DURANGO, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team kicked off Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Sunday with a 3-1 over Fort Lewis at Dirks Field. A trio of first half goals by
Bella Campos,
Gaby Guerrero and
Annelise Rojo was plenty enough for the Orediggers (5-1-1, 1-0-0) to earn the result and three points over the Skyhawks (4-1-2, 1-1-0).
Fort Lewis took the first shot of the day in the 16th minute, but was Mines that kicked off the scoring in the 18th minute by taking advantage of some lackadaisical play by the Skyhawks deep in their own end. As Skyhawk goalie Trinity Lujan and a defender were trying to play the ball back and forth to one another,
Bella Campos picked off a pass before eluding Lujan and a second Skyhawk defender to an easy chip-in goal to take the lead.
The Orediggers kept pressing home their attack as played resumed, and saw that aggression pay dividends near the midway point of the period. Mines' lead doubled to 2-0 in the 22nd minute when
Gaby Guerrero scored olimpico style on a corner kick from the near side, as her ball in tucked between an FLC defender and the post for her first goal of the season. Emma Gurule got FLC on the board in the 31st minute after she was the fortunate recipient of a Mines turnover deep in their own end. After creating space, she eluded a pair of Orediggers before shooting and scoring on a ball that deflected high off the back post and in to make it 2-1.
Now leading by just one, Campos and Guerrero led the charge and continued to put Lujan to the test down the stretch in the last 15 minutes before the break. After three saves and banger off the crossbar by
Bella Torres, Mines pushed their lead back to two at 3-1 in the 41st minute thanks to a header from the top of the six to the back post by
Annelise Rojo on a service in from
Taylor Johnson-Balding.
After an action-filled four-goal opening period, things were decidedly calmer over the final 45 minutes.
Brekyn Davenport-Murrish and Lujan handled any shots on goal with ease. The Mines defense meanwhile did a stellar job keeping the Skyhawks at bay, ceding just two shots on goal in the period and none in the final 12 minutes on the way to the 3-1 victory.
NOTABLES
-Campos scored her eighth goal of the season, running her point streak to six consecutive matches while finding the net in five of seven matches this season
-Guerrero scored her first goal of the season, fourth of her career and second against the Skyhawks in Durango; she also scored at Dirks Field in A 5-1 win back on October 11, 2024
-Rojo's goal was her first of the season and third of her career
-Johnson-Balding recorded her first career assist on the goal by Rojo
-Davenport-Murrish recorded a season-high four saves in goal
-The Orediggers outshot Fort Lewis 23-12 overall and 11-5 in shots on goal
-Mines has now started off RMAC play with a win each of the last three seasons and six of the last seven seasons
UP NEXT
Mines is back home for their next four matches as they'll welcome Black Hills State and Regis to Stermole Stadium September 25 and 27. Sunday's match against the Rangers will be Senior Day for the Oredigger players who will be concluding their careers at season's end.
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, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
