This Week's Matchup
UCCS Women's Soccer wraps up their regular season tonight as the Mountain Lions host Colorado State University Pueblo on Wednesday, Nov. 6 for a Steel and Silver Showdown at 6 p.m. inside Mountain Lion Stadium.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream
Live Stats
 
Last Time Out

• UCCS recorded two key wins on the road last week after notching a 3-2 overtime win against Regis University and a 4-0 shutout win over Colorado Christian University to clinch a top-4 seed in the conference tournament, and clinch home field for an RMAC Quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 7.
• Thursday's match against Regis was a battle that had to be decided in extra minutes with Kaitlin Hinkle registering her first career golden goal in the 94^th minute. It was head coach J. B. Belzer's first road match against his former team as the Mountain Lions' Tarah Patterson came away with a game high three points and defender Makenna Fowler garnering two assists to help claim the win.
• UCCS's home field quarterfinal match was clinched with the team's seventh shutout of the season as six different Mountain Lions tallied a point in the 4-0 win over CCU. Patterson recorded her second consecutive three-point performance as Makayla Merlo netted her first career game-winning goal.

 
RMAC Records/Standings

• The Mountain Lions (14-3, 9-2 RMAC) are currently third in the RMAC Standings with 27 conference points.
• Colorado Mesa University (13-2, 10-1 RMAC) moves atop the conference standings with 30 points as Colorado School of Mines (12-2-3, 9-1-1 RMAC) sits in second with 28 points.
• UCCS, CMU, and CSM all have clinched home field advantage for the RMAC Quarterfinals with the fourth home playoff up for grabs between CSU Pueblo and Regis University.
• Final regular season standings and tournament bracket will be posted either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

 
National/Regional Rankings

• The Mountain Lions move back into the top-10 in United Soccer Coaches' Top-25 National Poll after receiving the No. 10 ranking in Division II.
• From the RMAC, Colorado Mesa received votes for the third consecutive week while Colorado School of Mines improves to No. 20 in the country.
• In the NCAA's second week of regional rankings, the Mountain Lions are selected No. 4 in the South Central Region.
• No. 5 Dallas Baptist University (15-2, 13-2 in-region record) sits atop the South Central Region with No. 20 Colorado School of Mines (12-2-3, 11-1-3 in-region record) and Colorado Mesa University (13-2, 13-1 in-region record) receiving the second and third ranking in the region, respectively.

The Series

• The previous seven matchups with CSU Pueblo have been in favor of the Mountain Lions as UCCS owns the all-time record, 13-6-1. UCCS has outscored the ThunderWolves 35-21 in the series and 18-3 in the last seven games.

 
Scouting Colorado State University Pueblo

• CSU Pueblo (9-6-1, 8-2-1 RMAC) went 1-1 last week to currently be in fourth in the RMAC standings after defeating CCU, 3-0, on Thursday and falling to Colorado School of Mines at a final score of 3-0 on Sunday.
• Sunday's loss was CSUP's third shutout loss of the season and their first shutout loss of the conference season.
• The ThunderWolves have outscored the opposition 27-22 this season with 12 of those goals coming in the last four matches. Faith Meredith, Cara Siegel, Maddison Jepperson, and Lainee Vujcich combine for 18 of the 27 goals as Meredith and Siegel notch five goals each with Jepperson and Vujcich netting four goals each.
• Meredith adds a team leading five assists for a team high 15 points at the midfield position while Siegel leads the team with 34 shots and is second on the team with 11 points scored.
• Defensively, the ThunderWolves are allowing 1.38 goals per game and are being outshot 204-198. Junior defender Jordin Schaller leads the team in minutes with 1,410 and has started in all 16 games.
• In frame, sophomore Nicole Genis has been the go-to with 14 starts and over 1,100 minutes recorded. She has faced 165 shots in 14 games where she's collected 51 saves and has worked to a .739 save percentage. Genis has also surrendered 18 goals to result in a 1.39 GAA while also posting three shutouts.

 
Hot Takes

• After recording seven goals, seven assists, and 21 points last week, the Mountain Lions offense makes a jump in all three categories to rank top-12 nationally in total goals (51, ninth), total assists (38, 12^th), and total points (140, seventh).
• Their 51 goals in 17 games leads to an even 3.00 goals per game average which ranks 12^th in Division II, third in the South Central region, and first in the RMAC.
• UCCS is holding a four-game win streak where a total of 14 goals have been scored with three or more goals being scored in each of the last four games.
• The Mountain Lions are well represented among the conference leaders in all major offensive categories with graduate student Tarah Patterson listed in every category, including shots (51, sixth), shots on goal (23, sixth), goals (seven, tied third), assists (nine, tied first), game-winning goals (two, tied fifth), and points (23, third).
• Makayla Merlo has scored at least one point in three consecutive games and is tied for the team lead as well as tied for the third most goals in the RMAC with seven goals on the season. Her point count currently sits at 16, which also ranks top-10 in the RMAC at tied for fifth.
• Freshman Jadyn LeDoux has scored in the last two games and has tallied at least one point in four of the last five games as she ranks eighth in the RMAC in goals (6) and is tied for eighth in points (15).
• On the defensive side, UCCS has recorded seven shutouts this fall tying for the third most in the conference. The Mountain Lions have also generated offensive production with defenders Abby Barhydt and Makenna Fowler, as well as midfielder Katie Puchino, combining for two goals and two assists in the last three games.
• All three Mountain Lion goalkeepers have two shutouts on the year with Alexis Walker making the last two starts and improving to a perfect 3-0 record in frame.
• Head Coach J. B. Belzer holds an impressive 36-11-1 record against CSU Pueblo.

 
Weather

• Game time temperature for tonight is a high of 51 degrees with clear skies. Temperature could drop to as low as 44 degrees by 8 p.m. with winds forecasted at four to six 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 338-150-37 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 head into postseason with a home field RMAC Quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. Final RMAC Standings and the RMAC Tournament Bracket will be announced later this evening or Thursday morning.

 
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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.