Mines (0-0-0, 0-0-0 RMAC) vs Azusa Pacific (0-0-0, 0-0-0 PacWest) – Thursday, 7 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network PPV]

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KICKOFF IS HERE
A new season gets underway Thursday night under the lights at Stermole Stadium as the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team welcomes Azusa Pacific to town in their first action of the 2025 season.
 
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.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Thursday's match will be available for purchase on the RMAC Network. Play-by-play commentary returns this fall with Joey Feerer on the call. Free live stats will be available as well. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
As was announced on June 30, beginning this fall the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events beginning with the 2025-26 season.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. 
 
2024 RECAP
After a 1-9-0 start to the season last fall playing arguably one of the toughest schedules in the country at any level, the Orediggers ended the season on an eight-match unbeaten streak by going 6-0-2 down the stretch including four consecutive wins to end the regular season and clinch a spot in the RMAC Men's Soccer Championship. Though the season came to an end by way of a 2-1 overtime result in the quarterfinals against UCCS, Mines enjoyed a great deal of individual and team success over the second half of the season.
 
First Team All-Region and All-RMAC selection Ayman Bushara dazzled in his debut season, leading the team in scoring with nine goals and adding a further three assists for 21 points. The Aurora native scored in seven consecutive matches from October 13-November 6 and was a significant reason why the Orediggers turned things around.
 
Seniors Raul Gerhardus, Gabriel Rodriguez and Quin Collins combined for 12 goals and 11 assists between them with Gerhardus finally flashing his brilliance after battling injury for most of his career prior to 2024.
 
As a team that welcomed a dozen newcomers last fall, many of those new faces saw immediate and extended action and turned in contributors for much of the season. Charlie Newberry became a fixture on the Orediggers' back line while Smith Russell, Abou Bakar Berthe and Kian Mueller all scored in their debut seasons and combined for four assists to further the offense. Noah Roles took on a starting role as an outside back early in the season and was one of five players to clock more than 1,000 minutes last fall and along with Josh Ary and Jaden Igarta, registered a late-season assist to help end the season strong.
 
THE SKIPPER
With a record of 96-35-20 (.702) overall and 67-9-10 in RMAC action at the helm in Golden, skipper Greg Mulholland has established himself as one of the top head coaches not just in Division II, but the NCAA as a whole. His career winning percentage is good for eighth among active Division II coaches with a minimum of five years of experience, and places him in the top 40 nationally across all divisions of the NCAA. An assistant with the Orediggers from 2007-2016 who served as interim head coach in 2017 before having the interim tag dropped in 2018, Mulholland ranks among the top 10 active Division II coaches with a minimum of five years on the job in winning percentage and is 15th across the entirety of NCAA Soccer. Under his direction, Mines has claimed a combined 11 regular season and postseason championships, running off six consecutive regular season crowns from 2017-22 and four tournament titles from 2017-20. Mulholland is also a four-time RMAC Coach of the Year and has twice headed up the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year.
 
IN THE POLLS
For the second season running, Mines was tabbed to finish fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's soccer preseason coaches poll.
 
UCCS was voted the preseason favorite this fall with five of 11 first place votes followed by Fort Lewis in second with three and defending champion CSU Pueblo in third with two. Regis was just ahead of Mines in fourth while MSU Denver was picked to finish sixth to round out the projected playoff field.
 
HELLO, MY NAME IS…
Another 13 newcomers join the Orediggers for the 2025 season and make up more than one-third of this season's 36-man roster. 12 first-year players and a transfer make up the group which features a wide range of talent across the field. Learn more about the newcomers for this season here.
 
JOINING THE STAFF
A new face will be roaming the Mines bench in 2025 as Ben Fredrickson joined the program in May as the program's top assistant coach. Prior to joining the Orediggers, Fredrickson served as Real Colorado's Assistant Academy Director and head coach of the organization's U16 MLS Next program. A well-traveled coach with experience at a variety of levels, the New Zealander is no stranger to the RMAC as he played collegiately at Regis from 2010-13. He also played in the United Soccer League's second division as well as New Zealand First Division club Team Wellington. Learn more about Coach Fredrickson here.
 
Additionally, a former Oredigger All-American returns to the bench this season as Lucas King makes his coaching debut at the collegiate level. A six-year member of the Mines program thanks to the 2020 pandemic, King was a three-time All-RMAC and All-Region selection from the United Soccer Coaches and D2 CCA as well. He started 84 times in 91 matches in his five seasons of action and logged 62 points on 13 goals and 36 assists, the second-most in program history. 12 of King's assists came in the fall 2021 season, as that mark is the third-best in a season all-time.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
Heading into his third season in Golden, Ayman Bushara was named Preseason All-RMAC heading into the 2025 season. A First Team All-RMAC honoree and All-Region selection by both D2 CCA and the United Soccer Coaches as well last fall, the Air Force transfer dazzled in his first season of action after sitting out the 2023 campaign on account of transfer regulations. Bushara's season included a seven-match scoring streak that included three game-winning scores as he ended the year with nine goals and three assists for 21 points. Heading into his final collegiate season, Bushara's veteran leadership will be relied upon heavily in 2025.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Over the last two seasons, 22 first-year players have joined the Oredigger program and heading into 2025, make up nearly two-thirds of the 36-man roster. The expectation for new arrivals is high as the Silver and Navy look to reclaim their spot as one of the premier programs in the RMAC. Noah Roles, Kian Mueller, Smith Russell, Jaden Igarta and Josh Ary made good first impressions as they each contributed and tallied at least one point each in their debut seasons, while the rest of their class in Ethan Huet, Jake Macha, Brady Scheinfeld, Lucas Taitt and Dennis Polzin all eagerly await making their debuts after taking developmental years as freshmen. Meanwhile, this year's crop of newcomers looks to make a similar first year impact as two of the top prep goalkeepers in Colorado last year Kiernan DiBella and Zach MacDonald will seek to compete for playing time while the rest of the nine first-year field players will look to contribute as well.
 
WELL-TRAVELED VETERAN
It isn't any secret that the academic reputation of Mines brings folks from all points on the globe. Athletics just extends that reach farther as evidenced by Alaskan Simon Carricaburu. Carricaburu, a second-year Mines student, enters his first year with the varsity program after playing with the Orediggers' club program last year, is no stranger to playing at the collegiate level. After beginning his career in 2022 at Western Oregon and appearing in just three matches, he transferred to Santa Barbara City college and showed his potential, earning Second Team All-Region honors as part of a 10-7-5 season in which he tallied three points on a goal and an assist. Now back at the NCAA level, Carricaburu's experience will be something the Orediggers rely on to help bolster their defense.
 
THE BROTHERS LEVIN
Family ties are no stranger to the Mines community with multiple generations of families passing through the institution over the years. When looking at Mines athletics programs, family ties are regular occurrences. This season, a new family connection comes to Golden as Marc Levin and Avi Levin reunite in 2025. Natives of St. Louis and both graduates of Ladue Horton Watkins High School, the brothers never had an opportunity to play together at the varsity level as they'll have plenty of chances to do so over the next couple seasons.
 
Marc, a fourth-year junior, missed all of 2024 with injury but is a pivotal piece of Mines soccer history as he netted the game-winning penalty kick in the 2022 RMAC Men's Soccer Championship over CSU Pueblo. In 28 career matches, he's started 10 times and scored four times with two assists for 10 points in 722 minutes and will look to once again be a contributor as he eases his way back into the action.
 
Avi joins the program as a freshman this season after he earned a slew of high school accolades including a state championship.
 
They are the second pair of brothers to play concurrently for Mines along with Henry Saunders and Peter Saunders who joined the program 2023, and just the third pair of players with a shared last name since Baski Baker and Colin Baker (no relation) in 2013.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Leading scorer from a year ago Ayman Bushara is back in 2025 and looks to add to his career totals of nine goals and three assists in a Mines uniform. The next five players from last year's club who scored all departed by way of graduation, but a further five players who found the net in 2024 are all back as Smith Russell, Abou Bakar Berthe, Kian Mueller, Luke Hanna and Charlie Newberry all scored once with the first three names listed combining for four assists as well. Josh Ary, Noah Roles and Jaden Igarta are all back for their sophomore seasons after each carding an assist in their debut campaigns.
 
In goal last fall, Peter Saunders led the way by going 5-4-2 with a pair of clean sheets in 12 appearances with 11 starts for 987:28. He logged 53 saves for a .757 save percentage and gave up 17 goals for a 1.55 GAA against 160 shots. Caden Allaire started the season and appeared in 10 matches with eight starts for 733:42 and logged 33 saves for a .673 rate against 16 goals and a 1.96 GAA against 111 shots. He also went 2-6-0 with one shutout.
 
As a unit in 2024, Mines was -4 in scoring margin at 33-29 and averaged 1.53 goals and 12.0 shots per match while opponents went for 1.74 and 14.2. They registered 26 assists on their goals and combined for 86 saves defensively while taking 104 corner kicks and going 2-2 from the spot. When it came to conduct assessments, Mines was issued 32 cautions and two ejections.
 
SCOUTING AZUSA PACIFIC
The Cougars went 5-9-2 overall and 4-5-2 in PacWest action a season ago. They'll take on Mines tomorrow night before heading to Regis Saturday afternoon to complete their first weekend of action. APU was picked to finish 10 of 13 teams in their conference this season.
 
Leading scorer Andrew Gomez returns after scoring seven times in 2024 with one assist for 15 points. Gabriel Oropeza has departed the team along with his four goals and four assists, but back is another four-goal scorer in Luis Solis who also notched three assists which was second on the club. Kaleb Abara is back following a six-point season in which he scored twice and assisted twice as while Raul Lavada is sporting a new number this fall after scoring once and assisting on a goal.
 
In goal, APU returns all three keepers from last year's roster and all 1,440 minutes between the pipes. Alexis Rodriguez started all 16 matches and played all but 11:12 last season on his way to 69 saves and a .704 save rate against 29 goals allowed and a 1.83 GAA. He also posted four shutouts and a record of 5-9-2 while Jacob Cristo saw action in one match and saved the only shot on goal he faced.
 
Last season, the Cougars were -3 in scoring margin at 29-26 and averaged 1.63 goals on 11.1 shots per match while ceding 1.81 goals on 12.2 shots. They were assessed 29 cautions and two ejections when it came to conduct fouls. APU tallied 17 assists on their 26 goals and combined for 74 saves defensively while taking 58 corner kicks and going 3-3 on penalties during the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and Azusa Pacific have met twice before and split each of the two meetings. Both of the previous meetings have been played in Azusa as the Cougars will be making their debut in Golden Thursday night. The Orediggers took the first matchup between the teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament by a tally of 2-1 to advance to the Sweet 16, while APU took the season opener between the teams last year with a 1-0 result.
 
UP NEXT
Mines hits the road for the first time in 2025 as they hit the road and head back to California September 11 and 13 against #RV Point Loma and Biola.
 
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.