THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
No. 2 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer gears up for the next round of the 2022 RMAC Tournament tomorrow evening as the Mountain Lions host No. 3 seed Regis University inside Mountain Lion Stadium for a 6 p.m. semifinal final match.
 
GAME COVERAGE

• Information for the RMAC Semifinal match against Regis can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stats
  • Live Stream
  • RMAC Tournament Bracket
  • RMAC Tournament Page
  • Online Ticket Link (Must be purchased prior to Wednesday at 4 p.m.)

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS took on No. 7 seed Fort Lewis College in the quarterfinals on Sunday where the Mountain Lions survived and advanced after a Kaitlin Hinkle goal in the final seconds resulted in a 2-1 win over the Skyhawks.
• After the Mountain Lions controlled much of the possession in the opening 45 minutes but were unable to score, UCCS took to the second half to break the scoreless tie with Fie Steenberg rattling the framework off her third goal of the season and the 1-0 lead in the 51^st minute.
• Not yet out for the count, FLC charged back late in the half to make things interesting by hitting the game's equalizer in the 86^th minute, 1-1.
• With time winding down and the Skyhawks threatening overtime, the Mountain Lions answered back in the final seconds as Kaitlin Hinkle received a pass form the far sideline and notched a perfectly placed ball from outside the box into the back corner of net to send UCCS past FLC, 2-1, with just four seconds left in the match.

 
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. The final ranking will be released tomorrow afternoon and will feature the final regional rankings before the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament bracket is announced on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5 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 9 National Ranking Poll, the Mountain Lions make a six-spot climb in the rankings to claim No. 19 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 per game (2.61), shots on goal (26), and assists (eight) while also tying for the RMAC's seventh most game-winning goals (three) and sixth most points (18).
• Makayla Merlo also joins Lasater on the RMAC Leaderboard with the conference's third most shots (48) and seventh most shots on goal (18).
• Both Merlo and Abby Barhydt have each brought in five assists to tie for the fifth most in the RMAC. Jadyn LeDoux and Kaitlin Hinkle come in to be ranked tied for fifth in goals (six) and tied for seventh in points (18) with LeDoux also tied for eight in assists (four).
• In goal, Alexis Walker has been stellar with the second-best goals against average (.684) and most shutouts (11) in the conference. Walker doesn't stop there as the redshirt senior has recorded a .806 save percentage, good for third-best in the RMAC.
• As a team, the Mountain Lions have worked their way near the top of most offensive categories by garnering the RMAC's most total points (144), tying for the most goals with CMU (51), while also separating themselves from the rest of the conference with the most assists (42). Their scoring offense is tied for the top in the conference with CMU as the Mountain Lions are working a 2.68 goals per game average.
• On the defensive side of the ball, the Mountain Lions have registered the third most shutouts (11) with the RMAC's third lowest GAA (.68) that includes only 13 goals allowed on the season.

 
AWARD WINNERS

• In Tuesday's announcement of the RMAC Women's Soccer All-Conference Team, the Mountain Lions tallied up a total of six All-RMAC honors with Alexis Walker voted RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Makenna Fowler and Makayla Merlo join Walker as All-RMAC First Team selections with Kaitlin Hinkle, Annie Louthan, and Zoe Sims receiving second team distinctions. For the full release, click HERE.
• On Monday, UCCS Women's Soccer also landed 13 Mountain Lions on the RMAC All-Academic Team as Abby Barhydt led the way with an RMAC All-Academic First Team selection. For the full release, click HERE.
• 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 Regis (7-10) but has won six consecutive games against the Rangers, having outscored them 16-5 in those five games.
• UCCS hosted Regis earlier this season on Oct. 20 in Colorado Springs where the Mountain Lions shut out the Rangers with a final score of 2-0. UCCS had complete control of the match by holding the advantage in shots (27-11), shots on goal, 6-3), and corner kicks (9-3) as Jael Larson netted the game-winner in the 33^rd minute followed by Kaitlin Hinkle closing it out with an 81^st minute score.

 
SCOUTING REGIS

• As the No. 3 team in the RMAC Tournament, Regis (11-6-2, 9-2-1 RMAC) at one point was leading the RMAC and was undefeated in conference play before their final two regular season games. But after a pair of 2-0 losses from UCCS and Mines, the Rangers moved to third in the conference standings and opened the RMAC Tournament with a home quarterfinal win over CMU, 2-1.
• Regis outshot the Mavericks on Sunday 22-16 with RU's leading scorer Kelby Kuo netting a 29th minute score before Natalie Bunch scored RU's second goal in the 39^th minute. That was all Regis ended up needing as CMU tacked on a PK in the final minute to bring the match to a 2-1 result.
• On the season, Regis has the sixth highest scoring offense in the conference at 1.474 goals per game with a positive 0.58 average scoring margin (sixth-best in RMAC).
• Defensively, the Rangers have notched the fourth-best GAA in the conference at .895 with Regis currently holding the highest save percentage in the RMAC at .850.
• RU has a trio of double-digit point scorers in Kuo (15), Audrey Teague (15), and Natalie Bunch (11) as they also combine to account for 17 of the team's 28 goals on the season with seven, six, and four, respectively. Kuo and Teague begin to separate themselves from the rest of the Rangers' squad in terms of shots with Kuo posting a team-high 37 shots in addition to the league's fourth most shots on goal (22) as Teague registers 36 shots and 19 shots on goal of her own.
• Serving the Rangers on the opposite side of the ball is junior defender Sophia Leone who has logged a team-high 1,590 minutes and started in all 18 matches to help secure nine shutouts on the year.
• Leone is joined by underclassman Alex Baer (1,348 min.) and senior Casey Lavin (1,311 min.) who have each found the back of the net with two goals from Baer and one goal from Lavin.
• In frame, RMAC Honorable Mention selection Katelyn Martin as been the rangers' go-to by ranking top-5 in all goalkeeper categories within the RMAC, including the highest save percentage in the conference (.841), fourth-best GAA (.963), tied for the second most shutouts (seven), and fourth highest saves per game average (5.00). Martin holds a 10-6-2 record in frame and has allowed 17 goals in 18 games.

 
HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions' attack has served as a top-10 offense in Division II by notching the sixth most assists, 11^th most goals, eighth most points, and 15^th 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 third most shutouts as Walker is tied for the most goalie minutes played in Division II (1,710).
• UCCS is currently on a 10-game unbeaten streak with five of the last six games coming by way of shutout. The Mountain Lions have put the cap on opposing offenses as of late by outscoring the opposition 34-6 in the previous nine games.
• For the season, the Mountain Lions are holding a positive goal differential of 38 as they are outscoring opponents 51-13 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 10^th 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 has risen 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.
• Kaitlin Hinkle nets her sixth goal of the season to tie for the team lead as Hinkle has now registered 26 career goals and 61 career points to rank third all-time in program history for career goals and points. Hinkle also moves into a tie for the second most game-winning goals in program history with Hannah Levett after recording her ninth career game-winning goal on Sunday.

 
WEATHER

• Wednesday's forecast calls for sunny temperatures of 63-65 degrees at kickoff and with the temp dipping down to as low as 55 degrees during the match. Wind gusts could reach as high as 13 miles-per-hour.

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH J. B. BELZER

• Head coach J. B. Belzer is in his third season at the helm for UCCS and 27^th total season as a Division II head coach after spending 24 seasons at Regis University.
• Belzer holds a 356-153-41 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 Wednesday at 4 p.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 Regis 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 Wednesday's semifinal match will move on to face the winner of No. 1 seed Colorado School of Mines and No. 5 seed Metropolitan State University of Denver in the RMAC Tournament Championship on either Saturday, Nov. 5 or Sunday, Nov. 6 with the highest seed remaining set to host.

 
SOCIAL
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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.