GOLDEN, Colo. – Looking to build off their strong start to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action from Friday, the #3 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team was back in action Sunday afternoon at Stermole Stadium against CSU Pueblo. A pair of goals in each half of play by the Orediggers (8-0-0, 2-0-0), coupled with a strong defensive effort over the course of 90 minutes, held the ThunderWolves (1-5-2, 0-2-0) off the scoreboard for their sixth shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory.
 
CSU Pueblo came out looking to be aggressive to start the match as they put two shots on goal inside the first 11 minutes by way of Jerzie Troost, but neither shot really threatened as both came from long range and were easy saves for Allie Lundgren.
 
After another CSUP shot was saved in the 25th minute, Mines finally locked in on their target as Laura Butler tried to get on the board in the 31st minute but to no avail against freshman keeper Elaina Leitner.
 
A pair of near misses for the Orediggers followed before finally in the 39th minute, Bella Campos broke through for the first goal of the afternoon. The ThunderWolves turned the ball over deep in their own end following a goal kick, with a bad touch allowing Butler to race in and steal away possession. A quick pass from the near side into the penalty area found Campos behind three defenders, winning a foot race against Ariadna Membrives Lora and pulling up from about 11 yards out for a top center finish over the arms of Leitner for the goal and give Mines a 1-0 lead heading to the break.
 
Sam Forde and Cloey Seltzer pressed home the attack to begin the second half with three shots in the first eight minutes after play resumed. That offensive pressure led to a corner kick in the 56th minute, which saw Lauren Clingman play a short kick to Afton Rasco. The junior dribbled just inside the penalty area before burying a shot just inside the near post, going across the face of the goal to double the lead to 2-0.
 
Team exchanged shots which were both saved around the 61st minute as the Orediggers' defense continued to make life difficult for the ThunderWolves, who managed just one shot over the final 25 minutes of play as Mines rotated fresh legs into the match down the stretch to close out the 2-0 win and extend their winning streak to eight games.
 
NOTABLES
-Campos' goal was her third of the season and 19th of her career as she now has 45 career points, putting her into eighth all-time in program history in goals past Jackie Knott (2013-16) and Haley Cole (2014-17) and one point behind Cole for ninth in all-time points
-Rasco's goal was also her third of the season as well as the 13th of her career, bring her point total to 33
-Butler added her second assist of the season and the 10th of her career and raised her career point total to 34
-Clingman tallied her first assist of 2024 and the third of her career as she now has an assist in each season going back to 2022         
-Lundgren tied her season high with four saves in goal for her fourth shutout of the season
-Reese McDermott's scoring and point streaks came to end at four matches after being shutout of the action Sunday despite two shot attempts
-Izzy Sontheimer played a career-high 60 minutes in the match
-The Orediggers outshot CSUP 21-7 overall and 7-4 in shots on target in the match
-Mines improves to 19-8-5 all-time versus the ThunderWolves and 12-2-3 at home
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers hit the road for their next four matches starting next Friday when they head north to Spearfish, South Dakota to take on Black Hills State Friday at 4 p.m.
 
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.