THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

• UCCS men's soccer has altered their upcoming schedule due to COVID-19 protocols. The Mountain Lion's originally scheduled match for Thursday, Sept. 16 against Lubbock Christian has been canceled and the team will now square off with Saint Martin's University and Northeastern State University for a pair of neutral site matchups held at LCU Field in Lubbock, Texas.
• The Mountain Lions will duel Saint Martin's on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. (MT) followed by a 12 p.m. (MT) kick off against Northeastern State on Sunday, Sept. 19.

 
GAME COVERAGE

• Live stream and live stats for the game against Saint Martin's can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stream: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/lcu/
  • Live Stats: http://statb.us/e/366072
• Live stream and live stats for the game against Northeastern State can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stream: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/lcu/
  • Live Stats: http://statb.us/e/366073

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS endured a setback in their lone game last week as they fell behind early to Rockhurst University and were unable to recover in a 4-1 defeat by the Hawks on Friday, Sept 10.
• Rockhurst jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute, then proceeded to add two more goals before the end of the first half to take a 3-0 lead to the intermission.
• The Mountain Lions got on the board in the 66^th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick on a foul drawn by Kolby Raineri. Junior Nic Grotle would take the penalty kick and convert it to cut the Hawks lead to 3-1.
• Rockhurst closed out the scoring in the 74^th minute when a red card was called on Jack Souder, setting up the Hawks for a successful penalty kick to push their lead to a decisive 4-1.

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• The Mountain Lions currently sit with a 1-1-1 record through the first two weeks of the season and have two more weeks of non-conference games before they begin their RMAC schedule.

 
RMAC LEADERS

• The Mountain Lions sit atop the RMAC with an average of 16.67 shots per game and rank fifth in the conference with 5.67 shots on goal per game.
• UCCS leads the RMAC with three penalty kicks drawn and has converted each of them for goals.
• Midfielder Kolby Raineri leads the RMAC with 4.67 shots per game and ranks second with 2.33 shots on goal per game.

 
THE SERIES

• Friday night's matchup will mark the first meeting in program history with Saint Martin's.
• UCCS currently holds an overall record of 0-1 against Northeastern State. Sunday's contest will feature the first meeting between the teams since 2010 when the Mountain Lions were outlasted by the RiverHawks in a 3-2 defeat.  

 
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S UNIVERSITY

• Saint Martin's currently holds a 1-3 record on the season after going 1-1 in their two matches last week. In their most recent contest on Saturday, Sept. 11 against Sonoma State, SMU was victimized by a pair of penalty kicks in a 4-1 defeat to the Seawolves.
• The Saints are averaging 8.8 shots per game and allowing an average of 18.8 shots per game across their first four matches this season.
• Individually, forward Jason Fairhurst leads the squad with four points and two goals while defenders Stephen Murray and Jose Marquez are close behind with two points each.
• Fairhurst and Murray also hold a share of the team lead in shots with seven apiece.
• Goalkeeper Hunter Askland has played every minute in net for the Saints, allowing 12 goals and recording 14 saves on 76 shots faced to this point in the season.

 
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY

• Northeastern State currently sits with a 1-3 record on the season after dropping matches to a pair of ranked opponents last week.
• The RiverHawks suffered a 6-2 defeat against then No. 23 Midwestern State on Thursday, Sept. 9 before dropping a 5-1 decision to then No. 11 ranked West Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 11.
• NSU has averaged 11.8 shots per game and has put 25 of their 47 total shots on goal.
• The RiverHawks currently have four players tied for the team lead with two points; Nick Garcia, Ryan McCully, Sam Scarth, and Flynn Semmerling.
• Niklas Kirhoff has played a majority of the minutes in net for the RiverHawks, racking up 11 saves while allowing 11 goals across four games and 335 minutes played.

 
HOT TAKES

• Midfielder Kolby Raineri leads the Mountain Lions with 14 shots and seven shots on goal while recording the fourth-most minutes played on the team with 261.
• Nic Grotle paces the team with two goals, both coming off of penalty kicks, and has played all 290 minutes thus far for the Mountain Lions backline.
• Goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska has logged every minute in net for the Mountain Lions, allowing six goals and recording 10 saves for a goals against average (GAA) of 1.86.

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH LEWIS WILCOX

• Interim Head Coach Lewis Wilcox moves to 1-1-1 in his career at the helm of the UCCS men's soccer program. Wilcox is currently in his first season leading the program after spending two seasons as an assistant coach for the Mountain Lions.
• In his second season as an assistant coach at UCCS in 2020-2021, Wilcox helped the men's soccer team navigate unfamiliar territory as the 2020 fall season was postponed to the spring of 2021. In the shortened six-game season, Wilcox played an integral part in overseeing a pair of All-RMAC recipients and six RMAC All-Academic honors. He also served as a key mentor for 2020-2021 RMAC Freshman of the Year Alex Andersson, who finished his debut season leading the team in points (9) and assists (3) while tying for the team lead in goals (3).

 
WEATHER

• The forecast for Friday night's game in Lubbock, Texas is calling for sunny skies with a high near 93 degrees and the possibility for winds out of the southeast at 10 to 15 miles-per-hour.
• UCCS will remain in Lubbock for Sunday afternoon's match, with the weather being forecasted for more sunshine and a slightly warmer daytime high of 94 degrees.

 
UPCOMING GAMES

• The Mountain Lions will return home on Friday, Sept. 24 to take on Adams State at 7:30 p.m. (MT) before heading up north for a road match with Colorado Christian on Sunday, Sept 26 at 4 p.m. (MT).

 
SOCIAL
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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.