GOLDEN, Colo. – Looking to get on the board to close out the first weekend of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Stermole Stadium Sunday, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team lined up against rival #20 CSU Pueblo. Facing their fifth Top 25 foe of the season, the Orediggers (1-9-0, 0-2-0) gave up a first half goal before Quin Collins leveled things once more before the break, but a penalty kick roughly halfway through the second half for the ThunderWolves (7-2-1, 2-0-0) saw them come away a 2-1 result.
 
Both sides took the opening moments to feel each other out and settle into the action as the first shots took nearly 10 minutes come from the ThunderWolves. Peter Saunders was put to the test first in the 17th minute against the RMAC's leading scorer Caio Oliveira but was up to the task on the save.
 
The 30th minute saw CSU Pueblo tally the first goal, as Shjon Andrews found himself on the back end of a long throw in from Iggy DeMark to take the lead. Saunders rebounded and made a pair of saves in the minutes that followed against Tobi Osifodunrin and Andres Solares before Dylan Zavatini rattled the frame off the crossbar in the 34th minute.
 
Mines responded with a goal of their own in the 36th minute. Attempting to clear the ball out of their own end, DeMark turned it over and allowed Raul Gerhardus to race in and claim possession. The Wichita native charged up field and dished to Collins inside the penalty area, where he made a quick move around the defender before delivering a strike inside the near post to draw level at 1-1 as the teams went to halftime right back where they started.
 
As play resumed in the second half, the ThunderWolves kept up their push an offense and in the 62nd minute, were awarded a penalty kick with a chance to take the lead. Oliveira played a through ball ahead to Osifodunrin who had snuck behind the defense and was one-on-one with Saunders. The sophomore keeper came up to try and break things up, but got more of Osifodunrin than the ball and was issued a yellow card. Oliviera stepped up to take the penalty shot, and while Saunders went the right direction as he tried to make the save, the shot was just past his reach as CSU Pueblo retook the lead.
 
As a physical match marched ahead, the shots, fouls and yellow cards kept coming for both teams with the intensity picking up down the stretch. The best chance for an equalizer for the Orediggers came in the 83rd minute after a Joey Joiner foul. The ensuing free kick from Ayman Bushara was blocked by the ThunderWolves' wall, while the follow up shot from Collins found its way through the crowd but was snagged by Ruben Volkert.
 
One final push accompanied by some late substitutions from the Orediggers couldn't spark the rally and complete the search for a second equalizer as at the conclusion of full time, the visitors took the 2-1 result.
 
NOTABLES
-Collins' goal was his first of the season and ninth of his Mines career as he has now scored in each of his four seasons
-Gerhardus returned to action in the match, logging 30 minutes and his first assist of 2024 and the second of his career; in nine career matches, the redshirt junior now has six points (2G, 1A, 5 GP in '23)
-Collins and Bushara led the way with two shots each on offense
-Noah Roles played a season-best 90 minutes in his second consecutive start
-Saunders tallied a career-best eight saves in goal in his third start of the season while facing 19 shots
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers hit the road for the next two weeks starting with a trip to the western slope and the Great Salt Lake, first taking on #RV Colorado Mesa Thursday October 10 at 7 p.m. before a date with Westminster Sunday October 13 at 1 p.m.
 
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.