This Week's Matchup
UCCS Women's Soccer hits the road for a pair of away matches in Denver, Colo. this week as the Mountain Lions prepare to face Regis University and Colorado Christian University. UCCS will face-off with the Rangers on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., followed by a 2:30 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 31 against the Cougars.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream
Live Stats vs. RU
Live Stats at CCU
 
 
Last Time Out

• It was a pair of conference wins last week as the Mountain Lions posted a 3-0 shutout over New Mexico Highlands University at home and a 4-1 win over Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo. on Sunday.
• Thursday's victory over NMHU also came on Senior Night where the Mountain Lions celebrated their nine seniors with the team's seventh shutout of the season. UCCS allowed their lowest shot count of the fall after limiting the Cowgirls to just one shot in the contest. Freshmen Sydney Lasater and Natalie Wilson each notched a goal in the win with Wilson netting her first collegiate goal.
• On Sunday, UCCS kept the scoring coming as Kaitlin Hinkle came away her fourth career brace and Makayla Merlo recording her team leading sixth goal of the year off of a PK. Another freshman scored her first career goal as defender Abby Barhydt scored her first points in the black and gold.

 
RMAC Records/Standings

• The Mountain Lions (12-3, 7-2 RMAC) are currently fifth in the RMAC Standings with 21 conference points.
• Colorado School of Mines (11-2-3, 8-1-1 RMAC) remains atop the RMAC Standings with 25 points with Colorado Mesa University (11-2, 8-1 RMAC) and Regis University (11-4, 8-2 RMAC) both at 24 conference points
• In fourth place is Colorado State University Pueblo (8-5-1, 7-1-1 RMAC) with 22 conference points.
• UCCS along with Colorado School of Mines, CMU, Regis, and CSUP have claimed their spots in the RMAC Tournament.

 
National/Regional Rankings

• The Mountain Lions move back into United Soccer Coaches' Top-25 National Poll with the No. 15 ranking in Division II.
• From the RMAC, Colorado Mesa and Westminster College received votes while Colorado School of Mines moves back to No. 21 in the country.
• In NCAA's first week of regional rankings, the Mountain Lions are selected No. 4 in the South Central region.
• No. 5 Dallas Baptist University (13-2, 11-2 in-region record) sits atop the South Central Region with Colorado Mesa (11-2, 11-1 in-region record) and No. 21 Colorado School of Mines (11-2-3, 10-1-3 in-region record) plugging in at second and third in the region, respectively.

 
The Series

• Thursday will serve as the 15^th all-time matchup between UCCS and Regis with the Rangers holding the advantage in the series with a 10-4 record. The Mountain Lions have won the last three matchups with UCCS taking the win last spring at a final score of 1-0.
• UCCS has dominated the all-time series with CCU by holding 15-2-1 record and winning the last three matchups. On the road, UCCS owns a 7-2 record against the Cougars with the previous four road matches coming by way of shutout.

 
Scouting Regis

• Regis (11-4, 8-2 RMAC) are off to their best start since 2017 as the Rangers are carrying a four-game win streak into Thursday's match.
• The Rangers are outscoring their opponents 42-21 this season and hold a 2.80 goals per game average for the second highest average in the conference. Their 42 goals are backed by 42 assists for a total of 125 points which both lead the conference.
• Junior forward Kelby Kuo paces the Rangers in every offensive category as she owns an RMAC  leading nine assists and the conference's second most goals (10) and points (29). Fellow junior forward Audrey Teague has posted the team's second most goals and points with seven and 16, respectively.
• Senior goalkeeper Katelyn Martin has started every game for the Rangers and holds a 9-4 record with two shutouts and one combined shutout on the year. She has faced 153 shots and made 50 saves to claim a .714 save percentage, while also allowing 20 goals for a 1.46 GAA.

 
Scouting Colorado Christian

• Colorado Christian (4-8-3, 3-6-1 RMAC) comes into this week on a four-game losing streak after a pair of shutout losses to Colorado Mesa and Westminster.
• The Cougars are being outscored 26-11 as they are averaging 0.73 goals per game and have been shutout eight times this season while allowing an average of 1.73 goals per game.
• Freshman forward Capri Dewing is leading CCU with five goals and 10 points as she has played in every match this fall. Junior forward Saige Stock is second on the team in goals with three and adds one assist for seven points.
• Senior goalkeeper Ireland Van Dyke has been the starter in frame for CCU's last seven matches where she has a 2-5-1 record. Van Dyke's two shutouts came against Fort Lewis College and Western Colorado University earlier in the season as she's made 92 saves off 264 shots faced for the season. A total of 16 goals have been surrendered with Van Dyke in frame to give her a GAA of 2.10.

 
Hot Takes

• UCCS punched their ticket into the RMAC Tournament last week to notch their fifth consecutive conference tournament appearance.
• UCCS has maintained a top-15 scoring offense in the nation for a majority of the season and this week is no different as the Mountain Lions rank 12th in DII and third in the region with an average of 2.93 goals per game.
• Their scoring offense can be linked to 44 goals (11th in DII, third in the region) through 15 games with 16 different Mountain Lions netting at least one goal this season.
• The UCCS offense is also tallying up the assists and points by scoring 119 points from an added 31 assists to rank them 12th and 11th in the country, respectively.
• The high-powered offense leads the RMAC and has scored more than one goal in 13 of 15 matches this season as the Mountain Lions have the most student-athletes in the region with double-digit points (six).
• Makayla Merlo takes the team lead in goals with six after successfully converting on her first penalty kick of her career on Sunday against Adams State. Among the conference leaders, Merlo ranks tied for fourth in goals and tied for 10^th in points with teammate Tori Maydew.
• Tarah Patterson continues to pace UCCS in points (17) and assists (seven) as she ranks tied for second in the conference and 15th in the nation for total assists.
• Freshman Jadyn LeDoux is ranked seventh in the RMAC in shots on goal per game with an average of 1.31 as she leads the team with a total of 17.
• Defensively, the Mountain Lions allowed the least number of shots this season after limiting New Mexico Highlands to one shot while claiming the team's seventh shutout of the season in the process.
• In total, UCCS has held the opposition to three shots on goal or less in 10 matches this fall.
• All three Mountain Lion goalkeepers have tallied a win in frame this season as Alexis Walker grabbed her first win and shutout against NMHU while Chloe DeShazer notched her ninth win in the year against Adams State.
• Having spent a well majority of his career at Regis, UCCS Head Coach J. B. Belzer faced his former school once last season where he officially holds a 1-0 all-time record against the Rangers. Against CCU, Sunday will represent Belzer's 38^th all-time match as he holds a 29-4-4 record.

 
Weather

• Thursday's forecast calls mainly sunny skies with a high near 60 degrees. Winds are predicted to be minimal at five to 10 miles-per-hour.
• Sunday's forecast will cool down into the 40's with cloudy skies and a high of 46 degrees. Chance of precipitation jumps up to 22-24 percent with winds staying around five to 10 miles-per-hour.

 
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 336-150-37 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

• UCCS Women's Soccer will close out the regular season at home next week as they host Colorado State University Pueblo for a 6 p.m. match inside Mountain Lion Stadium.

 
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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.