GOLDEN, Colo. – A spirited second half effort fell short Thursday night for the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team in their match against UT Tyler. After falling behind to the Patriots (2-0-1) midway through the opening period, the Orediggers (0-4-1) came out with a renewed vigor over the final 45 minutes but were unable to mount a rally.
After the Patriots kicked off, Mines had a promising early build up on their first possession of the game when
Marcus Saa charged up the near sideline and looked to play
Murray Peart, but led him just a bit too far at UTT keeper Beaux Benson was able to fall on the ball.
Zach MacDonald made a pair of early saves for the Orediggers before UT Tyler broke the seal in the 29th minute. A free kick by Landon Neely from just past the penalty area on the far side of the field never got more than a few inches above the ground as it burned its way through a crowd and snuck inside the back post for the first goal of the night. Just over five minutes later in the 34th minute, Azael Ochoa doubled the lead to 2-0 when he cleaned up a rebound off a shot saved by MacDonald from Carson Stiglets.
Coming out to start the second half, Mines pressed home their attack with renewed vigor looking to eat into the deficit.
Davyan Martinez tried to find
J McGill with a long ball from near midfield but played it just a step too far as Benson charged off his line to kick it clear. The next trip down the field saw Martinez race down the near sideline into the corner before trying to find a wide-open
Aidan Wells on a cross back to the middle, but again Benson intervened as he intercepted the pass before smothering the ball on the turf. McGill and
Avi Levin each had a look at goal before most of the Mines starters subbed back on for the final 27 minutes.
Leo Santana generated a few quality looks including one off a free kick that was saved by Benson in the 78th minute. The final goal of the night was a penalty kick by Jaime Casado in the 88th minute. The PK was awarded after he stumbled into the box after a battle with
Andrew DeBerardinis where he crashed headlong into a stationary
Hudson Waddell to close the book on a 3-0 result.
NOTABLES
-MacDonald made five saves as he tied his season high mark in his first appearance at Stermole Stadium
-Santana led Mines with three shots in the match
-McGill added two shots
-After being held without a shot in the first half, Mines outshot UT Tyler 7-6 over the final 45 minutes
UP NEXT
Mines is back home Saturday night against Dallas Baptist with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
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.
