COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –  The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team continued their strong play on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers by a score of 4-1 at Mountain Lion Stadium.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 4, SDM 1
Records: UCCS (8-1-3, 3-0-1 RMAC), SDM (1-9-2, 0-4-0 RMAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions remain unbeaten with a 10-0 record all-time against the Hardrockers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:      

• Senior forward Kolby Raineri got the scoring started in the 24^th minute of action as he gained possession of the ball in the left side of the goalkeeper box on an uncontrolled header by a Hardrocker defender, then proceeded to fire a shot into the right corner of the net to give UCCS a 1-0 lead.
• The Mountain Lions would add to their lead in the 32^nd minute as Ben Ashfield and Marvin Putu assisted on Raineri's second goal of the match. After Ashfield headed the ball forward to Putu at the midfield line, Putu unleashed a long pass towards the box to a streaking Raineri, who tapped it into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
• After a quiet start to the second half, UCCS was awarded with a corner kick in the 53^rd minute that ultimately turned into the Mountain Lion's third goal of the game. Ashfield played the ball beautifully into the box off the corner kick and Noah Espino-Kennedy lunged forward with his head to push the ball into the net for his first score of the season and a 3-0 UCCS lead.
• The Hardrockers would get on the scoreboard in the 69^th minute after a foul by Espino-Kennedy set them up with a free kick opportunity from about 35 yards out. Hayden Jaramillo took the free kick and set the set piece into the box, where Alexander Crowson was waiting to head the ball into the net to cut the UCCS lead to 3-1.
• Just about five minutes later, UCCS would regain their three-goal lead as Alex Andersson touched the ball behind his back to Luke Sussex, who took the ball to the net for his first score of the season, making it a 4-1 game.
• UCCS would continue to put offensive pressure on SDM as they recorded a 9-1 shot advantage in the final 15 minutes of play, but both teams would remain scoreless, and the Mountain Lions walked away with the 4-1 conference win.

STATS FROM THE GAME:

• UCCS outshot the Hardrockers 29-5 in the match, while also holding a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal and an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks.
• Raineri scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season while also notching five shots and three shots on goal in 72 minutes of action.
• Sussex and Espino-Kennedy each scored their first goals of the season, while Ashfield notched the first two assists of his season.
• After missing the last nine games due to injury, Andersson made his return to the pitch and recorded a pair of shots and his first assist of the season.
• Senior Luka Cecic played 49 minutes off the bench, recording a team-leading four shots on goal and matching Raineri for the team lead with five total shots.
• Goalkeeper Declan Domyan earns his eighth win of the season after playing the full 90 minutes in frame with two saves.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• With the win, UCCS men's soccer extends their unbeaten streak to nine games and matches their season win total from last season (8).
• With his two-goal and four-point performance, Raineri moves into a tie for seventh all-time in program history with 55 career points and a tie for ninth all-time with 21 career goals.
• At the close of the sixth week of the season, Raineri leads the RMAC in every major offensive category, including points (26), goals (10), assist (6), shots (48), and shots on goal (24).

UP NEXT:

• The Mountain Lions will head to Alamosa, Colo., on Thursday, Oct. 6 to take on Adams State University for a 3 p.m. kickoff from ASU Soccer Field.

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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