Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

UCCS Athletics

msoc team
Isaiah J. Downing

PREVIEW | Men's Soccer Travels to Lone Star State for Season Opener Against LCU

9/4/2019 12:34:00 PM

By: Jake Wise - Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
This Week's Games
  • The UCCS Men's Soccer team will open the 2019 season in Texas as they get set to take on Lubbock Christian University (LCU).
  • Location: Lubbock, Texas; LCU Soccer Field.
  • Date/Time: Friday, September 6 at 2 p.m. (MT).
Game Coverage Last Time Out
  • The Mountain Lions finished last season with an overall record of 10-6-3, which ranked fifth in the RMAC.
    • Conference Record: 8-4-2
    • Home Record: 6-1-1
    • Away Record: 4-5-2
  • UCCS finished the 2018 season ranked in the top 10 of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in the following statistical categories…
    • Goals and goals per game (38, 2/game, fifth and fourth respectively)
    • Assists and Assists per game (27, 1.42/game, both ranked sixth)
    • Points and points per game (103, 5.42/game, both ranked fifth)
    • Shots and Shots per game (252, 13.26/game, seventh and eighth respectively)
    • Shots on goal and Shots on goal per game (98, 5.16/game, both ranked ninth)
    • Goals allowed and goals allowed per game (27, 1.42/game, sixth and fifth respectively)
    • Saves, save percentage, saves per game (85, .759, 4.47/game, ranking fourth, third, and fourth)
  • After qualifying for the RMAC Tournament, the Mountain Lions won their opening round game against Regis University 5-3. In the second round, UCCS lost to then ranked #5 Colorado School of Mines by a score of 1-3 in the RMAC Semifinals.
RMAC Record/Standings
  • UCCS finished last season with a conference record of 8-4-2, good enough for fifth best in the RMAC.
  • Entering the 2019 season, the Mountain Lions received the #5 ranking in the RMAC Preseason Poll.
The Series
  • UCCS has matched up against LCU only two times, the second time coming last season. The matchup has been good for the Mountain Lions as they hold a 2-0 record against the Chaparrals. Both games have been played on UCCS's home turf, therefore the Mountain Lions will have to bring their A-game to Lubbock in order to improve to 3-0.
  • Head coach Brian Miller has gotten off to a good start against LCU, winning his first matchup by a score of 2-1 for his 1-0 record.
Scouting the Opponent
  • LCU finished the 2018 season with a record of 9-7-3, including a 6-5-3 conference record. Last season, the Chaparrals scored 33 goals and allowed 23 in 19 games. LCU recorded a shots on goal percentage of 37 percent as well.
  • Other notable statistics
    • Assists: 19
    • Shots per game: 11
    • Points: 85
  • Offensively, LCU was led by junior midfielder Emilio Marti, senior midfielder Louis Callaghan, and junior forward Dean Conner. Marti and Callaghan led the team in goals with five each, but Marti edged out Callaghan in points by one with 12. Conner netted three goals on the year but led the Chaparrals in assists with four.
  • Freshman goalkeeper Braxton Thorne started all 19 games for LCU and racked up 85 saves and save percentage of 78 percent.
Hot Takes
  • Last season, junior midfielder Alex VonHolle led the Mountain Lions in goals, assists and points with 14, nine and 37 respectively. His 14 goals and nine assists both tied for the second most in the RMAC, while his 37 points was good enough for second most alone in the RMAC. VonHolle also racked up a team high 65 shots (second in the RMAC), including 34 shots on goal.
  • Those numbers also boosted VonHolle's position on the All-Time Leaderboards for UCCS. For his career, VonHolle now ranks:
    • Third All-Time in Assists: 14
    • Sixth All-Time in Shots on Goal: 55
    • Eighth All-Time in Points: 54
    • Ninth All-Time in Goals: 20
    • Ninth All-Time in Shots: 117
  • Junior goalkeeper Scott Jensen spent the majority of the season in the net for the Mountain Lions as he allowed 22 goals and racked up 68 saves in his 17 starts. His 68 saves ranked fourth in the RMAC, as did his 1.26 goals against average. Jensen also recorded six shutouts over the course of the season, the third most in the RMAC.
  • After a solid year in the net, Jensen also moved up the UCCS All-Time Leaderboards. In his career, Jensen ranks:
    • 10th in All-Time Saves: 85
    • Third in All-Time Goals-Against: 1.34
    • Tied for Seventh in Shutouts: 6
Award Winners
  • Several returning players received awards last season. Those players are: Alex VonHolle, Aaron Haefner, Tankred Steinbach, Jack Mills, Parker McClure, Scott Jensen, Jake Demerath, Samuel Gomez, Jared Salisbury, Adam Baldwin, Daniel Brevig, and Clayton Smith.
  • Alex VonHolle led the team in awards with eight, receiving each of the following:
    • Google Cloud Academic All-America Second Team
    • D2CCA All-America Second Team
    • United Soccer Coaches All-South Central Region First Team
    • D2CCA All-South Central Region First Team
    • Google Cloud Academic All-District VI First Team
    • RMAC All-Tournament Team
    • All-RMAC First Team
    • RMAC All-Academic First Team
  • Haefner received two awards to end the season, which included All-RMAC Second Team and RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (10/23/18).
  • Steinbach also received two awards last season, the RMAC Summit Award and RMAC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
  • Along with VonHolle, Mills also received a nod for the RMAC All-Tournament Team.
  • McClure and Jensen both received nods for All-RMAC Honorable Mention and RMAC All-Academic Honorable Mention. Jensen also won Goalkeeper of the week two different times last season, (10/2 and 10/23).
  • To round out the awards from last season, Demerath, Gomez, Salisbury, Baldwin, Brevig, and Smith were all recognized for their academics with nominations for RMAC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
Weather
  • The forecast in Lubbock for Friday, September 6 shows mostly sunny skies with a high of 96 degrees. There is a low chance of rain (10%) and wind is not expected to be much of a factor.
RMAC Leaders
  • Entering the 2019 season, the RMAC standings are as follows: 1.) Colorado School of Mines, 2.) Westminster College, 3.) Colorado Mesa University, 4.) Regis University and 5.) UCCS are the top five schools respectively.
  • 6.) Fort Lewis College, 7.) Dixie State University, 8.) Metropolitan State University – Denver, 9.) Colorado State University – Pueblo and 10.) South Dakota School of Mines round out the top 10 respectively, with Colorado Christian University and Adams State University on the outside looking in.
UCCS Under Head Coach Brian Miller
  • UCCS did very well in their first year under head Coach Brian Miller, as they finished the season with an overall record of 10-6-3 and a conference record of 8-4-2. In his second season, coach Miller will look to further the team's success.
Upcoming Games
  • Next weekend the Mountain Lions will be hosting a set of round robin games at Mountain Lion Stadium. On Friday, September 13 UCCS will take on St. Mary's University (TX) at 7 p.m. After a day of rest, UCCS will take on St. Edward's University at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 15.
Print Friendly Version