(3) Mines (12-3-3, 8-2-2) vs. (6) Black Hills State (10-4-4, 6-4-2) – Sunday, 12 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Tickets] [Tournament Central]

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POSTSEASON SHOWDOWN
With the regular season wrapped up, the Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team now turns their focus to defending their RMAC Tournament crown as their postseason campaign gets underway Sunday with quarterfinal action against Black Hills State at 12 p.m. from Stermole Stadium.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's matches will be available to watch with a subscription to the RMAC Network. Free live stats will be available as well. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK 
The RMAC Network continues to have a pay-per-view model for all events. 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. Championship Day Passes are available in the postseason for $15 and allow 24 hour access to all championship broadcasts. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are reminded that there is no passlist for the postseason. Fans are encouraged to purchase advance tickets through Hudl Tickets prior to the event. Single-match general admission tickets are $16 while tickets for children ages 6-17, adults over 65 and military personnel are $11. A two-day pass for both semifinal and championship matches are available for $25 and $19 plus fees respectively. Additional information for the 2026 RMAC Women's Soccer Championship can be found here.
 
THIS WEEK'S FORECAST
Sunday's forecast call for a high of 59 and overcast skies with light and variable winds with minor chances of precipitation.
 
AT THE HELM
2026 marks the 17th season leading Mines for Kevin Fickes, the program's winningest head coach. With a career mark of 267-46-48 (.806), 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 41 All-America selections, 21 Academic All-America selections, 93 all-conference honorees and 34 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.
 
WEEK 10 RECAP
Mines cruised to a 5-1 win over CSU Pueblo Wednesday to put a bow on the regular season and secure the #3 seed in the conference tournament. Natalie Rouse scored twice in a 10-minute span in the first half, heading home a pair of Jordan Bowermaster corner kicks before Bella Torres scored from Caelan DeBolt in the final minute of the half. While CSU Pueblo did get on the board in the 80th minute, it did little to impact the result as Bella Campos and Kate Hendrickson capped the scoring just 86 second apart in the 83rd and 84th minutes to close the win. Keira Garcia ended the night with four saves in goal while the Mines defense allowed just six total shots the ThunderWolves.
 
THE CAPTAINS
A seasoned group of veterans will be wearing the "C" this fall for the Orediggers. Bella Campos and Natalie Rouse enter their second seasons as captains, while Gaby Guerrero rounds out the on-field leadership group. Campos is coming off her second consecutive RMAC Player of the Year award after scoring 20 goals with four assists for 44 points. Rouse, who missed most of 2024 with injury, returned in 2025 to earn her second RMAC Defensive Player of the Year award after scoring five times from her center back position and anchoring a defense that posted nine shutouts. Guerrero was named Honorable Mention All-RMAC last fall as a standout midfielder who scored twice with an assist.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines topped August's RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll followed closely by Colorado Mesa and UCCS. Fort Lewis and Regis rounded out the top five followed by Westminster, MSU Denver, Colorado Christian, CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado in the top 10. Adams State, Black Hills State and New Mexico Highlands rounded out the 13-team rankings.
 
In the latest NPI Rankings updated Wednesday, Mines remained in sixth in the South Central region and gained some slight cushion back to Colorado Mesa in seventh. Dallas Baptist remained first followed Texas Woman's in second. Regis moved up to third while Midwestern State dropped to fourth. UCCS is fifth ahead of Mines while Oklahoma Christian is eighth behind CMU. Sunday's opponent Black Hills State is currently 10th in the rankings.
 
FIVE YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY PASSES
In early August, NCAA Division II passed a sweeping change to eligibility rules that now gives all student-athletes five seasons of eligibility in a five-year span, and eliminates redshirting. It will apply to this year's incoming freshmen, and returning players can either convert to the new rule or be grandfathered into continuing with the old four-year model, whichever is more beneficial. The new rules supersede the previous freshman rule that allowed them to play in up to four games while still redshirting. 
 
NCAA CHANGES POSTSEASON PROCESS
Another significant change coming to NCAA Division II is how they select the postseason championship field. Playoff selections will now be handled solely by the NCAA Power Index (NPI) instead of regional committees, removing the human element from the process; NPI takes into account winning percentage and strength of schedule, quality wins, and home/away weights, rewarding challenging schedules and road wins more so than in years past.
 
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Bella Campos and Natalie Rouse claimed the final Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors from the RMAC Thursday following their performances in the final three matches of the regular season for the Orediggers. Read more about the duo's red-hot finishes to the regular season here.
 
NCAA ACTIVE CAREER SCORING LEADER
Heading into the postseason, Bella Campos continues to lead all levels of NCAA soccer in both goals scored and points. Campos is one of two players in the entire country with more than 50 career goals and the only one north of 70, as her 76 leads the nation by 19 over Eowyn Lapp of Division III Gordon with 57 goals. Alabama's Larkin Thomason is the top Division I player with 46 goals and is tied for ninth on the active scoring list.
 
Shifting to look at points, Campos is also the only active player with more than 150 points as she sits with 175. Again, Lapp is second on the list with 134 points while Ohio State's Amanda Schlueter is the first Division I player on the list and tied for ninth with 113.
 
Campos also headlines an even smaller list of active players with 30 or more career goals and 20 or more career assists. Gordon is second once again and the latest addition to the list with 57 goals and 20 assists for 134 points. Schlueter is the first DI player on that list with 42 goals and 29 assists for 113 points and is tied for fifth. At the time of writing, just 26 players can find their name on this list.
 
ONE RECORD DOWN, ONE TO GO
Wednesday's regular season finale saw Bella Campos inch ever closer to the Mines all-time goals record. Her second half goal against CSU Pueblo was the 76th of her career and moved her into a tie for first with Mines Hall of Famer Kayla (Mitchell) Jacobsen. Having already usurped Jacobsen for the all-time points record last Sunday at Adams State and now with 175 and counting, Campos is halfway to first place in the record books for two offensive categories. Additionally, in setting a new career best with her eighth assist of the season Wednesday, Campos moved into a tie for third all-time with 23 alongside Anna Evans (2010-13). Her 335 shots meanwhile remain third all-time as do her 160 shots on goal. For those following along at home, Campos' scoring rate on shots on frame in her career is .478 entering her fourth postseason at Mines.
 
BREAKING INTO THE TOP 10
For the first time in her career Wednesday, Natalie Rouse scored twice in a match with two headers against CSU Pueblo. In doing so, Rouse scored the 18th and 19th goals of her career at Mines, vaulting her into the Top 10 all-time in goals scored in sole possession of ninth ahead of former teammate Afton Rasco (2022-25) as well as Jackie Knott (2013-16) and Haley Cole (2014-17). Next on the list is Brooke Stoermer (2014-17) in eighth with 21. For Rouse, she adds another feather to the cap from an already impressive career that includes three All-America selections and a pair of RMAC Defensive Player of the Year awards.
 
LOOK AT THE BRACKET
Regis claimed the regular season championship with an unbeaten mark in league play and in doing so, earned a bye all the way to the semifinals and hosting rights for the semifinals and championship match. UCCS was the #2 seed and awaits the winner of Friday's play-in match between #7 Westminster and #8 Colorado Christian in the quarterfinals. The Orediggers will host #6 seed Black Hills State in the first-ever postseason appearance for the Yellow Jackets at Stermole Stadium Sunday at noon. Colorado Mesa earned the #4 seed and will host #5 seed Fort Lewis in the final quarterfinal match.
 
Winners of the three quarterfinal matches will head to Denver for the semifinal round on Wednesday November 4 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., with the championship match scheduled for Saturday November 7. View the complete bracket here.
 
HITTING REWIND
Taking a look back to September 25 and the first meeting of the year between Mines and Black Hills State, the teams played to a scoreless draw in the second week of conference play. The Orediggers outshot BHSU 17-10 overall in the match and 5-3 in shots on goal. Three cautions were issued in the match, with one to both Bailey Smith of BHSU and Gaby Guerrero of Mines as well as the Yellow Jackets' bench. The Orediggers held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks while Black Hills State was whistled for more fouls with a 7-5 split. Goalies Rian Barthel and Keira Garcia made four and three saves respectively while a team save was also credited to BHSU. Ivy Agee and Ally Boysen led the Yellow Jackets with three shots each, while Sydney Stephan had two off the bench. Bella Campos led Mines with five shots while Caelan DeBolt added three with Annelise Rojo and Natalie Rouse each taking two. The Yellow Jackets relied heavily on their starters in the match, with nine of 10 field players clocking 72 minutes or more with just two substitutes coming off the bench.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
14 players scored in the regular season for Mines, led by Player of the Year candidate Bella Campos. Campos leads all levels of NCAA soccer this fall with 26 goals to go with eight assists for 60 points. Natalie Rouse set a new career-high Wednesday in scoring as she's up to seven goals on the season. Freshman Bella Torres has four goals and is followed by the trio of Caelan DeBolt, Allyson Townsend and Molly Elder who all have three goals each. Annelise Rojo has scored twice while Gaby Guerrero, Finley Ewald, Sam Forde, Natalie Mezarina, Kate Hendrickson, Haliya Jabel and Madisen Powers have all scored once.
 
Campos and Lindsay Jeans are tied for the team and RMAC lead with eight assists on the year while Guerrero has six on the fall. Torres and Jordan Bowermaster are next with five apiece while Ewald has four. DeBolt and Forde are next on the list with three each while Townsend, Mezarina, Ariana Ahumada, Taylor Johnson-Balding and Shyla Kalpathy all have one.
 
Keira Garcia has featured in goal in the second half of the season and started 11 times for 945 minutes. She's faced 101 shots and made 28 saves while allowing eight goals for a 0.76 GAA and a .778 save percentage an three shutouts. Freshman Brekyn Davenport-Murrish started the first seven matches of the fall and has made eight total appearances for 675 minutes. She's seen 70 shots and made 13 saves against 10 goals allowed for a GAA of 1.33 and a .565 save rate with one shutout.
 
On the year, Mines has outscored the opposition 55-18 and averages 3.06 goals and 19.3 shots per match while allowing 1.00 goals and 9.4 shots per match. They have 47 assists on their 55 goals and are 2-5 on PKs this season. In goal they have combined for 44 saves and on offense taken 102 corner kicks. Mines has been called for 90 fouls this fall and issued five yellow cards.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
The best season in program history for Black Hills State has yielded the program's first-ever appearance in the RMAC Tournament. After a strong start to the season, BHSU enters the postseason off a 1-3-1 finish to the regular season. Their most recent win was a 5-0 result over Dakota Wesleyan in non-conference action on October 25. Last time out, BHSU lost to Regis 2-0, while their last RMAC win came on October 11 when they picked up a 2-0 road win over MSU Denver.
 
RMAC Freshman of the Year Candidate Ivy Agee leads BHSU on offense with 14 goals and four assists for 32 points. Ally Boysen is second in scoring with 12 goals and two assists for 26 points. Six other players account for the remaining nine goals scored this season, as Kalissa Welch has scored three times exclusively off the bench while Zoe Evans has scored twice. Kylea Becker, Samantha Nunez, Aubri Roth and Sienna Osborne complete the scoring with one goal each. While just eight players have scored this season for the Yellow Jackets, 15 players have recorded at least one assist. Becker leads the team with seven followed by Agee's four. Holly Benson, Bailey Smith and Sydney Stephan are next with three assists each, while Boysen, Nunez, Rother, Ashley Measles and Mirabel Shellaberger all have two. A further five players have one each this fall.
 
In goal, Rian Barthel has started 17 of 18 matches this season for 1,508:22 between the pipes. She's faced 206 shots and is second in the RMAC with 65 saves while having allowed 16 goals for a 0.95 GAA and an .802 save percentage. She's responsible for six of seven shutouts in goal this season. Karsyn Fraser-Slothower has appeared twice in relief for 66:28 and is yet to allow a goal while making four save against nine shots. Lauren Peotter has started her only appearance of the season and in 45 minutes against Dakota Wesleyan, did not record any statistics while facing a single shot. Fraser-Slothower and Peotter combined for the shutout last Sunday.
 
On the year, Black Hills State has outscored teams 35-16 and averages 1.94 goals on 15.7 shots per match while opponents have averaged 0.89 goals on 12.0 shots per match. The Yellow Jackets have 35 assists on their 35 goals and are 1-2 on penalties this season. In goal that have combined for 70 saves while taking 55 corner kicks on offense. BHSU has been called for 135 fouls this fall and issued 13 cautions.

SERIES HISTORY
After a scoreless draw back on September 25 earlier this season between the teams, the series record is now 9-0-2 in favor of Mines. The Orediggers are 5-0-1 when playing Black Hills State at home, and Sunday will be the first-ever meeting of the teams in the postseason.
 
UP NEXT
With a win, the Orediggers advance to the semifinals of the 2026 RMAC Women's Soccer Championship where they would play the winner of the quarterfinal match between Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa. With a loss, Mines will have to wait and see where they stack up in the NPI rankings come selection Sunday on November 8.
 
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, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.