This Week's Matchup
UCCS Women's Soccer will hit the road for one conference match this week as the Mountain Lions travel to Golden, Colo. to take on Colorado School of Mines on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. in Stermole Soccer Stadium.
 
Game Coverage
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Last Time Out

• It was a dominating week of soccer for the Mountain Lions after walking away with a home conference sweep of Metropolitan State University of Denver on Thursday, 2-0, and Black Hills State University on Sunday, 5-0.
• The Mountain Lions allowed a season high 17 shots to the Roadrunners but still registered the shutout victory as true freshman Emily VanGundy made her first collegiate start in frame where she collected five saves.
• On Sunday, UCCS shut down the Yellow Jackets by limiting BHSU to two shots and one shot on goal as four different Mountain Lions found the back of the net, including Jade Kinsey who scored her first career collegiate goal, and Kendall Stevenson who scored her first goal of the season.

 
RMAC Records/Standings

• The Mountain Lions (10-2, 5-1 RMAC) are currently second in the RMAC Standings with 15 conference points.
• Colorado State University Pueblo is ahead of the Mountain Lions with 16 points and a 6-4-1 overall record and 5-0-1 RMAC record.
• Colorado School of Mines (7-2-3, 4-1-1 RMAC) remains in third place after losing to Colorado Mesa University on the road and drawing with Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 
National Rankings

• UCCS moves back into the top-10 after jumping up five spots to receive United Soccer Coaches' No. 7 ranking in the country.
• Colorado School of Mines receives national votes in this week's poll, making it three consecutive weeks that the Orediggers have received votes.

 
The Series

• UCCS and Colorado School of Mines faceoff in their 22^nd all-time match against one another with the Mountain Lions trailing in the all-time series at a 5-15-1 record. The Orediggers won the previous matchup back on Nov. 16, 2019 at a final score of 2-0 in the RMAC Championship game inside Mountain Lion Stadium.
• The last time UCCS played in Golden, Colo. was on Oct. 18, 2019 where the Mountain Lions netted a golden goal in double overtime to walk away with a 2-1 regular season win over CSM.

 
Scouting Colorado School of Mines

• Colorado School of Mines (7-2-3, 4-1-1 RMAC) was unable to notch a win on the road last week as the Orediggers dropped a 3-1 result to CMU on Friday for their first conference loss, while also registering their third draw of the season with a 1-1 final against Westminster.
• CSM has outscored the opposition 21-7 this season and are currently averaging 1.75 goals per game while allowing 0.58 goals per game for the lowest GAA in the conference. They also lead the RMAC in shutouts with seven as redshirt senior Sierra Roth claims five of those with two combined shutouts. Roth has started every game in frame for the Orediggers as she's maintained a conference-low .54 GAA with 54 saves and .885 save percentage off of 143 shots faced.
• Freshman forward Reese McDermott has paced CSM this season with a team high 10 points and four goals. Senior midfielder Emma Peterson has recorded the team's most shots and shotS on goal with 35 and 12 respectively as she's registered two goals and two assists for six points on the year.
• Defender Jordan Barnhart has been a work horse for the Orediggers with a team high 1,134 minutes as she's been on the pitch in all but six minutes this season.
• Before hosting UCCS on Sunday, CSM will take on Colorado Christian University (4-4-3, 3-2-1 RMAC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14 inside Stermole Soccer Stadium.

 
Hot Takes

• UCCS has recorded all five of their program wins against the Orediggers on the road, with three of those wins happening in CSM's Stermole Soccer Stadium.
• The Mountain Lions lead the RMAC with the most goal scorers as 14 different student-athletes have found the back of the net.
• Averaging 3.00 goals per game, UCCS has the ninth highest scoring offense in the nation as they currently outscore opponents 36-13.
• In addition to their conference leading 36 goals, the Mountain Lions add 26 assists to total 96 points on the season, ranking them in the top-10 nationally in total assists (eighth) and top-five in the country for total goals (fifth) and total points (fourth).
• On defense, for the second time this season, UCCS held an opponent to two shots and one shot on goal after posting their second consecutive shutout, and fifth shutout of the season, against BHSU.
• The UCCS defense has given up double digit shots in less than half of games this season (five) while also limiting the opposition to five shots on goal or less in 11 of the 12 matches.
• Tarah Patterson continues to pace UCCS in points (17) and assists (seven) as she ranks tied for second in the conference and sixth in the nation for total assists.
• Patterson and Makayla Merlo have each netted five goals through 12 games with Merlo also adding an assist for 11 points. Tori Maydew joins Merlo with the second most points on the team at 11 by registering four goals and three assists.
• Four freshman have notched more than one goal this season and account for 11 of the team's 36 goals. Freshman Jadyn LeDoux has scored the most with four goals while freshman Fie Steenberg has the most points with 10 off of three goals and four assists.
• Head Coach J. B. Belzer has faced the Orediggers a total of 27 times and holds an 8-18-1 career record.

 
Award Winners

• UCCS takes home two of RMAC's three weekly awards as Jade Kinsey is tabbed RMAC Defensive Player of the Week and Emily VanGundy receiving RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week.
• Earning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career is redshirt sophomore Jade Kinsey. Kinsey played a big role in UCCS' pair of shutout wins over MSU Denver and Black Hills State last week after impressive performances on both sides of the ball. Kinsey logged 147 minutes between the two matches where her and the Mountain Lions limited the Roadrunners to five shots on goal while shutting down the Yellow Jackets to just two shots in the match. She then went on to net the game-winning goal on Sunday against the Yellow Jackets off an incredible 45-yard strike to notch her first career collegiate goal.
• In frame, goalkeeper Emily VanGundy was lights out last week as she takes home RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week. The true freshman got the nod for her first career collegiate start and the Mountain Lions could not have asked for better outings as VanGundy garnered two shutout wins over MSU Denver, 2-0, and BHSU, 5-0. In her first start, the Colorado native faced the most shots out of any UCCS goalkeeper this season with 17 against the Roadrunners where she collected five saves in the clean sheet win. VanGundy then came out to help limit the Yellow Jackets to just two shots on Sunday as she also bagged a save in the process.

 
Weather

• Sunday's forecast calls for mainly sunny skies and a high of 69 degrees. Winds are predicted to reach as high as 10 miles-per-hour with a one percent chance of precipitation.

 
UCCS Under Head Coach J. B. Belzer

• Head coach J. B. Belzer enters his second season at the helm for UCCS and 26^th total season as a Division II head coach after spending 24 seasons at Regis University.
• Belzer holds a 334-149-37 record for the seventh most wins in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer history.

• Last season Belzer received his seventh career RMAC Coach of the Year honor as he coached six All-RMAC selections, including Tarah Patterson who was voted RMAC Player of the Year and RMAC Academic Co-Player of the Year.

 
Upcoming GAMES

• No. 7 UCCS Women's Soccer will have a split weekend next week as the Mountain Lions host New Mexico Highlands University for Senior Day on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 4:30 p.m. then travel to Alamosa, Colo. to take on Adams State University at 1 p.m.

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.