THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team will kick off their RMAC schedule with a pair of home games as they take on Westminster College at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1 before battling Colorado Mesa University at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3. The first 100 UCCS students to arrive at Mountain Lion Stadium on Friday will receive a free Storm the Stadium t-shirt.

 
GAME COVERAGE

• Live stream and live stats for the game against Westminster can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stream: https://youtu.be/1BBmFY_meVI
  • Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary 
• Live stream and live stats for the game against Colorado Mesa can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stream: https://youtu.be/pUHn6P8VcIQ
  • Live Stats: https://gomountainlions.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary

 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Mountain Lions closed out their non-conference schedule last week with a home match against Adams State on Friday night before heading up the I-25 for road meeting with Colorado Christian on Sunday afternoon.
• UCCS recorded their second clean sheet of the season on Friday night as they shut out Adams State, 2-0. The Mountain Lions got on the board first when Liam McGuire scored on an unassisted goal in the 21^st minute, then added to their lead in the 80^th minute when sophomore Alex Andersson found the net after receiving a beautiful pass inside from McGuire.
• Defensively, UCCS limited the Grizzlies to just one shot on goal and four total shots. Goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska played the full 90 minutes in net, only needing one save to secure the shutout and his fourth win of the season.
• On Sunday afternoon, the Mountain Lions fell just short as CCU recorded a tie-breaking goal in the 57^th minute and held on to the lead down the stretch for a 2-1 victory. UCCS held a slight advantage in shots (8-6) and matched the Cougars in shots on goal (3-3), but were unable to break through CCU's defense to find the equalizing goal late in the match.
• Junior Kolby Raineri scored the lone goal for the Mountain Lions on a strike from 35 yards out off a free kick, and led the team with five shots and two shots on goal.

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• The Mountain Lions recorded a 4-2-1 record through the non-conference portion of their schedule and will kick off RMAC action this week against Westminster and Colorado Mesa.

 
RMAC LEADERS

• The Mountain Lions rank tied for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in offensive scoring with an average of 2.0 goals scored per game.
• 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 3.57 shots and 2.0 shots on goal per game while sitting tied for second in points with eight.
• Sophomore Andreas Kokoska ranks second in the conference with 652 total minutes played and sits third with two shutouts on the season.

 
THE SERIES

• The Mountain Lions hold an all-time record of 12-8-0 against Westminster, but have dropped their last three meetings with the Griffins dating back to 2018.
• UCCS has a 6-16-4 all-time record against Colorado Mesa, with the Mountain Lion's most recent victory a 3-1 decision during the 2017 season.

 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER COLLEGE

• Westminster currently sits with a season record of 3-5 on the season after splitting a pair of non-conference matches last week against Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis.
• The Griffins are averaging 12.3 shots per game, but have just seven goals to show for their efforts (0.88/game).
• Defensively, WC is allowing an average of 11.3 shots per game and have surrendered 1.5 goals per contest.
• Seven Westminster players hold a share of the team lead with one goal each, while Carlos Becerra-Gomez, Cole Kartchner, and Luke Merrill are tied for the team lead with three points apiece.
• Defender Jace Vance has been a steady presence on the WC backline, playing the full 90 minutes in all but one of the Griffin's eight games.
• Goalkeepers Noah Larkin and Ian Rose have each started four matches for the Griffins, with Larkin logging a 2.00 GAA and 12 saves in 360 minutes and Rose registering a 1.00 GAA and 18 saves in 360 minutes played.

 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY

• Colorado Mesa enters the week with a 6-2 record on the season and is receiving votes on the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. Last week, the Mavericks shutout Westminster in a 2-0 victory on Wednesday, Sept. 22 before suffering a 2-1 setback against Fort Lewis on Friday, Sept. 24.
• The Mavericks average 14.1 shots per game and have scored an RMAC leading 2.13 goals per game.
• Individually, redshirt sophomore Alec Fronapfel leads CMU in goals (4) and sits in a tie for the most points (8) with redshirt senior Chris Boyd. Redshirt senior Gabriel Peres paces the squad with 17 shots taken, followed by Fronapfel with 14.
• Redshirt senior Isa Trujillo leads the Cougars with 679 minutes played for a CMU defensive backline that has limited opponents to just 0.75 goals per game.  
• Connor Durant has played a majority of the minutes in net for the Mavericks, registering a 6-1 record while logging 26 saves and a 0.57 GAA en route to an RMAC leading four shutouts.

 
HOT TAKES

• Midfielder Kolby Raineri leads the Mountain Lions with 25 shots, 14 shots on goal and two assists while sitting in a tie for the team lead with three goals.
• Reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year Alex Andersson made his return from injury on Friday against Adams State, scoring his first goal of the season during his 16 minutes on the pitch.
• Goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska has logged every minute in net for the Mountain Lions, recording 18 saves on 67 shots faced while holding a 1.79 GAA for the season. The Czech Republic native recorded his second clean sheet of the season on Friday in the Mountain Lion's 2-0 victory over Adams State.

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH LEWIS WILCOX

• After splitting a pair of matches last week, Interim Head Coach Lewis Wilcox moves to 4-2-1 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, Oct. 1 is forecasted for cloudy skies with q 40% chance of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon and a high of 62 degrees. The forecast for Sunday, Oct. 3 is expected to be much drier with a high of 68 degrees and a chance of winds out of the east at 5 to 10 mph.

 
UPCOMING GAMES

• The Mountain Lions will make the short trip up north to clash with Regis on Thursday, Oct. 7 before heading to the Mount Rushmore State to battle South Dakota Mines on Saturday, Oct. 10.

 
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.