Mines (5-9-2, 4-2-2) at Colorado Christian (4-4-7, 2-3-2) – Thursday, 3 p.m. – Lakewood, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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KEEPING IT LOCAL
After securing six more massive points in the RMAC standings over the weekend at home, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team will look to secure a spot in the postseason this week as they make the short trip down Highway 6 to Lakewood for their lone match of the week Thursday afternoon against Colorado Christian at the recently resurfaced Trailblazer Stadium.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will be available for both matches. Links for video and stats for both matches can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
WEEK 8 RECAP
Mines retained their status as the hottest team in the RMAC thanks to a 3-0 win over then #13 Fort Lewis and a 7-1 romp on senior day over Adams State. Thursday the Orediggers scored early and never took their foot off the gas against the Skyhawks, as Raul Gerhardus' corner kick in the 10th minute was netted by John Burnett to set the tone early. Ayman Bushara scored 17 minutes later thanks to a long ball from Josh Ary before Gerhardus iced things with a goal less than two minutes into the second half. Peter Saunders made saves against all four shots on goal to notch his second shutout of the season.
 
Sunday against the Grizzlies was a highlight reel for nearly the entirety of the match. Jimmy Koufidakis scored his first goal as an Oredigger in just the third minute from Caelin David before Abou Bakar Berthe scored his first goal as well thanks to Ayman Bushara. Gerhardus kept the party rolling in the second half, scoring twice in four minutes from Gabriel Rodriguez and Bakar Berthe. Bushara found the scoring column next to extend his goal streak with help from Rodriguez before Quin Collins got in on the fun with an assist from John Burnett. Smith Russell capped the scoring, becoming the first freshman to net a goal this season on a ball from Collins in the winning effort.
 
RULES RESET
It wasn't too long ago that the NCAA implemented new changes to the soccer rules with the last set of changes coming in 2022. Now in 2024, there's been more tweaks to the rulebook, including at least a partial revision of one of the 2022 changes. First up is an adjustment to the substitution rules in the second half and overtime, when applicable. To avoid clock manipulation by teams that are ahead or teams that are tied late in a match, all substitutions within the final 15 minutes of regulation and any made during overtime will result in the clock being stopped. The second change affects overtime during the postseason, as sudden victory (otherwise known as the "Golden Goal") has been reinstated. In addition, video review has been expanded to review all penalty kick situations, all straight red cards events, denial of obvious goal-scoring opportunity situations and any potential offside violations in goal-scoring situations.
 
THE SKIPPER
With a record of 94-34-20 (.703) overall and 65-9-10 in RMAC action at the helm in Golden, skipper Greg Mulholland has established himself as one of the top head coaches not just in Division II, but the NCAA as a whole. An assistant with the Orediggers from 2007-2016 who served as interim head coach in 2017 before having the interim tag dropped in 2018, Mulholland ranks third among active Division II coaches with a minimum of five years on the job in winning percentage and is 15th across the entirety of NCAA Soccer. Under his direction, Mines has claimed a combined 11 regular season and postseason championships, running off six consecutive regular season crowns from 2017-22 and four tournament titles from 2017-20. Mulholland is also a four-time RMAC Coach of the Year and has twice headed up the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year.
 
WEARING THE ARMBAND
For the second consecutive year, Caelin David will serve as a captain for the Orediggers and be joined by goalie Caden Allaire and striker Gabriel Rodriguez.
 
David, a senior from Alpharetta, Georgia, has been a staple in the starting lineup for Mines each of the last two seasons, starting all 38 matches over that span after appearing as a reserve in nine matches as a freshman in 2021. He scored his first two career goals in 2023 and has five career points heading into 2024.
 
Allaire has emerged as a locker room leader heading into his second season at Mines after transferring into the program for the 2023 season. An RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week honoree last October, he started all 16 matches in which he played for more than 1,400 minutes and recorded 56 saves, a 1.60 GAA and a .691 save percentage while going 4-6-6 with three shutouts.
 
Rodriguez, who earned his captaincy just last week, appeared in 51 matches with 14 starts over his first three seasons as an Oredigger and scoring 11 goals with five assists including two game-winners in over 2,100 career minutes played.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines was tabbed to finish fifth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll back on August 15, earning 63 points on the ballot. The national runners-up each of the last two seasons, CSU Pueblo was picked to win the league with eight first place votes while defending champion Fort Lewis earned three first place ballots to place second. Colorado Mesa and UCCS rounded out the top five in third and fourth.
 
On the national stage there was some movement among the top five but no significant changes. Lynn and Charleston remained 1-2 while Limestone and Cal State Los Angeles are now tied for third with UCCS standing pat in fifth. CSU Pueblo rebounded from 25th back to #16 this week while Fort Lewis dropped from #13 to #19.
 
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
A 2-0 weekend at home against then #13 Fort Lewis and Adams state were fueled by big performances from Raul Gerhardus and Peter Saunders, as they were honored by the RMAC Tuesday as Offensive Player and Goalkeeper of the Week respectively. Read more about what they turned in last weekend here.
 
AMAZIN' AYMAN
Over the last five matches, Ayman Bushara has arguably been one of, if not the, hottest players in the RMAC. After scoring in each game at home over the weekend against Fort Lewis and Adams State, the Air Force transfer has now found the net in five straight matches while adding two assists along the way for 12 points. Now firmly the team leader in goals and points, Bushara also finds himself among the league leaders in scoring this season as he looks to keep it going in the final two matches of the regular season the next two weeks.
 
HAVE YOURSELF A WEEKEND
On a weekend where the Orediggers recognized the program's elder statesmen, one in particular put on the performance of a career. Raul Gerhadus, who missed the entirety of two season and most of a third due to injury, absolutely balled out against Fort Lewis and Adams State. After getting on the board with his first goal of the season on October 17 in a historic rally against Regis, Gerhardus scored three times at Stermole last weekend and added an assist for seven points. Friday night his corner kick in the 10th minute against the Skyhawks set up John Burnett for the go-ahead goal before icing the match moments into the second half to make it a 3-0 game on a ball from Gabriel Rodriguez. Sunday against the Grizzlies, Gerhardus scored twice in a four-minute span to open the second half and begin the blowout, teaming up again with Rodriguez in the 51st minute before getting some help from Abou Bakar Berthe in the 54th minute for the second one on the way to a 7-1 victory.
 
FANTASTIC FIRSTS
With the offensive eruption for seven goals Sunday, several Orediggers recorded career firsts in the match. Jimmy Koufidakis, Abou Bakar Berthe and Smith Russell all scored their first goals in a Mines uniform while Bakar Berthe also notched his first assist. Caelin David tallied his first point of the season when he assisted on the Koufidakis goal while Timmy Walshauser made his collegiate debut in the second half, coming off the bench to record 18 minutes. Friday night also saw a season first as John Burnett tallied his first goal of 2024 as he has now scored in each of his four seasons at Mines.
 
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
Half of the six spots in the 2024 RMAC Men's Soccer Championship have been secured with Regis, CSU Pueblo and UCCS all locking themselves in over the weekend with their results. Those three currently occupy the top three spots in the standings with 19, 18 and 16 points respectively.
 
Mines finds themselves in fourth following six more points at home over the weekend, bringing their total to 14 with just one match on deck this week. Fort Lewis is one point behind as they rebounded to win Sunday and stand at 13 points in fifth. Currently occupying the final playing spot in the standings is MSU Denver with 11 points.
 
Colorado Christian is currently the first team out with eight points followed by South Dakota Mines in eighth with five points. Colorado Mesa, Westminster and Adams State are likely all ready to put 2024 behind them as they bring up the rear of the field with four, three and one point respectively.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Now having scored in each of the last five matches, Ayman Bushara is the team leader in scoring with seven goals and is also tied for the team lead in assists with three for 17 points. Gabriel Rodriguez has four goals himself and is tied with Bushara when it comes to assists with three. Raul Gerhardus now finds himself tied with Rodriguez in scoring at four goals and is one of five players with two assists in 2024. Quin Collins rounds out the group of multiple goal scorers this season as he has three with two assists of his own.
 
The rest of the two-assist crew includes John Burnett and Smith Russell, both of whom have scored this fall and Marc Zimmermann. About Bakar Berthe has one goal and one assist while a further seven Orediggers have also contributed a point on offense either by scoring or assisting on a goal. Luke Hanna and Jimmy Koufidakis complete the scoring balance while Josh Ary, Caelin David, Jaden Igarta, Kian Mueller and Noah Roles all have an assist.
 
Peter Saunders posted his second and perhaps biggest shutout of the season Thursday against Fort Lewis as over the weekend he appeared in his ninth and 10th matches of the season and now stands with 44 saves against 12 goals allowed in 796 minutes with a 1.36 GAA and .786 save rate against 124 shots. Caden Allaire saw his first action in almost a month in the final minutes Sunday and through 644 minutes over nine outings, he has a 2.24 GAA and .660 save percentage, allowing 16 goals while making 31 saves against 106 shots.
 
On the year, Mines now finds themselves just -5 in goal differential at 28-23 and has steadily raised their scoring average in recent weeks, now posting 1.44 goals on 11.6 shots per game while lowering opponent numbers to 1.75 goals and 14.3 shots per match. They have 22 assists on their 23 goals and have made 75 saves defensively. They are 2-2 on penalties this fall and have been whistled for 168 fouls, assessed 125 yellow cards and issued one ejection.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars snapped a four-match winless streak Sunday thanks to a 1-0 win over South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. Prior to that, they worked a 1-1 draw with Westminster after being on the wrong of three straight shutouts at the hands of UCCS, CSU Pueblo and Colorado Mesa.
 
CCU has used the new playing surface at their off-campus home venue Trailblazer Stadium to their advantage this fall, posting a 3-0-4 record when playing in Lakewood and establishing significant homefield advantage.
 
10 different players have scored this season for CCU led by Lucas Peruzo with four goals along with an assist for a team-best nine points. Lucca Casci and Tiago Gomes both have three goals and two assists each for eight points, while Gabe Roloff is the only other man with multiple scores on the season. A further six Cougars have a solitary goal to their ledgers in 2024.
 
When it comes to assists, Adrian Diez leads CCU with three while Daniel Garciacano joins Casci and Gomes with two. In addition to Peruzo and Roloff, Caleb Dodge and Shane Donnelly also have assists for the Cougars.
 
In goal, Jailon Gillespie has started all 14 matches in which he has played for 1,243 minutes and made 34 saves against 17 goals allowed for a 1.23 GAA and a .667 save rate with three shutouts against 143 shots faced. His backup has been Beckett Pomeroy, who has seen time in two games with one start for 107 minutes and made three saves against two goals allowed for a 1.68 GAA and .600 save percentage against just nine shots.
 
Collectively, CCU is just -1 in goal differential this fall at 19-18 and averages 1.20 goals on 10.1 shots per match while allowing 1.27 goals on 10.1 shots to the opposing team. They have 13 assists on their 18 goals and have combined for 37 saves defensively. They have taken 60 corner kicks and gone 3-3 on PKs while being whistled for 151 fouls, issued 21 yellow cards and assessed one red card.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday will be the 60th all-time meeting between Mines and Colorado Christian with the Orediggers leading the series 46-11-2. The Cougars took last season's meeting and ended Mines' postseason aspirations on a snowy final day of the regular season in Golden by a score of 2-1 that snapped a 12-match losing streak. The Orediggers will look to atone for that loss this fall as they are 23-5-1 when playing as the visiting team. The last time they played in Lakewood was in 2022 and resulted in a 4-0 win. The last road loss for Mines in the series came all the way back in 2002.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers have just one match on deck next week as they'll make the short trip to Lakewood and Trailblazer Stadium to take on Colorado Christian October 31 at 3 p.m. for their final away contest of the 2024 regular season.
 
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.