Wilson in the 88th minute. With the seconds winding down, the Falcons looked to win in the final minute, as a shot by Orlando Erazo with 25 seconds left was on target, but right to the hands of Allaire as time expired with the result being a 1-1 draw.
 
NOTABLES
-Zimmerman scored his third goal of the season in the draw and has now scored in a goal every odd-numbered match Mines has played; he also led the way with seven shot attempts in the match
-Rodriguez made his first start of the season and posted three shot attempts
-Burnett, Collins and Kugler each ended the night with two shot attempts
-Eight different players attempted a shot as Mines finished with a season-high 19 shots and posted double-digit tries for the third match in a row
-Allaire logged three saves in goal, marking the third match in which he has had at least that many
-The draw was the fourth of the season for Mines, tied for the most in a season since 2019 when Mines went 15-4-4
 
UP NEXT
Mines returns to Stermole Stadium this week for a pair of non-conference matches against RMAC opponents, playing #4 CSU Pueblo Thursday September 7 at 7 p.m. before welcoming Westminster Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
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.