GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – With a spot in the championship match of the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament on the line, a Top 25 thriller between #7 Colorado School of Mines and #14 UCCS in Wednesday night's semifinal delivered a postseason classic. 110 minutes of soccer failed to determine a winner as the sides played to a 1-1 draw before the Orediggers (13-2-4) advanced to Saturday's title bout over the Mountain Lions (13-2-5) with a 5-4 result in a 10 round penalty shootout.
 
A promising chance for Mines in the 16th minute saw Bella Campos head to the spot with a chance to take the early lead. A ball ahead from midfield by Afton Rasco was tracked down by Campos, who raced ahead into the box and was taken down by Addison Buehler to earn the penalty shot. However, the lead was not forthcoming on the shot as keeper Nylah Mirshafiei guessed correctly, saving the shot to the back post before smothering the lose ball to keep things scoreless. Fortunately for Campos, redemption didn't take long to arrive as in the 21st minute, she joined elite company in the program's all-time records. A long throw deep in Mines' attacking end from Jolie Jiricek was intended for Campos, but amidst a swarm of UCCS defenders, Rasco tracked the ball down before passing back out to Kaitlyn Manalili atop the box. Manalili wound up as if to take a shot with two defenders bearing down on her, but instead split the pair with a short pass back to a wide-open Campos just atop the six for a shot inside the near post for the opening goal of the night on the 50yh of her career.
 
Another near-miss for the Orediggers came in the 29th minute as the Mountain Lions turned it over near the center circle right to Campos, who had a clean run at goal needing to beat just one defender and Mirshafiei. The junior managed to do just that with a right-footed shot to the back post that tailed a little too much to the left, hitting the frame and coming back into play. As the chances kept coming for Mines and specifically Campos, opportunities for UCCS the other way were harder to come by. One of the better chances came in the 31st minute off the foot of Elise Broberg from long range, but the shot was right at Allie Lundgren for the easy save as Mines took a 1-0 lead to the break.
 
UCCS tied things up shortly after play resumed in the second half with an equalizer in the 51st minute. A failed clear attempt by Mines left the defense out of position, allowing Abby Stassi to gather up and play ahead to Luka Johnson up the far side. Johnson dribbled out wide before passing back out top to Mikaela Carlson, who played a one touch pass ahead back to Stassi, who headed a shot home just outside the reach of Lundgren to the back post to even the score at 1-1. The Mountain Lions narrowly averted disaster in the 64th minute as a misplay by Buehler trying to corral the ball near midfield following a corner kick set up Campos for a free run at goal with no one ahead of her but Mirshafiei. Campos chased down the loose ball and breezed by the keeper well outside the box and had a clean look at goal for at least the final 25 yards, but Buehler recovered to chase her down and disrupt the shot and force a corner kick instead of surrendering the go-ahead goal. UCCS then had their shot at the go-ahead score in the 71st minute when Lundgren made a point-blank save at the corner of the six-yard box on the back post against Johnson as the ball was successfully cleared away.
 
In the 77th minute, UCCS again had a chance to take the lead pressing home their attack and earning a penalty kick of their own on cross that was interrupted by a handball. Casey Tadlock lined up the shot and looked to go near post, but like Mirshafiei before her Lundgren made the save to knock the ball away and keep the match level at 1-1. A free kick opportunity for Mines in the 81st minute following another foul on Campos from about 25 yards out saw Callie Fuhr take aim on the back post, but Mirshafiei handled the long-range try before returning the ball to play. Those chances turned out to be some of the last ones in regulation as at the end of 90 minutes, the score remained tied with overtime coming
 
As the match went to extra time, Mines set the tone over the first five minutes of the first extra frame. A shot from Campos in the 93rd minute was saved by Mirshafiei before a 95th minute try from Annelise Rojo hit off the corner of the frame for yet another near-miss. The best chance UCCS had in the first overtime came in the 100th minute as Emily Aguilar tried to finish off a cross from the near side, but lacked the room to do so as Lundgren made the save to send things to a second extra period. In the second overtime, Anna Gessner had a crack at the game-winner in the 103rd minute but found the hands of Mirshafiei instead of the net on what ended up being the only chance in the period as 110 minutes came and went without a winner, sending the evening to a penalty shootout.
 
In the shootout, UCCS went up 1-0 in the first round after Tay Levi scored first before Campos lined a shot off the crossbar. Fuhr leveled the shootout in the second round after Aguilar led off with a shot off the bar in almost the same place as Campos moments earlier. Round three saw Mines take the lead thanks to Jolie Jiricek after Malia Groshong missed wide left. Round four saw UCCS convert from Elise Broberg before Afton Rasco's shot was saved to tie things at 2-2. The fifth round saw saves from both keepers as Lundgren and Mirshafiei came through to send the shootout to sudden death. UCCS led off the sixth round with a make from Carlson that was matched by Caelan DeBolt to make it 3-3. After a pair of misses in the seventh round, Stassi went top shelf to lead off the eighth before Lundgren came back to take the next shot for Mines and send the shootout to the ninth. Lundgren turned right around and saved the shot from Casey Tadlock before Lindsay Jeans hit the crossbar and nearly got the goal as the backspin carried the shot back toward goal before Mirshafiei fell on it. Round 10 saw Lundgren again make the save on the near post against Viktoria Valdimarsdottir to set the stage for Sam Forde who walked it off with a shot to the near post to advance the Orediggers to the title match.
 
NOTABLES
-Campos' goal in regulation was her 20th of the season the 50th of her career as she joined rare company in the program record books, becoming just the second player to score 20 or more times in a season along with the great Kayla Mitchell, who did so twice in 2008 and 2009; Campos also became the fourth player in program history to score 50 times in a career, joining Mitchell, Anna Evans and Reese McDermott
-Rasco and Manalili were each credited with assists on the Campos goal in regulation, giving them 10 and nine respectively on the season; Rasco is now just the sixth player all-time with double figure assists in a season and is now tied for fourth on that list with Evans (2012), Megan Woodworth (2010) and Emily Garnier (2016)
-Lundgren made six saves in regulation, including a second half penalty attempt, before making another three in the shootout while also converting her shot in the shootout lineup in one of the greatest performances by a keeper in program history
-Mines improves to 4-1 in RMAC Tournament shootouts
-The 10-round penalty shootout is the longest RMAC Tournament shootout in program history, surpassing the mark of eight from the 2014 season; All-time among postseason shutouts (NCAA Tournament games included), Wednesday's match is now the longest penalty shootout in program history, surpassing the previous long of seven rounds back in the 2012 national tournament against UC San Diego
 
UP NEXT
A rematch with #22 Colorado Mesa awaits the Orediggers Saturday night at 5 p.m. in the title match of the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship.
 
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.