Mines (0-2-0) vs. Biola (0-2-0) – Thursday, 5 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Tickets]
Mines (0-2-0) vs. Concordia University Irvine (1-1-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Tickets]

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HOME DEBUT
After kicking off their 2026 season in California, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team makes their Stermole Stadium debut this week as they open up a two-week stint in Golden with action against Biola and Concordia University Irvine on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
 
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. Single-game passes are available for $12.50, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. 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
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.
 
WEEKEND FORECAST
It should be another good weather weekend as Mines makes their home debut. Thursday will have plenty of sun and a high in the upper 80s with southeast winds at nine miles per hour while Saturday will be nearly the same with partly cloudy skies.
 
WEEK 1 RECAP
The new-look Orediggers dropped a pair of one-score matches at the Menlo Kickoff Classic on opening weekend, falling on opening day to the host Oaks 2-1 before a late goal sent them to a setback against Cal Poly Humboldt 2-1. Murray Peart scored 35 seconds into the season in the opener with help from Davyan Martinez. Noah Hildreth made two saves in goal in his debut on opening day, while Zach MacDonald recorded five saves in his debut Saturday.
 
IN THE POLLS
In August's RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Mines was tabbed to finish eighth in the league this season. UCCS claimed the top spot followed by Regis, Fort Lewis, MSU Denver and CSU Pueblo in the top five. Westminster and Colorado Mesa were directly ahead of the Orediggers, while behind them South Dakota Mines, Colorado Christian and Adams State rounded out the final three spots in the 11-team rankings.
 
NEW MAN IN CHARGE
After joining the Orediggers as the program's top assistant in 2025, Ben Fredrickson was elevated to Interim Head Coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year. Prior to joining the Orediggers, Fredrickson served as Real Colorado's Assistant Academy Director and head coach of the U16 MLS Next Academy Team. Prior to his return to Colorado, he spent time in numerous roles with Tennessee Soccer Club from 2022 to mid-2024 as the Video Analysis Director, ECNL Head Coach and Assistant ECNL Director. Fredrickson also spent three seasons with Albion SC Las Vegas, where he was an MLS Next Assistant Coach, U14 Elite Academy Coach and club-wide Video Analysis Director. Prior to coaching at the club and professional levels, Fredrickson logged six years of experience at the collegiate level, getting his start in 2014 as an assistant with Division I Buffalo where he worked with eight All-MAC selections and one MLS draft pick. The following season he moved to Mobile, Alabama for two stints with Spring Hill College, the first from 2015-17 and the second from 2018-19. In between his time at Spring Hill, Fredrickson spent a season with Division I Duquesne University.
 
JOINING THE STAFF
Some new faces will be helping coach the Orediggers this season. Longtime Regis head coach and one of the most successful coaches in RMAC history, Tony McCall returns the bench this season to work alongside Ben Fredrickson, who played under McCall from 2010-13. No stranger to the RMAC, McCall led Regis to the program's first #1 overall ranking and posted an overall record of 132-64-17 (.659) and a mark of 99-39-13 (.698) in conference play. Ryszard Gorski joins the staff to work with the goalkeepers, and comes from the Colorado Storm organization where he serves as the Director of Goalkeeping.
 
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.
 
NOW INTRODUCING
17 newcomers have joined the Orediggers for the 2026 campaign. Daniel Bruno, Andrew DeBerardinis, Pol Garcia Oliveras, Noah Hildreth, Kaoru Kato, Carlo Kobelt, Djaz Less, Luke Marcus, Davyan Martinez, Murray Peart, Mason Robledo, Max Robertson, Marcus Saa, Timothé Strout, Zeus Tabora, Marco Vecchini and Aidan Wells are the first recruiting class assembled under interim head coach Ben Fredrickson. They'll join a group of 10 returners from last year's club as Mines looks to return to prominence in the RMAC. Read more about the newcomers here.
 
AROUND THE WORLD
Eight different countries or territories are represented on the roster for the Orediggers in 2026. With 20 players hailing from the United States, seven others hail from all corners of the globe. Carlo Kobelt (Germany), Murray Peart (Australia), Djaz Less (Jamaica), Pol Garcia Oliveras (Spain), Marco Vecchini (Puerto Rico), Kaoru Kato (Japan) and Timothé Strout (Canada) bring an international flair to the program, the likes of which hasn't been seen in some time. Additionally, Zeus Tabora, Max Robertson and Luke Marcus all have international ties as well. Tabora has played for the U17 and U20 Honduran National Teams, while Robertson and Marcus both spent a year in Spain competing for CDJ Manisense after graduating high school.
 
THE RETURNERS
Of the group of 10 returners for the Orediggers this fall, six saw action last season. The other four, Zach MacDonald, Braedan Wallace, Ashish Gurung and Noah Bills eagerly await their collegiate debuts as they'll look to make an impact in 2026. Meanwhile, Kiernan DiBella, Hudson Waddell, Leo Santana, Cody O'Brien, Avi Levin and J McGill will look to build off their experience as freshmen and lead the way heading into the new season.
 
THE CAPTAIN
Andrew DeBerardinis was selected by the team to serve as captain following the conclusion of preseason camp. The Colorado native and graduate transfer from Stonehill will be making his Mines debut Thursday afternoon. A veteran player on the Oredigger roster this fall, DeBerardinis brings four seasons of Division I experience with him as Mines looks to make a statement in the RMAC this fall.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
If one were to look at the Mines roster this fall, one of the first things to jump out would be the distinct lack of upperclassmen. Of the 27 players comprising this year's team, fifth-year senior Andrew DeBeradinis is the lone upperclassman of the bunch. The remaining 26 players are comprised of seven sophomores, four second-year freshmen and 15 first-year freshmen. Without question, that breakdown makes the Orediggers the youngest team in the RMAC by far.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Murray Peart scored the first goal of the season for Mines in the opener while Davyan Martinez recorded his first career assist. On the offensive end, Pol Garcia Oliveras leads the team with six shots followed by Peart with four.
 
In goal, Noah Hildreth got the nod on opening day as he made two saves and allowed two goals against 13 shots faced from Menlo and has a GAA of 2.00 and a .500 save percentage. Zach MacDonald drew the start Saturday against Cal Poly Humboldt and against 19 shots, made five saves and allowed one goal in his debut as he sports an .833 save rate and a 1.00 GAA.
 
Though two matches, Mines is averaging 10.0 shots per match while opponents are averaging 16.0. The Orediggers have one assist on their one goal so far, and have taken five corner kicks while recording seven saves in goal. They've been whistled for 40 fouls and issued seven yellow cards.
 
SCOUTING BIOLA
Biola dropped a pair of 2-0 matches on opening weekend to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. They'll take on Colorado Christian Saturday after opening their week two schedule with Mines Thursday night. Last fall, the Eagles went 6-7-4 overall and 3-5-2 in the PacWest.
 
In their opening two matches, Biola has been held to just seven total shots, of which just three have been on goal. Kyle Denn, Ryan Ellsworth and Jeremy Larson have each taken two shots while Ivan Moore has one shot. Denn and Ellsworth are the only players to have put a ball on frame so far in 2026. In last season's 2-2 draw with Mines, Ellsworth scored both goals for the Eagles as part of a seven-goal season which led the team.
 
Ethan Michael is back the team's second in assists last fall with four. Luca McGreevey Couchman returns after a four-goal season as well, along with Joel Smith and Jeremy Larson who each scored once.
 
In goal, Liberty transfer Ethan Kell has played all 180 minutes in the first two matches. He's allowed four goals and made five saves against 15 shots faced for a 2.00 GAA and a .556 save rate.
 
After one week, Biola is averaging 3.5 shots per match and allowing 7.5 to the opposition. They have committed 23 fouls and been assessed two yellow cards. The Eagles have also taken only three corner kicks in their opening two matches.
 
SCOUTING CONCORDIA UNIVERSIY IRVINE
The Golden Eagles went 1-1 on their opening weekend at home, dropping a 1-0 decision to Cal State Los Angeles in their debut match before posting a 3-2 win over Cal State San Marcos Saturday.
 
Jonathan Moreno, David Garcia and Andrew Jun account for the scoring by CUI in their first two outings. Moreno already has two assists as well while Marcus Ozmai has one in addition to leading the team with seven shots.
 
In goal, Sebastian Marin has started each of the first two matches and played 168:32, allowing two goals and making five saves against 17 shots for a 1.07 GAA and a .714 save percentage. Rowan Johnson has appeared once for 11:28 and allowed a goal against two shots faced.
 
Through two matches, CUI is averaging 15.0 shots per match and allowing just 9.5 shots to the opposition. They have three assists on their three goals, have taken three corner kicks and have five saves defensively. The Golden Eagles have been whistled for 28 fouls and already amassed 12 cautions as well as an ejection just two matches into the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday night will be the third all-time meeting between Mines and Biola. Biola leads the series 1-0-1 after winning the first meeting in Golden in 2024 3-0. Last season in La Mirada, the teams played to a heated 2-2 draw.
 
Saturday afternoon will be the first-ever meeting between Mines and Concordia University Irvine, as the Orediggers look to snap a six-match losing streak against first-time opponents going back four seasons.

UP NEXT
Mines is home again next weekend and welcomes two teams from the Lone Star State as UT Tyler and Dallas Baptist come to Stermole Stadium September 10 and 12.
 
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.