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PREVIEW | No. 9 UCCS Visits No. 5 DBU in NCAA Sweet 16

12/1/2021 4:22:00 PM

By: Eric Mason - Sports Information Director
This Week's Matchup
UCCS Women's Soccer heads down to Dallas, Texas to continue their NCAA Tournament run as the Mountain Lions prepare to face a familiar foe in Dallas Baptist University for the third round and for the South Central Region Championship. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. (MT) on Thursday, Dec. 2 at DBU's Sedwick Soccer Field House.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/dbu/?bfplayvid=327683
Live Stats: https://www.ncaa.com/game/5908937
 
Last Time Out
  • Coming off a first-round bye, the Mountain Lions took on No. 20 Colorado School of Mines in the second round of the NCAA Tournament back on Sunday, Nov. 21 as UCCS bested the Orediggers for the second time this season at a final score of 2-0. It was UCCS' second consecutive shutout victory over Mines as Makayla Merlo and Tarah Patterson each netted a goal in the win with the Mountain Lion defense holding Mines to just one shot on goal.
NCAA Tournament
  • No. 9 UCCS and No. 5 DBU matchup for the South Central Regional Championship for the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
  • The quarterfinal round of the tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas as well with the winner of No. 4 Seattle Pacific University and No. 13 Western Washington University from the West Region set to play the winner of UCCS and DBU.
The Series
  • UCCS and DBU are all square in the all-time series at 1-1-1. The Mountain Lions trailed in the all-time series 0-1-1 but brought it to even after knocking off the then No. 2 ranked Patriots at a final score of 3-1 in Dallas, Texas. UCCS pulled off the upset back on Sep. 8 where a pair of late scores including the game-winning goal from Bri Johnson in the 80th minute secured the win.
  • In the event that UCCS were to move on to Saturday's quarterfinal game, the Mountain Lions would matchup with Seattle Pacific for just the second time in program history as they hold a 1-0 record over the Falcons. If UCCS were to play Western Washington, it would be the first-ever match between both programs.
Scouting Dallas Baptist
  • At an 18-3 overall record and 12-1 Lone Star Conference record, the No. 5 nationally ranked and No. 1 seed Patriots defeated Angelo State University in the second round, 3-2, to advance in the national tournament.
  • With the seventh best scoring offense in the nation (3.14), DBU is currently outscoring their opponent 66-19 by averaging the nation's fourth most assists per game (2.57) along with the seventh best points per game average (8.86) in the country.
  • While offense has been their bread and butter, the defense has went to work by holding the opposition to 0.90 goals per game while recording a team save percentage of 0.793.
  • Individually, the Patriots are led by a pair of 32-point scorers in midfielder Ashley Merrill and forward Delaney Schmidt. Merill holds the team lead in goals at 15 and has notched the nation's most game-winning goals with nine. For Schmidt, her 32 points are backed by 13 goals and six assists as she sits second on the team behind Merill in shots (50) and shots on goal (29).
  • Defender Rachel Allen has been the anchor of a DBU defense that has registered 10 shutouts on the season and holds offenses to 9.9 shots per game as she tallies a team leading 1,811 minutes in 21 starts.
  • In frame, sophomore Hailey Brown has been the go-to with 16 starts at goalkeeper as she's allowed 14 goals for a GAA of .83. Brown has bagged 57 saves off 166 shots faced for a .803 save percentage while also recording eight of the team's 10 shutouts.
Scouting Seattle Pacific
  • No. 4 ranked and No. 1 seed Seattle Pacific is 18-1-1 with a 12-1-1 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, of which includes a 4-0 win over Western Washington in the GNAC Tournament Championship. After a first-round bye in the West Region, the Falcons defeated unranked Sonoma State University 2-1 to advance to the third round of the national tournament.
  • SPU posts both a top-10 offense and defense in the country with a team GAA of .442 that ranks fifth and a scoring offense of 3.10 goals per game that ranks eighth.
  • Sophia Chilczuk is the leading scorer with 29 points off six goals and the nation's most assists at 17.
  • Goalkeeper Riley Travis posts the nation's ninth lowest GAA at .460 and has allowed eight goals on the year with a 17-1-0 record in frame.
Scouting Western Washington
  • No. 13 ranked and No. 2 seed Western Washington is 15-4-3, 10-3-1 in the GNAC after taking down No. 19 Point Loma with a 1-0 final in the second round.
  • The Vikings are outscoring their opponents 40-16 and are recording the nation's ninth most shots per game (20.0). WWU has registered 12 team shutouts on the year as they hold opponents to an average of 9.7 shots per game.
  • Goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has started all 22 games in frame for the Vikings where has earned a .824 save percentage off 75 saves in 201 shots faced. Her 16 goals allowed carries a .76 GAA.
  • Offensively, forward Jenna Killman paces the Vikings with 13 goals scored and two assists tallied for 28 points scored. Her 80 shots and 42 shots on goal also yields an impressive .525 shots on goal percentage.
Hot Takes
  • The Mountain Lions will play in the third round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history with their last appearance dating back to 2017.
  • UCCS currently has the 11th highest scoring offense in Division II (2.82 goals per game) as the Mountain Lions average the nation's 10th highest assists per game (2.32) and points per game (7.95) average.
  • UCCS is currently on a nine-game win streak heading into Thursday with over half of those wins (five) coming by way of shutout.
  • Defensively, the Mountain Lions are limiting opponents to 8.4 shots per game and have held the opposition to five shots on goal or less in 12 straight games. In that same 12-game span, the Mountain Lions have not allowed a first half goal.
  • Tarah Patterson currently has scored the third most points in a single season (31) and broke the single season record for assists (13). The midfielder is also fifth in DII in assists per game (.72) and sixth in total assists.
  • UCCS' top three scorers in Patterson, Makayla Merlo (20 points), and Jadyn LeDoux (21 points) have combined to score in all 22 games.
  • Defender Makenna Fowler and forward Tori Maydew each have registered six assists on the year which is tied for the second most on the team and are new career highs.
  • Goalkeeper Alexis Walker has been exceptional with a perfect 8-0 record where she has notched five shutouts and a .91 GAA.
  • UCCS is 3-1 against Lone Star Conference schools and 3-0 against nationally ranked teams this season.
  • The Mountain Lions currently average 1.63 goals per game in NCAA Tournament games and allow 1.13 goals per game as they hold an all-time national tournament record of 4-2-2.
Weather
  • Thursday's forecast calls for partly to mostly cloudy at a high of 78 degrees around game time. Winds are predicted to be light to variable with 53 percent humidity and six 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 26th total season as a Division II head coach after spending 24 seasons at Regis University.
  • Belzer holds a 343-150-37 record for the seventh most wins in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer history.
Ticket Prices NCAA Tournament Ticket Prices
General Public: $8
Ages 5-17: $5
 
Upcoming Games
  • The winner of Thursday's Sweet 16 match will advance to the Elite 8 on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. (MT) to take on the winner of SPU and WWU in Dallas, Texas.
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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