(3) #14 UCCS (13-2-5, 8-1-3 RMAC) vs. (6) #RV Midwestern State (11-2-6, 10-0-4 LSC) – Friday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Tickets] [Tournament Central]
(2) #7 Mines (14-2-4, 9-1-2 RMAC) vs. Winner of UCCS/Midwestern State – Sunday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Tickets] [Tournament Central]

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GOING DANCING
For the 17th time in program history, the Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team will compete in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship and for the fourth consecutive season, will host first and second round action. The Orediggers by virtue of hosting have earned an opening round bye and will wait the winner of Friday's match between #14 UCCS and #RV Midwestern State Sunday at 3 p.m. from Stermole Stadium.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video of all NCAA Tournament matches can be accessed free of charged by using the NCAA Championships Pass. Free live stats will be available as well. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased online in advance at minesathletics.com/tickets or at the gate on the day of the match. Mines students, faculty and staff will be admitted for free with their BlasterCard. Fans are encouraged to park in Lot K immediately to the north of Stermole Stadium. Fans as are not allowed to park in the neighborhood surrounding the Clear Creek Athletic Complex, as the City of Golden's street parking requires a permit seven days a week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGH
 
AT THE HELM
2025 marks the 16th season leading Mines for boss Kevin Fickes, the program's winningest head coach. With a career mark of 258-44-44 (.809), he ranks eighth in all of the NCAA and fourth in Division II among head coaches with at least five years of experience when it comes to winning percentage. One of two RMAC coaches with 200 career victories, under his direction Mines has overseen 39 All-America selections, 19 Academic All-America selections, 87 all-conference honorees and 32 RMAC major award winners. Fickes has also guided Mines to seven RMAC regular season titles and 10 RMAC Tournament crowns and made 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
THE CAPTAINS
After having the same trio of captains for each of the last two seasons, a new group will be wearing the "C" for the Orediggers in 2025 as Callie Fuhr, Natalie Rouse and Bella Campos will lead the way this fall.
 
Fuhr, a fixture on the Orediggers' back line since 2022, has started 53 consecutive matches going back to October of her debut season and enters this fall with seven career points thanks to a goal and five assists. Across 67 matches in her career, she's clocked more than 5,250 minutes and in 2024 led the team with 2,064 minutes of action.
 
Rouse, the 2023 RMAC Defensive Player of the Year in her debut season in Golden, returns to action in 2025 after missing the final 21 matches of 2024 due to injury and will lineup alongside Fuhr to anchor the Mines defense at center back. The former All-America selection has started all of the 24 career matches in her career as an Oredigger and owns seven goals and an assist for 15 points in more than 2,100 minutes of action.
 
Campos, the latest prolific striker to come through Mines, already sports her name in the program record books in numerous places. The 2023 RMAC Freshman of the Year and 2024 RMAC Co-Player of the Year as well as a two-time All-American, Campos looks to step into a larger role in 2025 as an everyday starter. Despite just making 16 starts in her first 45 career matches, Campos has been a prolific producer on offense regardless of her role with 30 goals and 11 assists for 71 points in just over 2,100 minutes played.
 
A veteran and experienced group that has plenty of RMAC and NCAA Tournament experience, this trio will look to make an impact as leaders of the program heading into this fall.
 
IN THE POLLS
In the RMAC preseason coaches poll released in early August, the Orediggers were picked to repeat as league champions behind nine first place ballots of the 13 head coaches in the league. UCCS earned three first place ballots and was picked second with Colorado Mesa, MSU Denver and Fort Lewis rounding out the top five.
 
Nationally, Mines remained seventh in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25. This week's rankings saw the most stability of the season with just two changes in the top 14. Dallas Baptist remains the top team in the country followed by Minnesota State, Catawba, Cal Poly Pomona while West Florida usurped Grand Valley State this week for fifth.
Around the RMAC, UCCS remained at #14 for the third week in a row while Colorado Mesa dropped three spots to 23rd. Fort Lewis entered the national conversation this week as they received votes.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
A total of six Orediggers earned All-RMAC distinction last Tuesday, headlined by Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year Bella Campos and Natalie Rouse. Joining them on the All-RMAC First Team was Afton Rasco, while Kaitlyn Manalili earned Second Team honors. Jolie Jiricek and Gaby Guerrero rounded out the selections with Honorable Mention honors. Read more about the All-RMAC selections here.
 
GONNA NEED A BIGGER TROPHY CASE
With their coronations as Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year respectively, Bella Campos and Natalie Rouse each made a little bit of history Tuesday. For Campos, she earns her third RMAC major award in as many seasons and becomes the second player in program history to earn Freshman of the Year and multiple Offensive Player of the Year honors along with Reese McDermott, with whom she split POTY honors in 2024. Rouse meanwhile becomes the second player in program history to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Year honors alongside recent Mines Hall of Fame inductee Emily Garnier. Rouse also extended Mines' streak of DPOTY titles to five consecutive seasons and nine of the last 11.

BRAINY BUNCH
Allie Lundgren and Natalie Rouse headlined Mines' selections the RMAC's First Team All-Academic last Wednesday as a total of 16 Orediggers earned academic honors from the league for their performances in the classroom. Read more about their academic accomplishments here.
 
RARE AIR
Bella Campos made more history Wednesday night, becoming just the fourth player in Mines women's soccer history to score 50 goals in a career and also just the second player to scored 20 or more goals in a single season. On the career list, she joins Reese McDermott, Anna Evans and Kayla Mitchell while now just she and Mitchell can lay claim to now the only three 20-goal seasons by an individual (Mitchell scored 30 in 2009 and 22 in 2008). With at least two more matches in the season, Campos is sure to have plenty more opportunities to add to her record tally before things come to and end.
 
"MVP, MVP, MVP"
Allie Lundgren has long since established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in program history, but it was her performance in last week's RMAC Tournament that cemented her legacy among some of the best to ever suit up in goal. After directing a 4-1 win over Adams State in the quarterfinals, Lundgren helped Mines play to a 1-1 draw in the semifinals against UCCS, making six saves in regulation and overtime, including one a potential go-ahead penalty kick in the second half. As the match headed for a penalty shootout, Lundgren once again shined, converting a must-have attempt in the eighth round while also making three more saves, including back-to-back denials in the ninth and 10th rounds to end things. Then in Saturday's title match against Colorado Mesa, Lundgren and the Orediggers had to play 77 minutes shorthanded and stared down an eye-popping 31 shots by the Mavericks. Through it all, Lundgren stood tall and posted a career-high 11 saves, tied for the fifth-most in a single match all-time and made shutout #16 one to remember in a 1-0 win to clinch the tournament title on her way to rightfully earned Most Valuable Player honors.
 
ONE THEY'LL TALK ABOUT FOR AWHILE
Last Saturday's RMAC Tournament title match is going to be one of those matches that goes down in history and defines the Mines women's soccer program. After an untimely red card just 13 minutes in saw one of the Orediggers' best defensive players, Jolie Jiricek, sent off, what followed over the next 77 minutes was nothing short of legendary. The other 14 Orediggers who saw action that night will undoubtedly remember that match for the rest of their lives, standing up against the high-powered Colorado Mesa offense and holding them off the board, while converting perhaps their only true chance to score on an early second half penalty kick. 10 times previously Mines has won the RMAC Tournament, but win #11 is sure to be one that will remain in the consciousness for years to come.
 
DISHING IT OUT
Being able to score consistently starts with having players who can effectively distribute the ball or have an affinity for ball placement on set pieces. This fall, the Orediggers have one of the best tandems when it comes to assists in the RMAC and the country as Afton Rasco and Kaitlyn Manalili have combined for 17 of the team's 27 assists this season. Rasco, another former Freshman of the Year in the RMAC, is having a career year in her final campaign as she leads the team and the conference with nine assists. Fellow senior Kaitlyn Manalili meanwhile is following up an All-Region season last fall with another career year this year, breaking her mark of six dimes in 2024 with eight in 2025, four of which have come in the last 10 days at the time of writing. As Mines moves further into the postseason, this duo is sure to be leading the charge in the attacking third.
 
ON THE SPOT
Penalty kicks aren't necessarily a regular occurrence over the course of a season, but they also aren't necessarily a rarity either. This fall, Mines has made a living on earning PKs and converting at a high rate, going 8-10 from the spot this season. That's a new single-season record for the most PKs made, breaking the previous mark of five set back in 2008. In addition, the nine PKs awarded a new single-season record, breaking last year's tally of seven. To top it off, the Orediggers lead Division II in penalties this fall and are among the leaders from the spot across all levels of the NCAA.
 
MILESTONE WIN
Back on October 17, Mines' win over Colorado Christian was another milestone mark in the legendary career of Orediggers head coach Kevin Fickes. Nearly four years to the day of his 200th career win, the Mines skipper banked #250 at the same venue against the same opponent thanks to a 1-0 win over Colorado Christian at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood. Over his first 15 seasons, the Orediggers have averaged better than 16 wins per season under Fickes' direction and have won at least 11 matches in 15 of those seasons (Mines went 7-0-3 in the COVID-shortened spring 2021 season). On pace to put up similar numbers this season, Fickes and the Orediggers will look to continue handling their business as they now set their sights on the second half of the 2025 regular season and the postseason.
 
MAKING THEIR MARK
Several active Orediggers are making their mark on the program's record books this season as they continue their careers. Most recently, Allie Lundgren became just the seventh goalkeeper in program history to record 100 career saves, doing so at MSU Denver on October 12. Entering the NCAA Tournament, she stands at 144 in her career to rank fourth all-time. Lundgren is also sixth in career shutouts with 16, and is one back of Zumbro for a top five spot in that category as well. Meanwhile, her 0.65 goals against average also ranks sixth.
 
Sadie Wolf's mark of 0.58 GAA puts her ahead of Lundgren in fifth while her 87 saves rank eighth all-time and 18 shutouts are good for fourth.
 
Bella Campos meanwhile continues to pile up the goals and the points. At New Mexico Highlands on October 31, she became the fifth player in program history to surpass 100 career points and stands at 115 through 65 matches, trailing Megan Woodworth (2009-12) by just five for fourth all-time. Last Wednesday against UCCS in the RMAC semifinals, she became the fourth player in program history to score 50 times in a career. Campos is also knocking on the door to the top 10 in assists with 15, trailing Reese McDermott by five. Additionally, her 12 game-winners have her one back of fourth all-time and Megan Woodworth (2009-12). Campos currently now stands along among active players in Division II and is now alone in 13th across all levels of the NCAA with 50 career goals.
 
Afton Rasco and Kaitlyn Manalili are also looking to further pen their name into the program records when it comes to assists with 18 apiece, while Rasco recently broke into the top 10 all-time in points and is now tied for seven with Hall of Famer Emily Garnier (2014-17) at 54.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Nine Orediggers have scored this year lead by RMAC Player of the Year Bella Campos with 20 goals and four assists for 44 points. Natalie Rouse is second with four goals in large part due to her knack for scoring off set piece headers. Afton Rasco and Callie Fuhr have three goals each, while Gaby Guerrero, Lindsay Jeans, Caelan DeBolt and Annelise Rojo all have two goals. Natalie Mezarina rounds out the scoring with one goal. Switching to assists, Rasco leads with a career-high 10 assists and is the first Oredigger since recent Mines Hall of Fame inductee Emily Garnier in 2017 to record double-figure assists. Kaitlyn Manalili is second with nine while Anna Gessner has two. Guerrero, Jeans, Mezarina and Jordan Bowermaster meanwhile all have one.
 
Between the pipes, Allie Lundgren has started all 20 matches for 1,643:49 and against 262 shots, has made 79 saves against 14 goals for a GAA of 0.77 and an .849 save percentage. The senior is 14-2-4 with six solo shutouts. Backing her up has been Emma Thomas, who has seen action six times for 176:11 and against 26 shots, has made 10 saves and allowed one goal for a 0.51 GAA and .909 save percentage.
 
On the season, Mines is +24 in goal differential and scores 1.95 goals on 13.6 shots per match while holding teams wit 0.75 goals on 14.4 shots. They have 29 assists on their 39 goals and have combined for 90 saves in goal. The Orediggers are 9-11 on PKs and have taken 109 corner kicks. They've been whistled for 119 fouls, issued four cautions and one ejection.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS will look to set up a rematch of the RMAC Tournament semifinals with Mines as they played to a 1-1 draw with the Orediggers before falling 5-4 in PKs last time out. The Mountain Lions opened the postseason with a 2-1 double overtime win over Westminster in the RMAC quarterfinals. An advancement by UCCS would set up the third meeting of the season against Mines and second at Stermole Stadium, with the previous result on October 17 accounted for one of just two losses this fall.
 
First Team All-RMAC selection Abby Stassi leads the charge for the Mountain Lions with 16 goals and three assists for 35 points. Brooke Pavlich is second on the team with six goals and also has three assists for 15 points, while First Team All-RMAC honoree Emily Aguilar has five goals. Luka Johnson is next with four with the duo of First Team selection Tay Levi and Casey Tadlock each scoring three times. Mikaela Carlson and Noelia Garci have two goals each while three others have a single goal. Looking at assists, Levi and Honorable Mention All-RMAC Elise Broberg are tied for the lead with seven followed by Aguilar with four. Past Stassi and Pavlich, seven other players have one assist.
 
In goal, Nylah Mirshafiei has started all 20 matches and played all but 9:14 of a possible 1,836:10 this season. In that time, she has faced 187 shots and made 55 saves against 15 goals allowed for a .786 save percentage and a 0.74 GAA to post a 13-2-5 mark with nine solo shutouts. Dylan Reese has played the balance of minutes in two matches and has yet to record any statistics.
 
This fall UCCS is +29 in goal differential at 44-15 and averages 2.20 goals on 17.1 shots per match while allowing just 0.75 goals on 9.4 shots. They have 33 assists on their 44 goals and have 57 saves defensively. The Mountain Lions are 3-5 from the spot and taken 98 corner kicks. They have been called for 164 fouls and assessed 14 yellow cards.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State was dealt just their second loss of the season by Texas Woman's in the LSC Tournament semifinals last weekend to snap a 16-match unbeaten streak. The result was their first setback since a 3-2 loss to Ouachita Baptist in the second match of the season. MSU went unbeaten in LSC play this season, the only team to do so, and finished second in the league behind champion Dallas Baptist.
 
First Team All-LSC selection Lillia Besedin leads the Mustangs in goals this season with eight and is tied for the team lead in points at 16 with Marlene Myrvold, who has seven goals with two assists. Nyxalee Munoz also has seven goals with an assist for 15 points, while Madison Brinkley has three goals and two assists. A further five players have scored two goals for MSU with three adding a single goal. One of those three, Mable Pruter earned Second Team All-LSC honors and leads Midwestern State with eight assists. Leeci Snyder is second on the team with five assists while LSC All-Freshman and Third Team selection Morgan Countryman has three assists along with Third Team honoree Sloane Sullivan. A further three players have two assists while a total of five have just one tally.
 
In goal, it has been the tag team duo of freshman All-LSC Third Team Lauren Short and Tanner Sorenson and sophomore Tanner Sorenson. Each have appeared in 11 matches, as Short has started nine times and leads in minutes with 887:46, starting each of the last three matches. She's made 20 saves against 72 shots faced and allowed just eight goals for a 0.81 GAA and a .714 save percentage while posting a 6-2-2 record with three shutouts. Sorenson has started 10 times and logged 822:14 in goal, but hasn't seen action since November 1. This year she's made 16 saves against nine goals allowed facing 72 shots for a 0.99 GAA and .640 save rate. Sorenson is 5-0-4 with three shutouts of her own, while the duo has combined for two shutouts.
 
Overall, Midwestern State is +24 in scoring at 41-17 and averages 2.16 goals per match on 16.8 shots while holding teams to 0.89 goals on 7.6 shots. They have 30 assists on their 41 goals and have combined for 36 saves in goal. MSU is 1-2 from the spot and has taken 121 corner kicks. The Mustangs have been whistled for 157 fouls, issued eight cautions and assessed one ejection.

SERIES HISTORY
Following last Wednesday's RMAC semifinal match, the all-time series with UCCS is now 20-8-3 in favor of Mines. When playing at home, the Orediggers are 12-3-1. The teams last met in the NCAA Tournament in 2023 which resulted in a 2-1 Mines win in the second round.
 
Against Midwestern State, Mines is 5-1-0 all-time with the only loss of the season coming in 2008. The last time the teams met was in the 2022 regular season in Golden which resulted in a 5-0 win. The last time the sides met in the NCAA Tournament during 2021 and saw the Orediggers advance 3-2 by way of an overtime goal.
 
UP NEXT
With a win, the Orediggers will advance to the Third Round of the 2025 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship against the winner of the other half of the South Central regional opening round. With a loss, the offseason begins for Mines as they turn toward 2026.
 
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.