LACEY, Wash. – On the road for their final weekend of non-conference action, the third-ranked Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team was back in the Evergreen State Friday afternoon at the Lacey Regional Athletic Complex to take on Saint Martin's. Afton Rasco's goal in the waning minutes of the first half, the Orediggers (5-0-0) erupted late in the second half, as thanks to her and Reese McDermott, Mines rolled past the Saints (0-5-0) with a 4-0 victory.
 
The Orediggers controlled the pace and flow of the match from the opening whistle, but to their credit the Saints defense made it a challenge to find quality looks over the opening 30 minutes as all five shots from the visitors missed their mark.
 
Mines finally jumped on the board in the 33rd minute when Rasco handled things herself, playing a ball ahead from Reese McDermott up the far side of the field before dribbling back in across the top of the penalty area before pulling up from the edge of the arc for a right-footed finish inside the left post for her first goal of the season.
 
Rasco and Katie Koehler did their best to add to the advantage before the half, but Flavia Burrell rebounded to make a pair of saves as the opening 45 minutes came to a close.
 
Despite continued offensive pressure by Mines in their attacking third, St. Martin's finally managed some looks at goal in the second half, with Allie Lundgren making a save in the 56th minute and again in the 71st to preserve the lead.
 
In the 80th minute Rasco found pay dirt again, collecting a cross from Kaitlyn Manalili before spinning around a defender and firing from the top of the box to make it a 2-0 game.
 
That goal opened the floodgates as McDermott put the match all but out of reach with two scores 29 seconds apart in the 84th minute. The first saw her get behind the defense thanks to beautiful pass ahead from Rasco from well behind the center circle, and winning a one-on-one against new keeper Mallory Patzer to make it a three-goal game. Shortly after the restart, Rasco found McDermott again after picking off a pass in front of the SMU bench and racing ahead before dishing it to McDermott just above the six-yard box for the easy finish past Patzer to make it a 4-0 game.
 
Both teams emptied their benches for the final six minutes and after two late looks from Mines were both saved, time expired with the Orediggers remaining unbeaten thanks to a 4-0 win to open the weekend.
 
NOTABLES
-Rasco's goals were her first of the season, as well as the 11th and 12th of her career and comes after she missed both matches at home last weekend; Additionally, she now has four game-winning goals in her career and one in each season she has played
-The junior from Boise has now scored in each of her three seasons at Mines and snaps an eight-match scoreless streak after netting two goals on October 15 of last season on the road at MSU Denver
-Seven of Rasco's 11 career goals have come on the road, and Friday saw her second & third goals scored in the state of Washington as an Oredigger, the first coming in the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Western Washington on November 19
-With her two assists Friday, Rasco matched her total from last season and now has seven in her career
-The six points by Rasco are tied for the third-most points by a single player in a game in program history             
-McDermott scored twice and added an assist for five points on the afternoon, scoring in consecutive matches for the sixth time in her career
-The 29 seconds between McDermott's goals are the third-quickest consecutive goals in program history, and are the fastest consecutive goals by an individual in program history, breaking the record of one minute set by Lauren Clingman on September 24, 2021 against Adams State
-McDermott also takes over sole possession of third place all-time at Mines in goals scored with the 39th and 40th of her career, passing Megan Woodworth (2009-12) and is now 15 back of Anna Evans (2010-13) for second
-Lundgren finished with two saves in goal for her second shutout of the season while directing a defensive effort that allowed only four shot attempts
-Manalili's assist was her second in the season and second in as many matches as she tied her career high in that statistic set back in 2022
-Mines outshot SMU 24-4 in the match and 11-2 when it came to shots on goal
 
UP NEXT
Mines wraps up non-conference play Sunday when they head to Bellingham to take on #RV Western Washington at 1 p.m. PT.