SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Back in action under the California sun, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team looked to rebound from an opening night setback Saturday morning against Cal State San Marcos. In a match that was moved up nearly two full hours due to excessive heat concerns, the Orediggers (0-2-0) battled back from an early deficit to draw even late in the first half thanks to a Luke Hannah goal, but a second half free kick goal ended up being the decider for the Cougars (1-0-1) as they came away with the 2-1 result.
 
It didn't take long for the first goal of the match to go on the board. In the seventh minute, Pablo Orozco chipped a ball ahead to Ryan Meinardus, who managed to collect the pass and get a shot off all while sliding to the ground from 10 yards out in front of Caden Allaire to take the lead.
 
A corner kick for the Orediggers in the 16th minute provided freshman Kian Mueller with an opportunity to try and tie things up from just past the top of the 18-yard box, but his shot sailed wide right as the action rolled on.
 
Chances for both teams remained hard to come by as the half progressed, with just two combined shots for the first 35 minutes of play. It wasn't until the final 10 minutes of the half when the third shot of the match came about, and what a dandy it ended up being for Mines. A corner kick from the far side by the Orediggers baned around inside the six-yard box before being cleared back past the top of the penalty area to Quin Collins. The senior collected the ball and chipped it back into the fray all in one motion as somehow Hanna managed to leap above five others players, getting just enough of a head on the pass to redirect it into the net as CSUSM keeper Tony Flores was boxed out of any chance to make a play as one of his defenders crashed into him during the aerial battle as the score moved back even at 1-1.
 
The rest of the half played out with a little extra intensity, with a yellow card being assessed to the Cougars' Ryan Brown on a contested throw in on the far side after he went to grab the ball and tossed an Oredigger to the ground in the 41st minute. Looking to regain the lead in the waning moments of the half, Matias Bianchi lined up a shot in the 45th, but missed over the crossbar as the teams hit the intermission level on the scoreboard.
 
The action picked right back up in the second half as a series of shots from Mines by Collins and Raul Gerhardus were blocked in the 47th minute before Cougars took it back the other way as Meinardus looked for his second goal the day, threading a shot through a pair of defenders toward the right post but Allaire was able to lay out and make the diving save.
 
Meinardus did find the net again though in the 51st minute, taking a free kick from about 25 yards away and going top shelf to the upper right corner of goal to regain the advantage 2-1.
 
Looking to add onto their lead, CSUSM put up four more shots in the moments after play resumed, with Allaire making saves on three while the defense blocked a fourth to keep it a one-goal deficit.
 
Jimmy Koufidakis looked to net the equalizer again in the 67th minute as he went on a run and pulled up from the far side with a shot attempt, but Flores dove to his left to make the save and clear the ball back the other way to maintain the advantage.

10 minutes later Collins lined up a shot from the near side looking to tuck one onside the right post but against Flores was in position to swat it away for the Cougars. Mines did have one final chance in the waning moments of the match with a free kick award from about 28 yards out just past the far corner of the box. Raul Gerhardus went for the shot on the free ball, but the defensive wall was able to block it before clearing the ball back down field as time expired and with it, the Orediggers came out on the wrong end of a hard-fought 2-1 result.
 
NOTABLES
-Hanna's goal was the first of both his Mines and collegiate career and comes in his 19th match after beginning his career at Tulsa in 2022
-For Collins, the assist was the fifth of his career, all coming since the 2022 season as he now stands at 21 points during his time as an Oredigger and has recorded at least one assist in each of his four seasons
-Gerhardus led the way with three shots in the match while Collins added two of his own
-Noah Roles checked in during the second half and made his collegiate debut, logging seven minutes of action
- Mueller and Graham Shoaps each made their first career starts in the match, logging 62 and 36 minutes apiece
 
UP NEXT
Mines heads back to Golden and Stermole Soccer Stadium for their 2024 home opener on Thursday at 5 p.m. against Biola as part of the first match of a doubleheader with the women's team.
 
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.