DENVER, Colo. – Looking to keep pace atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, the ninth-ranked Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team made the short trip down I-70 Sunday to take on current league leader #RV Regis. While the first half was all Orediggers (5-2-1, 2-1-0) highlighted by a Bella Campos goal, things changed in the second half as the Rangers (8-1-1, 4-0-0) rallied from behind to score twice in a 10-minutes stretch to claim the 2-1 result and extend their lead in the standings.
 
Mines set the tempo of the match early, putting three shots on frame in the opening four minutes. Callie Fuhr had a pair of point-blank looks in the third minute against Helen Stenger, but two tremendous saves kept the senior from scoring. Anna Gessner also had a crack but her shot was also handled by Stenger.
 
Mines finally got on the board first in the 20th minute thanks to the duo of Bella Campos and Afton Rasco. After the defense disrupted a buildup and forced a Regis turnover, Anna Gessner played the ball to the edge of the center circle for Campos. Campos then centered a pass to Rasco who played  soft chip ahead back to Campos. Charging off her line to challenge Campos was Stenger but to no avail, as the reigning RMAC Co-Player of the Year simply chipped it over the Division I transfer and into the back of the net to take the early lead.
 
Rasco had a chance to double the lead in the 29th minute but Stenger was there to make the save as she shrugged off the earlier goal. Natalie Bunch meanwhile had the first real look for Regis in the 30th minute, but her shot found the hands of Allie Lundgren instead of the net. Each side had one more chance before the break, but neither were of any quality as the Orediggers took a 1-0 lead to the intermission after a convincing first half effort.
 
Whatever adjustments the Rangers made at the break caught the Orediggers off balance as play resumed with RU spending much of the opening minutes of the period in their attacking third. The first four shots of the half all came from the home team as the last in the series by Fernanda Rodriguez necessitated a save by Lundgren.
 
Mines finally managed to get things going the other way briefly and launched a trio of shots, one of which from Campos just missed extending the lead as it caromed off the crossbar.
 
Regis leveled the match in the 64th minute as they countered off a Mines throw in. Coming up with the ball after a turnover on the throw, Elsa Nolen played it out wide to the near side for Andie Rylance. Rylance dished to Rodriguez on the edge of the penalty area who turned and played a one touch pass to Natalie Bucnch, who managed to get off a back post heel shot falling to the ground to make it a 1-1 match.
 
Just about 10 minutes later, RU took the lead in the match on another counter starting deep in their own end. Bunch won a battle against two Oredigger defenders near midfield and played a through ball to Brooke Castillo. Castillo passed back outside to Rodriguez who outran the backline of Mines before taking a pair of touches before shooting and scoring on a ball to the near post to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Now finding themselves down a goal, the Orediggers sought to net an equalizer of their own in a battle against the clock. Gabriela Rodríguez had a near miss that just went over the bar in the 75th minute, while Kaitlyn Manalili's 81st minute try was saved. A corner kick by Fuhr in the 87th minute may have been a goal had it been just a few feet lower while Campos' try in the 89th minute wasn't to be either. With time winding down, Mines had possession in the closing seconds just atop the penalty area, but found themselves unable to get off a last-second look as the Rangers held on to take the 2-1 result.
 
NOTABLES
-Campos' goal was her seventh of the season and 37th of her Mines career
-Rasco's assist was her third of the season and moves her into a tie for the team lead in that metric
-Lundrgen ended the day with three saves in goal
-Gabriela Rodríguez played a season-high 33 minutes in the match
-Mines outshot Regis 17-12 in the match and had a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal, but the Rangers posted a 9-8 overall advantage in the second half
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers four-match road trip concludes next weekend as they finish out the trip around the Denver metro, heading to Colorado Christian Friday and MSU Denver Sunday.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on X 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.