This Week's Matchup
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer team is on the road for the second straight week as they travel down to Florida to face University of Tampa today at 5 p.m. (MT), followed by a match in Saint Leo, Fla. to take on Saint Leo University at 5 p.m. (MT) on Friday, Sep. 17.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream at University of Tampa
Live Stats at University of Tampa
Live Stream at Saint Leo
Live Stats at Saint Leo
 
Last Time Out

• UCCS' first road trip of the season started in Texas last week with the opening match coming against then No. 2 ranked Dallas Baptist University that the Mountain Lions took head on to came out on top with the upset, 3-1.
• Three different Mountain Lions scored in the take down of the number two team in the country as Bri Johnson registered the game-winning goal with Sydney Lasater and Tori Maydew also finding the back of the net.
• UCCS' defense was a difference maker in the match by holding the Patriots to just six shots and two shots on goal in the match as the Mountain Lions held DBU scoreless in the first half.
• After moving past No. 2 DBU, UCCS traveled to Commerce, Texas for a redemption game against Texas A&M University-Commerce that ended in favor of UCCS, 3-1.

National Ranking

• UCCS' impressive road sweep propelled the Mountain Lions back into United Soccer Coaches Division II National Ranking Poll as they make the biggest jump out any team in the poll. Now a top-10 nationally ranked team, UCCS carries the No. 7 ranking into the Sunshine State of Florida this week.

The Series

• This week's matchups against University of Tampa and Saint Leo will be the first meetings in program history.

Scouting University of Tampa

• The Spartans hold a record for 1-1-1 on the season with their most recent match resulting in an 8-0 win over Tusculum University.
• The Patriots are currently averaging 3.33 goals on the season and are allowing 0.93 per game.
• Tampa's Madison McElhone and Katherine Hostage lead the team in points (6) with McElhone pacing the Spartans in goals with three and Hostage scoring two goals with two assists.
• In total, seven different Spartans have tallied a goal on the stat sheet with four separate Spartans tallying an assist.
• In frame, Lovisa Camel is the starting goalkeeper who holds a 1-1-1 record with two shutouts, .929 GAA, and a .727 save percentage off eight saves and 16 shots faced.

Scouting Saint Leo University

• The Saint Leo Lions (1-2-1) have played a tough schedule thus far with two of their four games and both losses coming against No. 1 nationally ranked Flagler College and previously ranked No. 9 West Florida. SLU dropped a 4-1 result against Flagler College while losing to West Florida 1-0. Last week, the Lions recorded their first win of the season with a 1-0 win over Texas A&M International.
• Saint Leo has surrendered six goals in four games for a 1.42 team GAA as the Lions average .75 goals per game.
• SLU's Bella Arato, Paula Miranda, and goalkeeper Alyssa Abernot are the offensive leaders with a goal and two points each.
• Goalkeeper Maitane Bravo comes fresh off a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Defensive Player of the Week honor after earning a .917 save percentage with 11 stops. Bravo faced 21 shots and six corner kicks in 180 minutes of action but only conceded a penalty kick goal to the nationally ranked Argonauts of West Florida.
• SLU's second goalkeeper Alyssa Abernot has seen action in two games as well by tallying 200 minutes in frame with a 0-1-1 record. Abernot has allowed five goals for a GAA of 2.25 and has made seven saves off 29 shots faced for a save percentage of .583.

Hot Takes

• Makayla Merlo recorded her first career brace as a Mountain Lion last week after scoring two goals against Texas A&M Commerce in the 3-1 win. Merlo is UCCS' current goals leader with three and ranks tied for second in the conference for goals. She is also tied for the sixth most points in the RMAC with six points and is second the team.
• Tarah Patterson walked away with two assists in the upset win over DBU and now leads the Mountain Lions in assists (3) and points (7). Patterson is tied for the conference lead in assists and is also tied for the second most points within the RMAC.
• Bri Johnson and Kelsey Takahashi join Patterson with two goals on the year and are tied with Tori Maydew and Fie Steenberg with four points.
• In the South Central region, UCCS is top-5 in scoring offense (5^th, 3.00), total assists (3^rd, 9), total goals (4^th, 12), and total points (4^th, 33). The Mountain Lions also hold a top-15 ranking in the country for total assists (13^th), total goals (12^th), and total points (14^th).

Weather

• Today's forecast in Tampa, Fla. has mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High of 88 degrees, winds light and variable with a chance of rain at 40 percent.
• Friday's forecast in Saint Leo, Fla. predicts scattered thunderstorms with a high of 86 degrees. Winds SSW at five to 10 miles-per-hour and 60 percent chance of rain.

Award Winners

• UCCS garnered their first conference player of the week honors of the year with Makayla Merlo taking home RMAC Offensive Player of the Week and Katie Puchino earning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.
• Merlo totaled four shots and two shots on goal while netting two goals last week to pace UCCS in goals on the season and be tied for second in the conference in goals (3). The Colorado native played a big role in the 3-1 win over Texas A&M Commerce by notching two goals and recording her first career brace.
• Puchino was a key piece for the Mountain Lions backline as she never left the pitch by registering 180 minutes on the backline while also recording three total shots. Puchino and the UCCS defense allowed just six shots on goal between the two matches as they limited the number two team in the country to two shots on frame.

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 327-148-37 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

• The Mountain Lions will enter conference play on the road next week, beginning first with a 3 p.m. match against Western Colorado University on Thursday, Sep. 23. On Sunday, Sep. 26, UCCS will go up to Durango, Colo. to visit Fort Lewis College for a 12 p.m. match.

 
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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.