DENVER, Colo. – Back on the road but much closer to home for the second leg of their four-match road trip, the #1 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team made the short jaunt down I-70 Sunday for a matchup against Regis. Though the teams played each other scoreless over the first half, the Orediggers (9-0-1, 3-0-1) pulled away in the second half thanks to three goals in the final 23 minutes including a pair from Reese McDermott, as she became the fourth player in program history to reach 100 career points, to get back on track in the RMAC play as they dispatched the Rangers (2-6-2, 1-2-1) with a 3-0 victory.
 
It was a rather pedestrian start to the afternoon as it took until the seventh minute of play before Cloey Seltzer fired off the first shot of the day which was saved by Grace Glover. Two further subsequent looks for the Orediggers both missed their mark high before Sarah Wynn put up the first shot of the day for Regis in the 14th minute which missed wide left.
 
Reese McDermott missed also missed high in the 20th minute while Kaitlyn Manalili put a shot in frame in the 24th but was also turned away by Glover. Following a flurry of subs, Lauren Clingman took aim but had no success in the 25th minute as did Afton Rasco in the 31st, but Glover dug in and made the saves to keep things level
 
Bella Campos rattled the frame with her first of three shots in the half off the rebound from the shot by Rasco before being blocked and missing high as well in the final minutes as halftime came with no change to the score after 45 minutes.
 
The Orediggers kept up the attack on offense as the shot count continued to climb as the action resumed. Another try from Manalili in the 59th minute was handled by Glover but less than a minute later, a hard take down of Campos just outside the penalty area by Lillian Werner saw her get sent off with a red card, leaving the Rangers short-handed for the final 30 minutes.
 
The 67th minute finally saw Mines break through. A long-range shot from Jolie Jiricek was saved by Glover but glanced off the crossbar and remained in play. Afton Rasco kept the ball in play with a header back into the six-yard box off the endline where the ball settled at the feet of McDermott, who survived contact with a Regis defender as the ball found its way into the net for what ended up being the go-ahead goal.
 
The 79th minute saw Madison Cullinan whistled for a hard take down of Rasco inside the penalty area to set up a PK attempt for the Orediggers. McDermott, looking to atone for a miss from the spot earlier in the season, stepped up and tucked her shot inside the far post, as while Glover guessed right, she didn't have enough reach to make the save as the lead doubled to 2-0.
 
In the 87th minute, Manalili finally found her mark to make it a 3-0 game. A pass from Campos was picked up just about 24 yards out by the junior, who put on a footwork clinic to create some space before firing a volley into the upper left corner past a diving Glover for her first collegiate goal.
 
With the result all but assured after the final kickoff, Campos added two more shots that missed right and high to get on the scoreboard herself, but three goals turned out to be more than enough as the Orediggers posted their first win as the top-ranked team in the country.
 
NOTABLES
-McDermott made history Sunday afternoon, becoming the fourth player in program history to record 100 career points, joining the likes of Megan Woodworth (2009-12), Anna Evans (2010-13) and Kayla Mitchell (2006-09)
-The senior scored twice in the second half, raising her team and RMAC-leading total this season to 10 goals to go with 23 points and now has a trio of multi-goal performance
-McDermott now has scored 10 or more goals in each of the last three seasons and is up to 44 in her time at Mines, putting her now 11 back of Evans for second all-time in program history
-Thanks to her second game-winner of the season, McDermott ties Woodworth for third all-time in career game-winning goals with 13
-Manalili's goal was the first of her collegiate career and comes in her 52nd career match as her career-best season continues as she raises her point total to five in 2024 and eight in her time at Mines
-Four different players recorded at least five shots in the match, led by Campos with six while Manalili, McDermott and Seltzer all finished with five
-Lundgren and the defense put on a clinic, allowing just four total shots and not a single on goal; the last time Mines held an opponent without a shot on goal was October 12 of last season against Adams State
-The Orediggers also put up an eye-watering 30 shots in the match, the second time they've hit that mark this season (31 vs. Lubbock Christian 9/12), while their 13 shots on goal are the most in a match this season
-After two weeks of league action, Mines sits second in the standings with 10 points behind MSU Denver and remains the lone unbeaten team in the RMAC
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers are back on the road next weekend as they'll head west to Durango and Gunnison to take on Fort Lewis on Friday October 11 and Western Colorado on Sunday October 13.
 
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.