GOLDEN, Colo. – Under a cloudless sunny day the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team was back in action at Stermole Stadium Sunday afternoon to take on Westminster in non-conference matchup in the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The Orediggers (1-2-4) were definitely the aggressors in the match from the opening whistle, but it was the Griffins (3-3-2) who managed to come away with a 1-0 win after converting a penalty kick in the 71st minute.
 
Mines came out swinging to start the afternoon, putting up four shots in the first four minutes as Marc Levin and Hilmir Arnarsson combined to put three on goal to test Noah Larkin early but came up empty handed. The shots kept coming for Mines, as more folks tried their hand at finding the first goal of the day as Josef Emge, Ian Kugler, Caelin David and Marc Zimmerman all teed off but either missed their mark or were turned away by Larkin.
 
That tone continued for just about the entirety of the first 45 minutes Sunday, as the first half came to a close with the Orediggers outshooting the Griffins 11-3 in the period.
 
Levin picked up in the second half right where he left off in the first and put another shot on goal but to no avail in the 50th minute, while Caden Allaire made his first save of the day on a pedestrian shot from Armin Hasanovic in the 56th minute.
 
With the intensity picking up as well as the physicality, both teams battled back and forth trying to gain the advantage. Unfortunately for the Orediggers, things got a little too physical in the wrong location on the field in the 71st minute, as a foul was whistled just on the edge of the 18-yard box that saw a penalty kick awarded to the Griffins. The shot from Hasanovic evaded a diving try in goal from Allaire to find the net and put Westminster ahead 1-0.
 
Now looking to find an equalizer in the final 19 minutes, the Orediggers threw everything they could at the Griffins. A diving header from Graham Shoaps in the 72nd minute from point blank range nearly resulted in a collision with Roark as he made the save, while Tommy Jernigan banged a shot just off the crossbar while the rebound to Zimmerman was blocked seconds later.
 
Try as they might, Mines was unable to find a way to draw back even on the scoreboard, as despite the best efforts of Chris Seery and Quin Collins in the closing moments, they closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 1-0 setback.
 
NOTABLES
-Levin led the way with four shot attempts with three going on goal, setting a new career high in both categories
-Kugler added three shots of his own with one on goal
-Burnett, Collins, Shoaps and Zimmerman each added two shots apiece
-12 different players recorded at least one attempt in the match
-Allaire recorded one save in goal and now has 26 on the season
-Mines finished the day with a season-high 21 shot attempts, seven of which were on goal
 
UP NEXT
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play is on deck for the Orediggers, as they'll take to the road once more for both matches this weekend, starting with #25 UCCS Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Colorado Springs before squaring off for the second time in 11 days with #3 CSU Pueblo Sunday afternoon at 1 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.