GOLDEN, Colo. – After two long weeks away from home, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team was back at the friendly confines of Stermole Stadium Thursday night to continue Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action opposite #13 Fort Lewis. In keeping with their recent run of strong play, the Orediggers (4-9-2, 3-2-2) kept the Skyhawks (7-2-5, 3-2-1) off-balance for the entirety of the night, scoring early to take the lead and adding on as the night progressed to claim a crucial 3-0 victory.
 
Fort Lewis took aim with the first two shots of the night but neither threatened to get things off and running in the opening moments. That honor would end up going to the Orediggers, who came out looking to set the tone as they pushed their attack home very aggressively to start the match, resulting in the first of eight opening period corner kicks in the 10th minute. Raul Gerhardus was the man to key things back in out of the far corner as his volley settled at the feet of John Burnett, who fired a one-timer off his right foot through a crowd back across his body from around the penalty spot past the latest RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week Aidan Hartman in a harbinger of what was to follow as the match progressed.
 
Play resumed and after a near-miss in the 16th minute by a wide-open Gabriel Legendre that missed wide right, Gabriel Rodriguez and Quin Collins take aim for the Orediggers as they continued to push in their offensive half forcing the Skyhawks to play on their heels. 17 minutes after the first goal went up, Ayman Bushara added the second to double the lead to 2-0. A goal kick out of the Mines end of the field caromed around midfield before being collected near the circle by Carter Jansen and played out wide to Josh Ary. The freshman, in just his fourth appearance of the season, played a tremendous long ball up to Bushara near the top of the 18. The Air Force transfer gathered and cut back inside the defender before burying a shot in the lower left corner to make it 2-0.
 
Bushara nearly scored again not even 40 seconds off the restart, but Hartman was able to recollect himself and make the save to keep it a two-score game for the moment. FLC's best look of the opening period came with Casey Stracher rattled the frame in the 41st minute with a near-miss while a shot with 13 seconds left in the period by Thomas Kirkham was true but handled easily by Peter Saunders to conclude the opening 45 minutes.
 
With momentum squarely on their side, the Orediggers continued to add on just 81 seconds into the second half. A goal kick by Saunders across midfield was headed back downfield by the Fort Lewis defense before being collected in front of the visitor's bench by Noah Roles. The freshman from Rio Rancho played it back up field to Bushara who slipped a pass through the legs of a defender to find Gerhardus on his way to the races. He cut back to the center of the field before dishing to Rodriguez, who dribbled into and out of the near corner with a defender draped across his back to the side of the penalty area before dishing back to a wide-open Gerhardus who went top shelf, just over the reach of Hartman and tucking neatly under the crossbar to make it a three-score contest.
 
The Skyhawks attempted to muster some kind of rally, but one of the finest defensive performances of the season by the Orediggers didn't afford them many clean looks at goal. Saunder's made a save against Fabrizio Aguilera in the 59th minute as while the shots started to stack up for Fort Lewis, they continued to miss their marks high and wide.
 
As the half wore on, Kian Mueller and Smith Russell took their turns leading the charge with shots on goal as the Skyhawks became increasingly frustrated with how the night was going. Three cautions were issued to visitors in a nine-minute span late in the period for aggressive play as Mines continued to make the #13 team in this week's rankings uncomfortable as they'd been all season.
 
Rodriguez and Fabrizio traded shots in the 80th minute but Hartman and Saunders each made saves as time started to become an ally of the Orediggers. With time ticking down, the Skyhawks attempted three final shots in the closing 10 minutes, but not a one threatened to do so much as make a dent in the final outcome as Mines continued ran their unbeaten streak to five with a 3-0 victory, taking down their second Top 25 opponent of the season in the process.
 
NOTABLES
-Burnett's goal was his first of the season and seventh of his career after returning to the lineup following two weeks of being inactive
-Bushara ran his scoring streak to four matches and added to his team-leading total of six goals as he is now tied for third in the conference in scoring
-Gerhardus assisted on the night's first goal and capped the scoring with his second goal of 2024 and fourth of his career, now giving him 11 points in 14 career matches
-Ary, making his Stermole Stadium debut Thursday, recorded his first career assist in just his fourth appearance and becomes the fifth true freshman to register an assist this fall
-Saunders made saves on all four shots on goal and directed a defensive effort that gave FLC fits as their remaining 17 shots either missed their mark or were blocked
-Abou Bakar Berthe made his first start in a Mines uniform in the match and logged a season-high 49 minutes in doing so
-Nine different players attempted a shot for Mines in the match, led by Rodriguez with four
-The nine shots on goal are tied for the most in a match this season while the 16 shots for the night is the fourth such performance of the fall
-With the clean sheet, the Orediggers are the first team this season to shutout the Skyhawks
-Over their last five matches, Mines has accrued 11 points in the RMAC standings and with other results from around the league today, now find themselves in a tie for fourth in the standings with MSU Denver with 11 points, leapfrogging FLC and are now just two points back of UCCS for third
-The current five match unbeaten streak is the longest successful run for the Orediggers since they ran off a seven match winning streak in 2022
-Mines is now 16-12-4 all-time at home against Fort Lewis and has not lost in the last 10 meetings in Golden
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers close out their weekend at home by hosting Adams State Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. Prior to the match, the eight seniors on this year's club will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's soccer on X and Instagram at @minesmsoc and @mines_msoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.