#20 Mines (4-2-2, 0-1-1 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State (3-4-0,  1-1-0 RMAC) – Friday, 6 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#20 Mines (4-2-2, 0-1-1 RMAC) vs. Regis (6-2-0, 2-0-0) – Sunday, 1 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HOMECOMING WEEKEND
After a challenging start to their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule last week, the #20 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team returns to Stermole Stadium this weekend looking to rebound on homecoming weekend in Golden as they'll play host to Black Hills State Friday night before lining up against Regis in a rematch of last season's RMAC tournament title match on Sunday.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Tickets are available for pre-purchase at minesathletics.com/tickets as well as on the day of the event at the gate. Parking in Lot K is free after 5 p.m. during the week and on weekends. Additional parking is available in Lot Q located at Elm and West Campus Drive, the parking garage located at 14th and Maple Streets, and in City of Golden municipal parking along 11th Street. Visit mines.edu/parking for a parking map.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through SIDEARM.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Kevin Fickes is in his 14th season leading the Mines women's soccer program, already the program's all-time leader in wins at 213-39-37. His .801 career win percentage is currently among the top-10 active NCAA Division II coaches, and on October 6 of last season against Colorado Christian, he became just the second RMAC coach to reach 200 career victories, joining current UCCS boss J.B. Belzer. Entering the 2023 season, Fickes has overseen 27 All-American selections, 13 Academic All-Americans, 69 all-conference honorees, and 21 RMAC major award winners while guiding Mines to six RMAC regular-season titles and nine RMAC Tournament trophies, with 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

WEARING THE ARMBAND
The Orediggers have selected a new group of captains for the 2023 season, as Ava Harman, Katie Koehler and Reese McDermott will be wearing the armband this fall. Harman is entering her third season as a starter and scored the first goal of her career in 2022. McDermott was named Third Team All-American to cap off a decorated breakout season in which she was one of the most prolific goal scorers in in the conference, finding the net 15 times as only one of two players with double-digit goals. Koehler, also entering her third season as a starter, was a key piece of a defensive backline last fall that allowed just 0.74 goals and 9.7 shots per match while also scoring four times herself.
 
SENIOR DAY SUNDAY
Prior to the match Sunday against Regis, Mines will recognize the senior class of 2023 that includes Michelle Easley, Brooke Patterson, Colleen Tyrrell, Kate Clady, Brook Pennington, Landry Corbett and Emma Carstens. During their time at Mines, that group listed above has helped lead the Orediggers to a record of 61-11-14 with 34 RMAC wins, three combined RMAC regular season and tournament titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
WEEK 4 REVIEW
Mines finds themselves in unfamiliar territory heading into the second week of RMAC play, as they managed just one point last weekend after going 0-1-1. Thursday night at UCCS, the Orediggers came out on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision despite outshooting the Mountain Lions 12-8 in the match. Sunday at CSU Pueblo, Mines fell behind early for the second match in a row, but a late first half goal by Katie Koehler equalized the score and despite finishing with a 17-4 edge on the shot chart, mines had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
 
STARTING FRESH
This weekend at home could be a chance for the Orediggers to hit the reset button and find their footing once more after a challenging last three matches. Last time Mines was at home, they fell to Seattle Pacific by a score of 2-1 to snap a 36-match home unbeaten streak going back nearly four years to October of 2019. However, when it comes to playing at home in RMAC contests, the Orediggers haven't lost since October 18 of 2019 against UCCS, winning 16 straight conference matches at Stermole Stadium. They'll look to use that home field advantage to get back on track this weekend.
 
IN THE POLLS
The latest United Soccer Coaches Poll was released Tuesday and saw Mines check in at #20 this week. RMAC rival Colorado Mesa remained at #5 after rising to that spot last week while UCCS garnered votes in this week's edition. Week two opponent Dallas Baptist remained inside the top 10 at #9 this week. The RMAC Preseason Poll, announced August 16 also had the Orediggers leading the way, as the RMAC coaches picked Mines to repeat as champions with nine first place votes, followed by UCCS, Regis, Westminster and MSU Denver in the top five.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
Entering her third season as an Oredigger, Reese McDermott has already penned her name into the record books when it comes to career marks in several places; her 26 career goals are now good for sole possession of fifth all-time and trails Nicole LaTourette (2016-19) by just one. In addition, her 59 points are now fifth-most all-time, also behind LaTourette. Her eight game-winning goals now stand alone in sixth all-time, while she is now fourth all-time in single-season goals with 15, two behind Anna Evans' 17 in 2012. When it comes to shutouts, Sadie Wolf now has 10 in her young career and has now passed Penny Rogers (2008-11) for sixth all-time and now trails Sierra Roth (2018-21) by two.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
After one weekend of RMAC play, Mines remains in the top five in the league as a team in several categories. The Orediggers 18 goals are good for fourth in the RMAC while their 18 assists remain the high-water mark by a comfortable margin. Mines also leads the conference with 161 shots attempts and 71 shots on goal while their 54 points are tied for the top spot alongside Colorado Mesa.
 
Individually, Bella Campos remains inside the top five in scoring tied with Jayda Hammer from Black Hills State for fourth in the RMAC with four goals, while Reese McDermott and Natalie rouse are tied with several others for sixth with three goals. McDermott is also among double-digit players when it comes to assists, as she is tied for second in the conference with three while her 15 shots on goal lead the way.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Freshman Bella Campos remains the team leader when it comes to scoring with four points while Reese McDermott and Natalie Rouse have three goals each to their credit. Katie Koehler joined Cloey Seltzer with her second goal of the season Sunday while four other players each have one goal over the first eight matches. McDermott along with Ava Harman are the club leaders with three assists each, with Landry Corbett and Ellise Putnam each adding two with another eight Orediggers all responsible for one.
 
Between the pipes, Sadie Wolf and Keira Gracia have split time with the former seeing the lion's share of minutes, starting six times in seven matches for 495 minutes and allowing six goals while making six saves against 38 shots for a GAA of 1.09 and .500 save rate to post a 3-2-1 record with two shutouts. Garcia has started twice in four appearances, allowing one goal and recording five saves for a GAA of 0.40 and an .833 save percentage against 19 shots while going 1-0-1 with a shutout.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
The Yellow Jackets started off RMAC play at home last weekend with a 1-0 win over Colorado Christian last Thursday before dropping a 2-0 decision to MSU Denver on Sunday. In their five non-conference matches to open the season, BHSU went 2-3-0, posting big wins over Dakota Wesleyan and Mount Marty on the road before dropping three in a row to Carroll, Minot State and MSU Billings.
 
Eight different players have scored for Black Hills State in seven matches, led by Jayda Hammer with four and followed by Kayla Osegueda and Hailey Warren with two apiece while five others each have one goal to their ledgers. Eight different players also have an assist this season, as Osegueda and Warren each lead the way with a pair as another six Yellow Jackets have one apiece.
 
In goal, Makayla Dannelly is back and played all 630 minutes to date and put up some solid numbers, making 30 saves while allowing only six goals against 69 shots faced for a GAA of 0.86 and an .833 save percentage along with three shutouts.
 
As a team, BHSU has outscored opponents 13-6 and is averaging 1.86 goals per game while allowing 0.86. In terms of shots taken and shots allowed per match, things are about even at 10.7 to 10.4. 10 assists have been recorded on those 13 goals and 22 corner kicks have been recorded against 23 for opponents and the Yellow Jackets are 1-1 on penalties for the year. The six goals they have allowed are tied for the third-fewest in the league this season.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers find themselves atop the RMAC standings with three other teams after going 2-0-0 to earn six points on the opening weekend of conference play. They dispatched MSU Denver 2-1 on Friday before making the shot trip to Lakewood to post another 2-1 win over Colorado Christian. Regis has now won five straight matches, including wins over UT-Permian Basin, Central Washington and Saint Martin's after starting the season 1-2-0.
 
Natalie Bunch, the second-leading scorer in the RMAC this season, leads the team with six goals and also has a pair of assists for 14 points and is one of four players for the Rangers with multiple goals. She's joined by Madeline Gardner and Sarah Wynn who each have three while Kelby Kuo has two. Five other players each have one goal apiece while the 20th goal for Regis came by way of an own goal. Gardner has been good when it comes to distributing the wealth too, as she and Alex Baer are tops on the team with three assists while Bunch is joined by Taylor Brown with two.
 
Three different netminders have seen action for Regis this year, with Kayla Arucan being the leading lady appearing in six matches with five starts for 405 minutes, making a team-high 20 saves against seven goals allowed for a GAA of 1.56 and a .741 save percentage while going 4-2-0 with the team's lone solo shutout to her credit. Grace Glover has been the primary reserve, starting three times in five outings for 299 minutes and making 14 saves against two goals for a 0.60 GAA and a save rate of .875, while Baileigh Baker has played 16 minutes in her lone appearance and has yet to record any stats.
 
As a unit, Regis has outscored teams 20-9 and is outshooting opponents 16.4-12.5 per match. They have logged 12 assists on 20 goals and made 34 combined saves in goal while recording 33 corners kicks and going 2-3 on penalty kicks.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers and Yellow Jackets will be meeting for the eighth time Friday night and the first seven have all gone the way of the Orediggers, with four of those wins coming at home. Last season, Mines hosted BHSU and posted a 3-0 win for their fifth-straight shutout in the series and sixth in seven all-time matchups. The scoreboard in the series is also very one-sided, as Mines has scored 31 goals while allowing just one. Against Regis, Mines leads the series 20-9-2 and has won two in a row eight of the previous 11 meetings. Both matches last season were played in Golden to close the regular season and decide the RMAC tournament title and saw the Orediggers win each time 2-0 to improve to 9-4-1 at home all-time, where they have not lost since 2014.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers will be at home for two more matches next weekend when they welcome Fort Lewis and Western Colorado to town on Thursday October 5 and Sunday October 8 respectively. Both dates will be played as doubleheaders with the Mines men's team.
 
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.