This Week's Matchup
It's been 649 long days since a soccer game has been played at Mountain Lions Stadium during the fall season. But this long drought will come to an end as the UCCS Women's Soccer team hosts St. Edward's University and Texas A&M University-Commerce to open up the 2021 season. The St. Edward's Hilltoppers will be up first on the Mountain Lion's schedule with a 7:30 p.m. match under the lights on Thursday, Sep. 2 as the Lions of A&M Commerce will be on deck for a 12 p.m. match on Sunday, Sep. 5.
 
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream vs. St. Edward's: https://www.rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/
Live Stream vs. Texas A&M Commerce: https://www.rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/
Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary 
 
 
Season Outlook

• The defending RMAC Regular Season Champions were voted conference runners-up for the upcoming 2021 season after receiving 128 points and three first place votes in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The new spring season did not slow down the Mountain Lions as they posted an 8-1 overall record and a perfect 5-0 RMAC record. UCCS powered through the regular season to claim the program's second consecutive RMAC Regular Season Championship and undefeated regular season as the Mountain Lions hosted the RMAC Tournament. The team also received national rankings in all five of United Soccer Coaches Spring National Polls with UCCS ranking as high as No. 7 in all of Division II with reigning RMAC Coach of the Year J. B. Belzer leading the charge.
• From a statistical point, the Mountain Lions propelled themselves as the top of numerous RMAC categories as they ranked first in the conference for total points (75), total goals (26), total assists (23), points per game (8.33), scoring offense (2.89), assists per game (2.56). The impressive offensive numbers also ranked highly on the national scale with top-15 rankings in total points (9th), total goals (10th), total assists (9th), points per game (8th), scoring offense (11th), assists per game (6th).

 
RMAC Preseason Players to Watch

• Fischer headlined the Mountain Lions as a midfielder who played and started in all nine matches in spring of 2021. The team captain played 671 minutes where her physical play helped lead the Mountain Lions to holding the opposition to 0.56 goals per game as UCCS came to outscore their opponents 26-5. She also aided the defense in recording five shutouts on the year as they held the opposition to five or less shots on goal in every match this season, including three matches where the opponent only recorded one shot on goal. Fischer generated offensive production as well by landing two of her three shots on frame and registering an assist in the 5-1 win over Western Colorado University to open the season. Selected to the All-RMAC Second Team, Fischer garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and also landed herself on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-District Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
• Junge started in eight of nine games totaling 546 minutes this past season. She went on to notch eight assists and scored two goals for 12 points. Junge landed over half of her shots on frame to hold a shots on goal percentage of .538 as she registered an assist in six of the nine games she played. In the RMAC Quarterfinal match against Adams State University on Apr. 20, the All-RMAC First Team selection tied the program's all-time single game record by registering three assists in the 6-1 win. The Arizona native finished the season with the RMAC lead in assists while posting the third most assists in all of Division II.
• Voted RMAC Player of the Year and RMAC Co-Academic Player of the Year during the spring, Patterson was the offensive leader for the No. 18 nationally ranked Mountain Lions' by leading the conference in goals per game (.778), points per game (1.89) and shots on goal per game (2.33). Her team high 17 points resulted in her becoming the program's all-time leader in points with 69 as she shared the conference lead in goals with seven while also adding three assists. The All-RMAC First Team selection scored two goals in back-to-back matches as she tallied three game-winning goals on the season to help UCCS notch their second consecutive RMAC Regular Season Championship and undefeated regular season. Patterson was also a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region and Scholar All-American selection this season as she was voted RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Apr. 7 after scoring a combined eight points and four goals in two matches.

National Ranking

• UCCS received the No. 18 national ranking from Unites Soccer Coaches on Aug. 4 in their Preseason Division II Women's Soccer National Ranking Poll.

 
The Series

• Thursday will mark UCCS' third ever matchup against St. Edward's as the Hilltoppers hold a 2-0 record over the Mountain Lions. SEU won each game by way of shutout with the Hilltoppers' and the Mountain Lions' most recent matchup resulting in 0-1 SEU win on Aug. 31, 2017.
• Texas A&M Commerce and UCCS are even in all-time matchups with a 1-1 record with the most recent matchup dating back to 2015 where the Mountain Lions won 1-0 in double overtime.   

 
Scouting Report

• In 2020, the Hilltoppers played an abbreviated five game conference schedule within the Lone Star Conference (LSC) as SEU finished the season an even 5-5 overall (3-2 LSC) to make a conference tournament semifinal appearance. SEU maintained a GAA of 0.99 and went on to average 1.50 goals per game on the offensive side of the ball. The Hilltoppers were led by senior goalkeeper Meghan Dunning started all ten contests in 2020, recording 38 saves with a .792 save percentage. Her goals against average of 1.000 was second in the conference and ranked second in shutouts with three on the year as she was selected LSC Goalkeeper of the Year. Offensively, junior midfielder Sarah Preston was the top scorer for SEU after coming on strong in the postseason to lead SEU in goals (4), points (10), and shots (23). Both Dunning and Preston return for a full slated 2021 season.
• The Lions went 4-3 overall in the shortened 2021 spring season and accumulated a record of 3-2 in Lone Star Conference play. A&M-Commerce received 295 points in the poll to be voted No. 5 in the preseason poll, just one slot behind St. Edward's at No. 4. Junior goalkeeper Jen Peters joined SEU's Dunning on the all-conference team with LSC Goalkeeper of the Year honors as she posted a 2.22 GAA and had one shutout on the season with a program-record 15 saves in the LSC Tournament against West Texas A&M. Senior Leslie Campuzano was the spark for the Lions' offense She ranked second in the conference in points per match (2.29), led the league in assists per match (.857), and was third in goals per match (.714). She also had a team-high five goals and six assists.

 
Hot Takes

• The Mountain Lions currently hold an 8-4-1 record in season openers with two wins the last two seasons.
• No. 18 UCCS carries a 28-game regular season winning streak into Thursday as they prepare to host St. Edward's for the first time in program history.
• The Mountain Lions have not scored a goal against the Hilltoppers in their two previous matchups, but UCCS has made a habit about scoring with their last shutout coming in Nov. 16, 2019.
• Graduate student Tarah Patterson has inked her name as the program's all-time leader in points (69), game-winning goals (12), and shots on goal (100) and is on the cusp of being the career leader in shots, assists, and goals as she ranks second in each category.

 
 
Weather

• The forecast for Thursday's match against SEU could get wet with a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms, and a high of 77 degrees.
• Sunday's forecast looks more optimistic a forecast of completely sunny and a high of 82 degrees.

 
 
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 324-147-37 for the seventh most wins in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer history.

• He currently holds a career winning record of 4-2-1 against SEU but sits below .500 with a 2-4 record against Texas A&M Commerce.
• Belzer received his seventh career RMAC Coach of the Year honor last season 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

• The Mountain Lions will hit the road to the Lone Star state next week as they prepare to face Dallas Baptist University on Wednesday, Sep. 8, followed by a rematch against Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday, Sep. 11.

 
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.