Mines (0-0-1) vs #19 Cal Poly Pomona (1-0-1) – Friday, 6 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (0-0-1) vs #9 Cal State San Bernardino (2-0-0) – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HOME DEBUT
After a single game out on the west coast to kick off 2023, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team makes their home debut this weekend at Stermole Stadium as they play host to a pair of Top 25 opponents, taking on Cal Poly Pomona Friday night before clashing with Cal State San Bernardino in Sunday afternoon matinee action.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network and will have live stats through SIDEARM.
 
WEEK 1 RECAP
Marc Zimmerman scored the first goal of the season for Mines in the 14th minute last Friday night at Cal State Monterey Bay, but that early goal was unable to hold up as the Otters tied things in the 70th minute to force a 1-1 draw to begin the season. John Burnett came up with the assist on the Zimmerman goal, while newcomer Caden Allaire made four saves in goal in his Oredigger debut.
 
NEW FACES
11 newcomers join the program in Golden for the 2023 season, featuring a trio of transfers including two from the Division I ranks in Ayman Bushara (Air Force) and Luke Hanna (Tulsa). Eight freshmen join the mix as well from Maryland to Texas and Minnesota to Georgia as well as points in between. Get to know the newest Orediggers by reviewing the 2023 Signing Class here.
 
THE SKIPPER
Head Coach Greg Mulholland joined the program in 2007 as an assistant coach before taking over as interim head coach in 2017 and full head coach in 2018, making the 2022 season his 16th with the Orediggers. Through five years at the helm, Mulholland 84-18-12 overall with a mark of 57-3-6 in RMAC play. His overall winning percentage through the 2021 season ranks #1 among all active coaches in NCAA Division II with a minimum of five years as a DII head coach. Last season, Mulholland became the first men's soccer coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to win five straight RMAC regular-season championships. He is a four-time RMAC Coach of the Year and headed the 2019 and 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches South Central Region Staffs of the Year.
 
WEARING THE C
Grant Bell, Caelin David and Ian Kugler will be the three men wearing the armband this season as selected by the team and coaches. Bell was a key member of a back line unit that logged 10 shutouts last season started 11 times in 16 matches for 1,128 minutes with an assist to his ledger in 2022. David and Kugler made up a deadly duo in the midfield last season, with the former earning Honorable Mention All-RMAC laurels by starting all 21 matches and leading the team with 1,813 minutes and picking up an assist along the way, while Kugler, a fifth-year senior, started 15 times in 19 matches for 1,228 minutes and tallied a goal and two assists.
 
WELCOME BACK
14 members from last year's RMAC championship club are back with the program this fall, headlined by top returning scorers Chris Seery and Gabriel Rodriguez, who scored five and four goals respectively in 2022. Quin Collins, the man who scored in each of Mines' RMAC tournament matches last season, and Marc Levin, who converted the trophy-winning penalty kick in the 10th round of the title match, are also back.
 
IN THE POLLS
Tuesday's first United Soccer Coaches Poll of the regular season saw Mines drop out from their preseason #22 ranking but still earned votes, while the remainder of the rankings saw significant shuffling. Cal Poly Pomona moved up three spots to #19 awhile Cal State San Bernadino leapfrogged all the way up to ninth after beginning the season unranked. CSU Pueblo dropped from second all the way out of the top 10 to #12, while UCCS broke into the rankings at #20. As far as the RMAC goes, the ThunderWolves were picked to finish atop the conference while Mines, UCCS, Colorado Mesa and Regis rounded out the top five.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
The Broncos rebounded from a scoreless opening night draw against Biola to collect their first win of the season in a shootout with Point Loma 5-3.
 
Already four different players account for those five goals, as Mads Frederikson's two lead the club. Paul roger Henschke has a goal to his ledger as well along with a team-best three assists. Melvin Leon has a goal and an assist while Sam Lena rounds out the scoring in the early going.
 
In goal, Luke Garciduenas started both matches and logged 98 minutes between the pipes, allowing one goal against seven shots faced. Sucre Herrera has made one appearance in relief and has allowed two goals but does have credit for a win this season.
 
As a team, Cal Poly Pomona is averaging 2.5 goals and 9.5 shots per match while limiting opponents to 1.5 and 5.5. They also have three times as many corner kick opportunities, with an 18-6 edge in two matches.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes went 2-0-0 on opening weekend, knocking off a pair of tough opponents in Point Loma and Biola by scores of 4-2 and 2-1 respectively and will take on Regis Friday night before heading up to Golden Sunday.
 
Six different players account for the six goals scored thus far for CSUSB, as Nicklaus Sullivan, Brian Castillo, Victor Chavez, Christian Moran, Tony Negrete and Angel Rico have been the responsible parties. Sullivan is also tied for the team lead in assists with Jonathan Mayen with two while Michael Maldonado has one.
 
Already three keepers have seen time in goal for the Coyotes, with Aiden Hanes being the leader in minutes after starting against Biola and playing all 90 minutes, allowing a goal and making two saves against eight shots to earn the win. John Samano started on opening night and has 67 minutes and a team high four saves to his name while allowing two goals also against eight shots, while Mark Gamez came on in a reserve role to log 23 minutes and has yet to record any statistics this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Friday night will be the sixth meeting of the Orediggers and Broncos as Mines looks to snap a three-match winless streak in the first match of the series to be played in Golden. Last season the teams played to a 2-2 draw in Pomona. Meanwhile Sunday will see Mines and CSUSB tangle for the fourth time with the series standing at 1-1-1 all-time and second time in Golden; the Orediggers won the first match in the series at home by a score of 5-1 in 1985. Last season, the team played to a 1-1 draw in San Bernardino.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend's stopover at home, Mines returns to the road next weekend as they head to the Pacific Northwest to take on Western Washington on Thursday September 14 and Seattle Pacific on Saturday September 16.
 
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.