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Aug 28, 2022; Colorado Springs, CO, USA; The UCCS Mountain Lions hosted the Stonehill College Skyhawks in women’s soccer at Mountain Lion Stadium. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing
Isaiah J. Downing

PREVIEW | No. 25 UCCS Hosts Fort Lewis College in RMAC Quarterfinals

10/28/2022 1:17:00 PM

By: Eric Mason - Sports Information Director
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
No. 2 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs gears up for the 2022 RMAC Tournament this Sunday as the Mountain Lions host No. 7 seed Fort Lewis College inside Mountain Lion Stadium for a 1 p.m. quarterfinal match.
 
GAME COVERAGE  
2022 REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW
  • UCCS started the season with a rematch against No. 3 Dallas Baptist University that ended in DBU's favor after three second half goals from the Patriots resulted in a 3-1 loss for the Mountain Lions.
  • The Mountain Lions quickly bounced back to post a 3-0-2 record for the remainder of their non-conference schedule after a home win against Stonehill College was followed up by their first road sweep over St. Edward's University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The last two non-conference contests ended in scoreless draws at home against Central Washington University and California Polytechnic University, Pomona as UCCS then turned their attention to the start of conference play.
  • UCCS got off to a hot start in conference by notching a pair of home shutout wins over Western Colorado University and Fort Lewis College before the Mountain Lions suffered a minor setback with a 2-0 road loss to Westminster College.
  • The loss to WC would be the only blemish on the Mountain Lions conference record as they began to pick up momentum by going 2-0-2 in their next four matches, including a 3-1 statement win against Colorado Mesa University and a dominant 5-0 clean sheet over Black Hills State. The pair of draws came against two of the top defenses in the conference as the Mountain Lions battled both Metropolitan State University of Denver and No. 10 Colorado School of Mines to a 2-2 final.
  • With five conference games left, UCCS hit the throttle by posting a clean sheet victory in each of the five games of which included a 2-0 rout of Regis University to hand the Rangers their first conference loss of the season at the time.
  • The Mountain Lions kept trekking with a 6-0 blowout of Colorado Christian University on Senior Day before closing the regular season with a thrilling 1-0 win over Colorado State University Pueblo.
  • UCCS Women's Soccer ended the 2022 regular season with 12-2-4 overall record and 6-1-3 RMAC record as the Mountain Lions tallied up 29 conference points.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
  • In the second week of NCAA's Regional Rankings, UCCS came in as the fifth ranked team in the South Central Region.
  • The second installment of NCAA's Regional Rankings represented the first week of ranking the top teams in each of the eight regions in Division II with a total of eight teams ranked within the South Central Region. Next week will feature the final regional rankings before the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament bracket is announced on Monday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. (MT) through the NCAA Selection Show which will air on NCAA.com.
  • The RMAC and the Lone Star Conference comprise the South Central Region where the top six teams out of the region will receive a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Winners of the RMAC and Lone Star Conference tournaments each receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
  • In United Soccer Coaches' Week 8 National Ranking Poll, the Mountain Lions worked their way back into the national ranks by being tabbed No. 25 in the country.
 
RMAC LEADERS
  • Sydney Lasater has served as the offensive leader for the Mountain Lions with the sophomore ranked third in the conference in shots (47), shots on goal (26), and assists (eight) while also tying for the RMAC's sixth most game-winning goals (three) and fifth most points (18).
  • Makayla Merlo also joins Lasater on the RMAC Leaderboard with the conference's fifth most shots (45) and seventh most shots on goal (17).
  • Both Merlo and Abby Barhydt have each brought in five assists to tie for the fifth most in the RMAC as Jadyn LeDoux comes in to be ranked tied for fourth in goals (six), tied for eight in assists (four), and tied for seventh in points (16).
  • In goal, Alexis Walker has been stellar with the top goals against average (.667) and most shutouts (11) in the conference. Walker doesn't stop there as the redshirt senior has recorded a .825 save percentage (second-best in RMAC) while averaging 2.76 saves per game (ninth-best in RMAC).
  • As a team, the Mountain Lions have worked their way near the top of most offensive categories by garnering the RMAC's second-most total points (139) and goals (49) while separating themselves from the rest of the conference with the most assists (41). Their scoring offense is among one of the top in the conference with the Mountain Lions working to a 2.72 goals per game, ranking them as the second highest offense in the RMAC behind CMU (2.78).
  • On the defensive side of the ball, the Mountain Lions have registered the second most shutouts (11) with the RMAC's third lowest GAA (.667) that includes only 12 goals allowed on the season.
 
AWARD WINNERS
  • The Mountain Lions have garnered a total of six RMAC Player of the Week honors over the course of the season with Alexis Walker earning three RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week selections (Sep. 20, Oct. 18, Oct. 27), Fabiola Estrada (Sep. 20) and Jadyn LeDoux (Oct. 4) claiming RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, and Zoe Sims being voted RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 27).
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
  • UCCS owns an all-time losing record against Fort Lewis (7-15) but has won five consecutive games against FLC, having outscored them 18-3 in those five games.
  • UCCS handled FLC earlier in the season with a 3-0 clean sheet victory on Sep. 18. FLC was only able to register four shots on goal in the match as the Mountain Lions mounted 17 shots with seven shots on goal. Fabiola Estrada notched one of two braces against the Skyhawks within the match's first 12 minutes of play as Annie Louthan added a 53rd minute goal.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
  • FLC finishes their regular season with a 6-10-2 overall record and 5-6-1 RMAC record going unbeaten in the last three matches as the Skyhawks shut out MSU Denver and Black Hills State while drawing Western Colorado, 1-1.
  • Fort Lewis has been shutout in half of their games this season (nine) with Skyhawks being outscored 23-15 for a GAA of 1.28.
  • The Skyhawks have struggled in slowing down opposing offenses by allowing 15.6 shots per game but flip the script to claim the second-best save percentage in the RMAC (.826).
  • Offensively, the Fort Lewis attack has registered an average 0.83 goals per game but have registered quality shots all season with their shot accuracy of .553 representing the second highest percentage among the conference.
  • Individually, senior midfielder Madyson Barela has been the leading point scorer for the Skyhawks at nine points with a team-leading four goals and 32 shots. Fellow senior Hannah Paschke has been another efficient piece for FLC as the midfielder adds seven points on three goals and an assist. Paschke has been accurate with the ball so far this season with nine of her 10 shots landing on frame.
  • Serving the Skyhawks on the opposite side of the ball is sophomore defender Elizabeth David who has logged a team-high 1,537 minutes and started in all 18 matches. David backs her defensive play with some offensive numbers as well with one goal and one assist off 15 shots and 13 shots on goal.
  • David is joined by underclassmen Dannon Yake (1,315 min.) and Rachel Peebles (1,268 min.) who have helped work the team to five team shutouts on the year.
  • In frame, FLC has had a rotation of three goalkeepers who have each made nine or more appearances and played more than 400 minutes.
  • Making a team-high 13 appearances and 12 starts is senior Katie Dunbabin who has a GAA of 1.29 with nine goals allowed in a 2-5-2 record. Sophomore Katelyn Rosenbaum has come on to make nine appearances with five starts as she's allowed a team-high 10 goals while holding a 1.67 GAA and .750 save percentage. Third in line is sophomore Riley Bravin who has also played in nine matches but has one start to her name in 2022. Bravin has let in four goals for a 0.80 GAA but has tallied 27 saves to boast a 0.871 save percentage.
 
HOT TAKES
  • The Mountain Lions' attack has served as a top-10 offense in Division II by notching the sixth most assists, 10th most goals, seventh most points, and 15th best scoring offense.
  • UCCS' 11 team shutouts are tied for the program's most in a single season as Alexis Walker breaks the program single season record for shutouts by accounting for all 11 clean sheets. Her clean play in frame has resulted in the nation's second most shutouts as Walker is tied for the most minutes played in Division II (1,620).
  • UCCS is currently on a nine-game unbeaten streak with the last five games coming by way of shutout. The Mountain Lions have put the cap on opposing offenses as of late by outscoring the opposition 32-5 in the previous eight games.
  • For the season, the Mountain Lions are holding a positive goal differential of 37 as they are outscoring opponents 49-12 for the season, marking the best goal differential in the conference.
  • UCCS has had 16 different Mountain Lions find the back of the net with 18 student-athletes scoring one point or more.
  • Sydney Lasater has inked her name into the program records as her eight assists are the second most by a sophomore in a single season. She also sits tied for the 10th most career assists (10) and set the program's single game record for assists after tallying four against Western Colorado on Sep. 15.
  • The UCCS backline have rose to the challenge of opposing offenses by limiting their attack to three shots on goal or less in 10 matches this season.
  • Both Makayla Merlo and Jadyn LeDoux are one goal away from cracking the program's top-10 all-time goal list with each of them sitting at 14 career goals.
 
WEATHER
  • Sunday's forecast calls for sunshine and clouds mixed with a high of 57 degrees. Winds are expected to reach 5-10 miles-per-hour, making it a great day for RMAC Tournament Soccer.
 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH J. B. BELZER
  • Head coach J. B. Belzer is in his third season at the helm for UCCS and 27th total season as a Division II head coach after spending 24 seasons at Regis University.
  • Belzer holds a 355-153-41 career record for the seventh most wins in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer history.
 
TICKET PRICES
  • All fans will be charged admission and are encouraged to purchase tickets online through HomeTown Ticketing by Sunday at 11 a.m. Online ticket sales will not be available at the ticket gate at Mountain Lion Stadium. Fans who did not purchase tickets online in advance can purchase tickets at the gate (CASH ONLY). Students from Fort Lewis and/or UCCS will be granted free admission to the match by presenting a valid student ID at the ticket gate.
  • Ticket Prices:
    • Adults - $10.00
    • Over 65 - $5.00
    • Children - $5.00
    • Under 5 – Free
    • Students (With ID) – Free
 
UPCOMING GAMES
  • The winner of Sunday's quarterfinal match will move on to face the winner of No. 3 Regis and No. 6 Colorado Mesa University in the RMAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 2 with the highest seed remaining set to host.
 
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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