DENTON, Texas – A late first half penalty kick by
Bella Campos and a seven-save shutout by
Emma Thomas propelled the #19 Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team to a 1-0 in over third-seeded Midwestern State Friday in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship at Pioneer Soccer Park.
Despite the Mustangs (14-3-3) holding an advantage in nearly every category in the stat sheet including shots and corner kicks, the one that mattered most favored the Orediggers (15-3-4) as they withstood a second-half comeback attempt to advance to second round action Sunday.
Mines went on the attack to start the match, taking the first three shots of the afternoon including one from
Allyson Townsend that needed an early save by Lauren Short. Consecutive looks in the 24th and 25th minutes by MSU's Madison Brinkley and Lexi Gonzales gave
Emma Thomas her first work of the day with two saves before
Caelan DeBolt forced another save by Short on the ensuing counter. After a flurry of subs near the middle of the period, Mines broke the seal in the 42nd minute thanks to a penalty kick by Campos. Trying to play her way through a double team on the edge of the penalty area off a throw in, Campos was taken down hard by Briana Gomez and awarded a penalty. The ensuing shot went near post while the keeper Short went back post as the Orediggers went up 1-0 and carried that lead to halftime.
Coming out of the intermission, Midwestern State flipped the tone of the match as they went on the attack, putting up six shots in the first nine minutes of the half with Thomas needing to make saves on three of the bunch from Brinkley, Gonzales and Taryn Sueltz. Campos and
Lindsay Jeans each had a chance to double the lead for the Orediggers, but momentum stayed firmly with the Mustangs as they searched for an equalizer. Two more saves by Thomas in the 64th and 69th minutes denied Binky Mendez and Gonzales as the minutes kept ticking off. As it turned out, those two shots would be the last, best chances for MSU as the Oredigger defense dug in their heels and allowed two off-target shots in the final 20 minutes. Some late drama saw two yellow cards issued to Midwestern State in the closing moments, as Mines managed to maintain possession late and run out the clock to advance with the 1-0 result.
NOTABLES
-Campos' goal was her 29th of the season and third from the spot in regulation
-Thomas' seven saves were her second most in a match this season coming on the heels of nine in last week's RMAC title match, while her shutout was the second of the season
-DeBolt led Mines with five shots in the match
-Campos put up four shots with three on goal
-
Kate Hendrickson made her first career start and played 86 minutes
-Freshmen
Haliya Jabel and
Addison Bailey each made their NCAA debuts in the match
-Mines was outshot 17-14 overall and 7-6 in shots on goal in the match
-The Orediggers have now won 15 matches in a season for the 13th time in program history
UP NEXT
Mines takes on #2 seed and this weekend's host Texas Woman's Sunday at 3 p.m. CT at the Pioneer Soccer Park.
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.
