This Week's Matchup
UCCS Women's Soccer will play host once again this week inside Mountain Lion Stadium by matching up against Metropolitan State University of Denver on Thursday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. and Black Hills State University on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.
 
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Last Time Out

• UCCS came off their second week of conference play with one win and one loss as the Mountain Lions took Westminster College into extra minutes where Amelia Junge netted the game-winning goal, then falling to Colorado Mesa University on Sunday at a 3-2 final.
• Thursday's overtime win against the Griffins was the Mountain Lions' first extra minutes since Oct. 18 of 2019 with UCCS mounting a 2-0 comeback in the second half. In a two-goal deficit, Tarah Patterson put the first score up on the board for UCCS as Tori Maydew hit the equalizer at 88:44 to force overtime. Patterson then came back in extra minutes to connect with Junge who sent the Mountain Lions past the Griffins with her fourth career game-winning goal.
• On Sunday, the Mountain Lions were handed their second loss of the season as the Mavericks topped UCCS at a final score of 3-2. Patterson notched her 24^th career assist in the match to become the program's all-time leader in assists as she found Fie Steenberg for the 2-2 equalizer in the 50^th minute. But CMU came away with the game-winning goal at 88:22 for the upset win.

RMAC Records/Standings

• The Mountain Lions (8-2, 3-1 RMAC) are currently third in the RMAC Standings with nine conference points. Regis University also has nine conference points in the standings as the Rangers hold a 6-3 overall record and 3-1 RMAC record.
• Colorado School of Mines sits atop the standings with a 7-1-2 record, 4-0 RMAC record, and 12 conference points after defeating Black Hills State, 4-0, and MSU Denver, 1-0.
•  Colorado State University Pueblo is ahead of the Mountain Lions in second at 4-4-1 and a 3-0-1 RMAC record after a 1-0 win over CMU and 1-1 draw to Westminster.

National Rankings

• UCCS remains a top-15 team in the country as they receive the No. 12 national ranking in United Soccer Coaches' latest national poll.

The Series

• UCCS and MSU Denver have a total of 16 matchups dating back to 2008 as the Roadrunners own the all-time series with a 6-9-1 record. The Mountain Lions have had the Roadrunner's number the past four games with UCCS outscoring MSU Denver 13-2 in the four game win streak.
• UCCS owns an undefeated 5-0 all-time record over BHSU in the two team's short history. Outscoring the Yellow Jackets 29-7, the Mountain Lions have shutout BHSU in the last two meetings including their most recent matchup where UCCS downed the Yellow Jackets 3-0 on Mar. 25, 2021.

Scouting MSU Denver

• At a 5-2-2 overall record and 2-2 conference record, the Roadrunners are recently coming off a 1-0 loss to the Orediggers and 2-1 win over the Rangers.
• Junior forward Katy Coats is the leading point scorer for MSU Denver at three goals and one assist for seven total points as she has started in all nine matches. Senior midfielder Annie Rolf is pacing the Roadrunners in shots (26), shots on goal (15), and assists (4) as she also adds one goal on the year for six points.
• Defensively, midfielder Elli Zimmer has helped the Roadrunner defense allow six goals through nine games for .67 goals allowed per game. Zimmer is also an RMAC Defensive Player of the Week selection as she's netted two goals and has notched the team's second most minutes with 824.
• In goal, freshman goalkeeper Kayla Caballero has started all nine games as she holds a .67 GAA with 20 saves off 67 shots faced. A two-time RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week selection this season, Caballero also adds three shutouts for the second most in the RMAC.

Scouting Black Hills State

• Black Hills State (2-5, 1-3 RMAC) enters this week with a pair of losses to Colorado School of Mines, 4-0, and Regis, 2-1. The Yellow Jackets battle CSU Pueblo on Friday, Oct. 8 before heading to Colorado Springs for Sunday's matchup.
• As a team, the Yellow Jackets are being outscored 13-6 as they are averaging .86 goals per game while allowing 1.86 goals per game.
• Three Yellow Jackets have found the back of the net this season with sophomore forward Emma Avery leading the charge with four goals and eight points. She has also been the clear-cut leader in shots (16) and shots on goal (6).
• BHSU has utilized three different goalkeepers this season with freshman Makayla Dannelly making the bulk of the starts in frame with five. The Broomfield, Colo. native holds a 1.80 GAA with nine goals allowed and a 1-4 record. Dannelly has registered one shutout on the year that came against Colorado Christian University and is currently posting a .786 save percentage off 33 saves in 98 shot attempts.

Hot Takes

• UCCS' newest all-time program leader in assists continues to be the Mountain Lions' offensive leader as Tarah Patterson leads the team with five goals, seven assists, and 17 points.
• The Mountain Lions are the only team in the RMAC with three student-athletes that have four or more goals as both Tori Maydew and Jadyn LeDoux add four goals each for the team's 29 total goals on the season.
• UCCS is boasting an average of 2.90 goals per game as they are outscoring the opposition 29-13. At 173 shots for the season, the Mountain Lions are tied for the most shots in the RMAC and lead the conference with 85 shots on goal.
• Two-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week Katie Puchino has tallied 797 minutes on the pitch this fall for the most on the team with Zoe Sims (783), Makayla Merlo (773), and Ella Fischer (763) all joining Puchino with more than 750 minutes recorded.
• Offensively, UCCS has been one of the top teams in the nation in multiple categories including total points (82, 5^th), total goals (29, 7^th), total assists (24, 6^th), and scoring offense (2.90, 16^th).
• Defensively, UCCS has not allowed more than five shots on goal in nine of the team's 10 matches.
• Goalkeeper Chloe DeShazer has registered an 8-2 record while bagging two shutouts and a combined shutout. Her GAA of 1.10 is backed by 820 minutes in frame and a .677 save percentage that includes 21 saves and 69 shots faced.
• Head coach J. B. Belzer enters Thursday's match against MSU Denver with a 12-32-4 career record. Against the Yellow Jackets, Belzer is undefeated through his five meetings with Sunday marking his sixth career matchup with BHSU.

Weather

• For Thursday, the forecast calls for mostly sunny and a high of 75 degrees with the temperature dipping down to around 49 degrees at 8 p.m.
• Sunday's forecast will be colder with a high of 59 degrees and partly cloudy skies. There's a chance of AM showers with a 40% chance of rain in the afternoon.

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 332-149-37 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. 12 UCCS will be back on the road next week with just one conference game as the Mountain Lions will travel to Golden, Colo. to face Colorado School of Mines on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 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.