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Isaiah J. Downing

PREVIEW | Men’s Soccer Closes Non-Conference Slate Against Adams State and Colorado Christian

9/22/2021 1:00:00 PM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Assistant Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS
  • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team will complete the non-conference portion of their schedule as they return home to face Adams State on Friday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. before heading back on the road to battle Colorado Christian at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26.
 
GAME COVERAGE  
LAST TIME OUT
  • UCCS had their original schedule shuffled due to COVID protocols last week, playing a pair of neutral site matches against Saint Martin's University and Northeastern State University on back-to-back nights in Lubbock, Texas.
  • On Friday night, the Mountain Lions pulled off a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory in overtime against Saint Martin's after trailing 3-1 with just 31 minutes remaining in the match. UCCS marched all the way back to tie the contest at three in the 77th minute before scoring the game-winning goal just two minutes into the first overtime period.
  • Midfielder Kolby Raineri led the Mountain Lions with a career-high tying six points, two assists, and two goals, the second of which serving as the game winner in overtime. Adam Baldwin and Adin Schwenke also scored goals for UCCS while Luke Sussex and Komil Khatamov logged assists in the overtime win.
  • The Mountain Lions kept it rolling on the second night of the back-to-back on Saturday as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 47 minutes against Northeastern State and held on for a 3-2 victory over the RiverHawks.
  • UCCS held a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal over NSU with Nic Grotle connecting for his team-leading third goal of the season. Luka Cecic found the net for his second goal of the season and also assisted Jack Souder on his first goal of the season.
 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS
  • The Mountain Lions currently sit with a 3-1-1 record and will close out their non-conference schedule this week before starting RMAC action next week.
 
RMAC LEADERS
  • The Mountain Lions rank third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) with an average of 2.2 goals scored per game and fourth with 29 points (11 goals, 7 assists).  
  • UCCS leads the RMAC with four penalty kicks drawn and has converted each of them for goals.
  • Midfielder Kolby Raineri leads the RMAC with an average of 3.8 shots and 2.2 shots on goal per game.
  • Raineri and Nic Grotle currently sit tied for fifth in the conference with six points apiece. Grotle is also tied for second in the RMAC with three goals.
  • Junior Luka Cecic is tied for the lead in the RMAC with a pair of game-winning goals through the first five games.
 
AWARD WINNERS
  • UCCS received their first conference player of the week award recognition with Kolby Raineri being named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week and Andreas Kokoska taking home RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week.
  • Raineri played a key role in the Mountain Lion's 4-3 overtime victory against Saint Martin's on Friday evening as he played the full 92 minutes and scored or assisted on each of the team's four goals. The midfielder logged two assists and two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime. Raineri tied a career-high with six points while also registering a team-leading five shots and four shots on goal.
  • Kokoska racked up 182 minutes in net across the Mountain Lion's victories over Saint Martin's and Northeastern State last week. The Czech Republic native recorded six saves with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.47 as he moved to 3-1-1 in goal on the season.
 
THE SERIES
  • The Mountain Lions hold an all-time record of 14-2-1 against Adams State and are a perfect 9-0 when playing the Grizzlies at Mountain Lion Stadium.
  • UCCS has a 46-5-3 all-time record against Colorado Christian and is currently riding a 23 game win streak against the Cougars dating back to the 2005 season.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE UNIVERSITY
  • Adams State currently sits with a season record of 0-5 after dropping both of their matches last week against Fort Lewis and Colorado Christian. The Grizzlies suffered a 2-0 setback to Fort Lewis last Friday before being edged in a 2-1 overtime defeat to Colorado Christian on Sunday.
  • The Grizzlies are averaging 4.4 shots per game and allowing an average of 11.4 shots per game across their first five games this season.
  • Four ASU players own a share of the team lead with one goal each; Brayan Fernandez, Josh Garcia, Brendan Koplin, and Dante Mangayi.
  • Garcia also leads the Grizzlies with four shots and is tied with Koplin for the team lead with two shots on goal.
  • Goalkeepers Zach Carr and Logan Rabasca have split time in net for Adams State, with Rabasca logging a 2.79 GAA and eight saves in 259 minutes and Carr registering a 1.87 GAA and eight saves in 193 minutes played.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
  • Colorado Christian enters the week with a perfect 4-0 record on the season after beating Adams State 2-1 in their lone game last week.
  • The Cougars average 11.8 shots per game and have put 26 of their 47 total shots on goal for a .553 shot on goal percentage.
  • Individually, sophomore Gabe Roloff leads CCU in goals (3), points (6) and shots (7) while midfielder Jorge Lopez ranks second on the team with two goals, four points and six shots.
  • Sophomore Caiden Dixon leads the Cougars with 364 minutes played for a CCU defensive backline that has limited opponents to just 7.3 shots and one goal per game.
  • Max Collingwood has played every minute in net for the Cougars, registering ten saves while facing 29 shots and recording a 0.98 GAA.
 
HOT TAKES
  • Midfielder Kolby Raineri leads the Mountain Lions with 19 shots, 11 shots on goal and two assists while sitting in a tie for second on the team with two goals.
  • Nic Grotle paces the team with three goals, followed by Raineri and Luka Cecic with two goals each. Also scoring for the Mountain Lions this season are Adam Baldwin, Adin Schwenke, Jack Souder, and Liam McGuire with one goal apiece.
  • Goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska has logged every minute in net for the Mountain Lions, recording 16 saves on 57 shots faced while holding a 2.10 GAA for the season.  
 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH LEWIS WILCOX
  • With a pair of neutral site wins last week, Interim Head Coach Lewis Wilcox moves to 3-1-1 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 weather in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday is forecasted to be partly cloudy with a high of 77 degrees during the day and nighttime low of 46 degrees.
  • The forecast in Lakewood, Colo. For Sunday's match is calling for mostly clear skies with a high near 85 degrees and a breeze out of the Northeast at 5 to 10 mph.
 
UPCOMING GAMES
  • The Mountain Lions will open their RMAC schedule with a pair of home games as they take on Westminster at 1:30 p.m. in the annual Storm the Stadium game on Friday, Oct. 1 before facing Colorado Mesa at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3 at Mountain Lion Stadium.
 
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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