GOLDEN, Colo. – The fourth-ranked Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team was back at Stermole Stadium Sunday afternoon for their second match of opening weekend to take on Chico State. Much like Friday night's opener, the Orediggers (2-0-0) saw plenty of offensive output as a three-goal first half set the tone before adding a fourth in the second to knock off the Wildcats (1-1-0) 4-0.
 
Mines opened the match with a pair of shots by Reese McDermott in the first 16 minutes, the second of which was on target and looked to break the seal early, but Chico State goalie Emma Hoffman was there to make the save.
 
McDermott continued to keep applying pressure with two more tries in the following minutes as did Paola Rubi, but in the 29th minute, it was the duo of Ava Harman and Natalie Rouse who teamed up once again to find paydirt. A free kick following a Wildcat foul saw Harman once again play a ball to the top of the six-yard box where a waiting Rouse was able to fight through Sunday afternoon traffic to connect on a header once again in a near identical play from Friday night to make it 1-0.
 
It didn't take long for the Orediggers to score again, as substitute Cloey Seltzer was able to get a foot on a long ball into the box from Lauren Clingman while absorbing a collision with the keeper Hoffman to send the ball into the net and double the lead to 2-0.
 
Mines kept their foot on the gas, not relenting on offense as the shots continued to mount when just before halftime, as a corner kick into the box from Laura Butler first found Jolie Jiricek, who popped it back in the air for Katie Koehler to head it down for Afton Rasco, who snuck a shot inside the left post from three yards out in the 44th minute to make it 3-0 heading into halftime.
 
As play resumed in the second half, so did the time in the attacking zone by Mines, as the first six shots of period all came in the first 13 minutes of action. The final of those tries resulted in the fourth goal of the day for Mines, as Reese McDermott played a shallow cross from inside the six-yard box to an awaiting Landry Corbett who was able to finish and add another goal to make it a 4-0 lead in the 57th minute.
 
The Orediggers narrowly missed out on a fifth goal in the 61st minute when a try from McDermott hit the crossbar and the rebound from Koehler was met with a point-blank save from Hoffman.
 
Both teams emptied their benches over the final 30 minutes of the afternoon, as the Orediggers and Wildcats both played out the match to give some minutes to the reserves. Freshman Keira Garcia, who subbed in at halftime to take over in goal for Mines, registered her first career save in the 81st minute as the action concluded with a second-consecutive 4-0 win for the Orediggers to begin the new campaign.
 
NOTABLES
-Rouse and Harman teamed up for the second set piece goal by the duo in as many matches
-Seltzer's goal was the fourth of her career and first October 30 of last season against CSU Pueblo
-Rasco found the back of the net for the first time in 2023 and eighth time in her young Mines career
-Corbett's goal was third in her time wearing an Orediggers uniform and first since all the way back on October 17, 2021
-Harman now has five career assists with three coming in the last two matches while the first two came over a span of 50 matches
-Clingman's assist is the second of her career while Koehler and Jiricek each picked up their first in a Mines uniform
-McDermott recorded her first point of 2023 with an assist and now has 51 in her career, which ties her with Brooke Stoermer for seventh all-time
-Garcia made her career debut in goal in the second half, teaming up with Wolf to post a shutout
-The five assists during the match were the most in a game since the second game of the 2023 season when Mines also registered five in a 5-0 win over Midwestern State
-Through the first two matches of the season, the Orediggers have tallied nine assists, with every goal having at least one assist credited
-Mines outshot Chico State 25-7 overall and 12-1 on shots on frame while also holding a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks during the match
-The Orediggers are now unbeaten in their last 33 matches at Stermole Stadium
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers continue their six-match home stand to open the season Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Angelo State before hosting Dallas Baptist Sunday at 12 p.m. in a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament Third Round game.
 
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.