CHICO, Calif. – Back underneath the sunny skies of California, the #19 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team lined up opposite Chico State Sunday morning looking to cap off a perfect opening weekend of the season. After surrendering an early first half goal to the Wildcats (1-1-0), the Orediggers (2-0-0) found their second wind and rallied to tie the match in the waning moments of the first half before netting the game winner late in the second half with Ava Harman leading the charge, registering three points in a 2-1 win.
 
Afton Rasco had the first two shots of the day for Mines in the opening seven minutes with the second on target but saved by Emma Hoffmann. Sadie Wolf was put to the test for the first time in the 11th minute when Brynn Howard looked to go low right by the junior netminder managed to make the save to keep things level.
 
After an Ava Harman shot in the 13th minute found the hands of Hoffmann, the Wildcats tallied the first goal of the game in the 16th when a corner kick from Hannah Pieri was headed home by Howard to take the lead.
 
The Orediggers had a three-shot flurry around the 25-minute mark as Bella Campos, Cloey Seltzer and Reese McDermott all had looks but came up empty thanks to a save, the crossbar and a miss out right.
 
After Wolf rebounded with a save against Pieri in the 27th minute, the shots kept stacking up for Mines as Ellise Putnam, Campos, Seltzer and Jordan Bowermaster all took aim but came away with nothing to show for their efforts as the half wore on.
 
Momentum swung back in favor of Mines just before the expiration of the period as the Orediggers the favor to the Wildcats with a set piece goal of their own. Taking a corner kick from the near side of the field with the Mines bench in full roar, Ava Harman played a beautiful ball into the box where none other than the queen of headers herself Natalie Rouse was in wait, leaping above the crowd out by the top of the six and redirecting it over the outstretched arms of Hofmann to draw even heading into the break.
 
 As play resumed in the second half, Mines continued to apply pressure on offense while the defense clamped down on the Wildcats. Laura Butler looked to take the lead in the 49th minute on a shot that resulted in a save while McDermott and Rasco each had successive looked in the 59th minute blocked away by the defense.
 
That continued pressure in their attacking third finally paid off for Mines in the 79th minute. After a Callie Fuhr throw in, Ellise Putnam played a ball ahead to Bella Campos who raced ahead into  the box on the near side before playing a beautiful cross to the far post where Harman was charging in and finished with her right foot for the go-ahead score.
 
Now finding themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard, Chico State tried to push the pace and find an equalizer of their own as a shot from Pieri in the 81st minute missed out high.
 
Rasco looked to add some insurance in the 87th minute for Mines but to no result while a desperation shot from Chico's Jane Schwann moments later from the top of the penalty area missed its mark wide right. A few more last-ditch runs by the Wildcats failed to materialize and after Wolf corralled one final cross into the box, time expired with the Orediggers moving to 2-0 with a 2-1 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Harman's goal was her first of the season and fourth of her career, all coming since 2022, and was her third game-winning score with the previous two coming last fall
-Campos recorded her first points of the season with the assist on the game-winner and now has five assists in her career
-Rouse tallied career goal number seven with her first half equalizer as all seven of her goals have come by way of headers off set pieces
-Harman's assist now gives her 10 in her career following a breakout seven-assist campaign in 2023, with six dimes coming via set pieces
-Going back to the start of 2023, Harman and Rouse have now combined for five goals on set piece plays
-Wolf rebounded from the early goal to record three saves
-Izzy Sontheimer made her collegiate debut in the match, checking in as a substitute in the first half and logging a total of eight minutes
-Mines ended the match with a 17-10 edge in shots and a 9-4 lead in shots on target with shot attempts coming from 10 different players
-The Orediggers improve to 3-0-1 all-time against Chico State with the win
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers return to Stermole Stadium Thursday September 12 for their 2024 home opener as part of a doubleheader with the men's team when they take on Lubbock Christian at 7:30 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.