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UCCS Athletics

MSOC Senior Day Team

PREVIEW | Men’s Soccer Closes Regular Season Slate on the Road Against CSUP and MSUD

10/27/2021 10:00:00 AM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Assistant Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team will close out their regular season schedule with a pair of important road games as they compete for a spot in the RMAC Postseason Tournament. The Mountain Lions will first head south to take on Colorado State University Pueblo at 7 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 27, then the team will make the trip up north to clash with Metropolitan State University Denver at 1:30 p.m. in their regular season finale on Sunday, Oct. 31.
 
GAME COVERAGE  
LAST TIME OUT
  • UCCS played a pair of home games last week as they shutout Colorado Christian by a score of 2-0 on Thursday night before dropping a 5-2 decision to Colorado School of Mines on Sunday afternoon.
  • The Mountain Lions and Cougars engaged in a defensive battle for the opening 75 minutes of Thursday night's match, but sophomore Alex Andersson converted on a beautifully placed direct free kick for a goal in the 76th minute to give UCCS a 1-0 lead. The Mountain Lions would go on to score again in the 86th minute and their defense continued to clamp down as they finished off a 2-0 shutout of CCU.
  • UCCS held the advantage over Colorado Christian in shots (23-11) and corner kicks (12-6) while Andersson paced the squad with six shots followed by midfielder Kolby Raineri with five.
  • UCCS would carry their momentum from Thursday's win over to the first half of Sunday afternoon's match, scoring a pair of goals in the first 14 minutes of action to take a 2-0 lead to halftime.
  • The Orediggers, however, pushed the offensive tempo coming out of the break, scoring five times in the second half to take a 5-2 victory.
  • Andersson was the team leader in shots with five, while five other Mountain Lions registered one shot apiece.
 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS
  • The Mountain Lions 1-1 record last week puts them at 8-6-1 overall and 4-4 in conference action.  
  • Entering the final week of the regular season, UCCS has collected 12 conference points and remains deadlocked in a four-way tie for the fifth and sixth spots in the conference standings with Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, and MSU Denver. 
  • No. 12 Colorado Mesa sits atop the conference standings with 24 points, followed by No. 17 Colorado School of Mines with 22 points, Westminster with 15 points, and CSU Pueblo with 13 points.
 
RMAC LEADERS
  • The Mountain Lions rank fourth in the RMAC with 29 goals (1.93/game) and an average of 14.00 shots per game.
  • Midfielder Alex Andersson leads the conference with ten goals, 21 points, 3.63 shots per game and 2.00 shots on goal per game.
  • Junior Kolby Raineri also ranks in the top-five of the conference with 42 shots (T-2nd), 22 shots on goal (2nd), and four assists (T-5th).
  • Junior Luka Cecic sits in a tie for third in the RMAC with three game-winning goals this season.
  • Sophomore Andreas Kokoska ranks third among the conference's goalkeepers with 53 saves and is tied for the third most shutouts with four.
 
THE SERIES
  • The Mountain Lions are 35-22-6 all-time against CSU Pueblo and have an impressive record of 18-6-3 when they travel to Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium in Pueblo, Colo.
  • UCCS holds a 14-42-5 all-time record against MSU Denver but have earned wins in five of the past eight meetings with the Roadrunners.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
  • CSU Pueblo enters the week with an 11-4-1 overall record (4-3-1 RMAC) and they sit in sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings with 13 points. Last week, the ThunderWolves played No. 22 Colorado School of Mines to a double overtime draw before pulling out a 3-2 win over Colorado Christian.
  • The ThunderWolves have outshot opponents 247-121 and have averaged 1.56 goals per game while allowing just 0.63 goals per game.
  • Junior Vinzent Zingel is the offensive leader for CSU Pueblo, leading the team in goals (6), points (14), shots (42), and shots on goal (24).
  • Forwards Josua Hall and Carlos Sanchis have also contributed to the offensive attack of the ThunderWolves, each recording four goals and nine points.
  • Junior Garret Wild has started 14 games in frame for CSU Pueblo, gathering 41 saves and recording a 0.62 GAA.

SCOUTING MSU DENVER
  • Riding a three-game winning streak after winning a pair of games against Adams State and Fort Lewis last week, MSU Denver sits with an overall record of 7-8-1 (4-4 RMAC). The Roadrunners are currently tied with UCCS, Fort Lewis, and Colorado Christian with 12 conference points.
  • MSU Denver has been outscored 34-21 this season and are allowing 14.3 shots per game.
  • Offensively, the Roadrunners are averaging 10.8 shots per game and have put 77 of their 173 shots on frame for a .445 shot on goal percentage.
  • Sophomore Aidan Bates has started each of the Roadrunners 16 games and leads the team in most offensive categories, including goals (8), points (16), shots (34) and shots on goal (20).
  • Junior goalkeeper Ross Miller has made 15 starts in net for MSU Denver and ranks second in the RMAC with 72 saves while recording a GAA of 2.02.
 
HOT TAKES
  • As a team, the Mountain Lions lead all NCAA Division II institutions with eight converted penalty kicks this season.
  • Sophomore Alex Andersson added to his team-leading goal total with two last week, making him the 14th Mountain Lion in program history to reach the ten-goal mark.
  • In 14 games played in his two-year career, Andersson has recorded 30 points for an average of 2.14 points per game.
  • With his two assists this season and 12 in his career, redshirt senior Liam McGuire now sits tied for eighth all-time in program history for career assists.
  • On Monday, the conference office announced redshirt senior Adam Baldwin and sophomore Alex Andersson to the RMAC All-Academic First Team. Eight additional Mountain Lions from the men's soccer program were named to the Honor Roll, including Liam McGuire, Kaydon Zamora-Reeves, Kolby Raineri, Nic Grotle, Adin Schwenke, Jack Souder, Kelton Hooker, and Luke Sussex.
 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH LEWIS WILCOX
  • Interim Head Coach Lewis Wilcox moves to 8-6-1 in his career at the helm of the UCCS men's soccer program. Wilcox is currently in his first season leading the program after spending two seasons as an assistant coach for the Mountain Lions.
  • In his second season as an assistant coach at UCCS in 2020-2021, Wilcox helped the men's soccer team navigate unfamiliar territory as the 2020 fall season was postponed to the spring of 2021. In the shortened six-game season, Wilcox played an integral part in overseeing a pair of All-RMAC recipients and six RMAC All-Academic honors. He also served as a key mentor for 2020-2021 RMAC Freshman of the Year Alex Andersson, who finished his debut season leading the team in points (9) and assists (3) while tying for the team lead in goals (3).
 
WEATHER
  • The weather for Wednesday night in Pueblo, Colo. is forecasted to be clear with a low of 47 degrees and winds out of the Northwest at 10-12 miles per hour.
  • On Sunday afternoon in Denver, Colo., the weather is projected to be considerably cloudy with a daytime high of 51 degrees and a 20% chance of isolated showers.
 
UPCOMING GAMES
  • The RMAC Postseason Tournament will begin with the quarterfinal games being held on Thursday, Nov. 4. The top six teams in the conference standings will advance to the tournament.
 
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions 
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
 
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. 
 
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