DURANGO, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team looked poised to earn a point by way of a draw Sunday afternoon at Dirks Field in their matchup with #19 Fort Lewis, but a last-minute goal saw the home team come away with the 1-0 result. The Orediggers (3-7-4, 2-5-0) played a stellar match and held one of the top offense in the RMAC in check most of the afternoon, but with 55 seconds left in regulation the Skyhawks (6-3-4, 2-2-2) managed to gain the edge and eke out the win.
 
Fort Lewis wasted no time putting Kiernan DiBella to work early and often as they took the first six shots of the match with four on goal. DiBella was credited with three saves while his defense added one on a rebound that came back in play in the 11th minute.
 
Noah Roles took the first shot of the day for Mines in the 17th minute but had no luck getting past Lucas Martin. FLC meanwhile continued to pepper DiBella in goal approaching the 30-minute mark of the match as the freshman made another three saves with a second team save mixed in as well. Mathias Valverde's near-miss off the far post of goal in the 30th minute nearly broke the seal, while J McGill and Marc Levin each had looked in the final 15 minutes for the Orediggers as the teams went to the intermission scoreless.
 
Friday morning's star Avi Levin took aim against Martin coming out to start the second half with no success as the Mines defense clamped down on the Skyhawks, ceding just three shots to resume play.
 
A pivotal moment in the match came in the 66th minute following a Mines free kick. After an FLC foul close the endline on the near side, Abou Bakar Berthe resumed the action playing a ball to the back post. Ethan Huet looked poised to make a play on the ball by was taken down from behind near the back post before the ball arrived by Valverde, who was whistled for the foul, assessed a yellow card and a penalty awarded to the Orediggers. Bakar Berthe then stepped to the spot with a chance to take the lead, but his shot to the back post was saved right away by Martin to keep the action scoreless.
 
After DiBella and Martin traded saves in the 74th and 75th minutes, the shots started to stack up for the Skyhawks down the stretch and while none threatened, the pressure continued to mount on the Mines defense. Perhaps the last best chance for Mines came in the 84th minute as McGill took one last crack against Martin but came up empty as he looked to sneak one inside the near post once more.
 
Inside the final minute, Fort Lewis took the lead as Lorenz Guintini headed home a shot to the near post from Alessio Andreottola just outside the reach of DiBella for the go-ahead goal with 55 seconds to play.
 
Mines attempted to counter in the time remaining after the restart, but wasn't able to do so as they dropped a heartbreaker in their final Sunday road match of the season.
 
NOTABLES
-McGill led the offense with three shots
-Six different players took a shot for the Orediggers with five having a shot on frame
-Lucas Taitt played a season-high 84 minutes
-DiBella ended the day with seven saves
 
UP NEXT
Mines plays their final matches of 2025 at Stermole Stadium as they return home this weekend to play host to #11 CSU Pueblo and #RV UCCS on October 30 and November 2. Sunday against the Mountain Lions will be Senior Day for the members of this year's men's team calling it a career at season's end.
 
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.