THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer gears up for NCAA Regional action as the No. 6 seeded Mountain Lions travel to Golden, Colo. to take on No. 3 seed Angelo State University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UCCS and ASU will face-off in Stermole Soccer Stadium at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 with the winner set to face No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE

• Information for the first round of the NCAA DII Women's Soccer Tournament against Angelo State can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stats
  • Live Stream
  • NCAA Tournament Bracket
  • Tournament Program
  • Ticket Link (First 100 UCCS Students will receive FREE admission into Friday's match with proof of ID)

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS and Regis University battled in the RMAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 2 with 110 minutes of action needed to declare a winner as the Mountain Lions fell to the Rangers at a final score of 3-2.
• Regis hopped on the board early in the 16^th minute to put UCCS in a quick 1-0 hole, but the Mountain Lions came roaring back late in the second half with a Fabiola Estrada to Annie Louthan equalizer in the 84^th minute to send it into overtime, 1-1.
• In overtime, UCCS capitalized first off an incredible set-piece from Estrada who went to the back-post off the corner kick where Zoe Sims headed it in for the 2-1 lead in the 92^nd minute.
• The first overtime period was all the Mountain Lions, but after a UCCS own-goal evened the match up at 2-2 at 103:16, Regis closed the game out in the 109^th minute with the go-ahead score.

 
NCAA TOURNAMENT: SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

• As the number six seed, UCCS will visit host institution Colorado School of Mines for a neutral site match in Golden, Colo. against No. 3 seed Angelo State University on Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. inside the Stermole Soccer Stadium. The winner of the first-round match will then move on to play No. 2 seed Mines on Sunday, Nov. 12 in Golden, Colo. for the second-round match.
• On the opposite side of the bracket, No. 1 Dallas Baptist University will host No. 4 seed West Texas A&M University and No. 5 seed St. Mary's University (Texas) with the winner set to face the DBU Patriots in the second round.

 
NATIONAL RANKINGS

• In United Soccer Coaches' Week 9 National Ranking Poll, the Mountain Lions made a six-spot climb in the rankings to claim No. 19 in the country. Mines currently holds the No. 9 national ranking with Angelo State receiving national votes.

 
RMAC LEADERS

• Sydney Lasater has served as the offensive leader for the Mountain Lions with the sophomore ranked fourth in the conference in shots per game (2.61), third in shots on goal (26), and third in assists (eight) while also tying for the RMAC's eighth 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 (53) and ninth most shots on goal (18).
• Merlo, Abby Barhydt, and Fabiola Estrada have each brought in five assists to tie for sixth most in the RMAC. Jadyn LeDoux and Kaitlin Hinkle come in to be ranked tied for seventh in goals (six) with Hinkle tied for eighth in points per game (.89).
• In goal, Alexis Walker has been stellar with the second-best goals against average (.791) and most shutouts (11) in the conference. Walker doesn't stop there as the redshirt senior has recorded a .778 save percentage, good for T-5th 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 (151), tying for the most goals with Mines (53), while also separating themselves from the rest of the conference with the most assists (45). Their scoring offense is tied for the second-best in the conference with Mines as the Mountain Lions are working a 2.65 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 (.80) that includes only 16 goals allowed on the season.

 
AWARD WINNERS

• In last week'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.
• 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 honors, and Zoe Sims being voted RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 27).

 
ALL-TIME SERIES

• UCCS and Angelo State have matched up only twice in program history with the Mountain Lions winning the most recent matchup in Nov. 9, 2018 when the Mountain Lions took down the Rambelles in a 3-2 double-overtime win in the NCAA Tournament. UCCS's 2018 win evened up the all-time series, 1-1.
• Against Colorado School of Mines, UCCS trails the all-time series at a record of 7-16-2 and have not lost to the Orediggers since Oct. 17, 2021. The Mountain Lions currently hold a three-game unbeaten streak against Mines with the most recent matchup on Oct. 9, 2022 resulting in a 2-2 draw.

 
SCOUTING ANGELO STATE

• The No. 3 team in the South Central region, Angelo State (13-3-3, 8-3-1, LSC) went 9-0-1 before their first loss of the season as the Rambelles went 4-3-2 in their final nine games, including a 2-2 draw against Midwestern State in the Lone Star Conference Quarterfinals where MSU advanced on penalty kicks, 3-2.
• ASU has outscored their opponents 31-13 through 19 games, averaging 1.63 goals per contest, only allowing opponents 0.676 goals per game, the fourth-best mark in the region.
• The Rambelles have four double-digit point scorers with forwards Grace Jordan and Regan Urbany each notching seven goals and two assists for 16 points on the season. Midfielders Katelin Heise and Cindy Rodriguez have both garnered 12 points on the season with four goals and four assists apiece for 12 points.
• Grace also adds six game-winning goals which ties for the fourth most in Division II.
• Serving the Rambelles on the opposite side of the ball is senior defender Cassisdy Hill who has logged a team-high 1,730 minutes and started in all 19 matches to help secure 10 shutouts on the year. Leone is joined by underclassman Natasha Soto (1,604 min.) who has started in every match on the backline.
• In frame, Kira Miller has been the only goalkeeper to see the pitch for ASU with the graduate student owning all 10 team shutouts and a GAA of .68 for the third-lowest average in the region. Miller also owns a top-5 save percentage in the region at .824 as she's bagged 64 saves for the year.
• Five of Miller's 13 goals allowed have come in the last three games where ASU finished 1-1-1.

 
SCOUTING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES

• The No. 9 team in the country comes fresh off an RMAC Tournament Championship title as the Orediggers (16-1-3, 10-0-2 RMAC) shutout Regis in the championship game, 2-0.
• Mines has posted a conference high 14 shutouts where they have outscored their opponents 53-13 with a scoring average of 2.65 and a GAA of .643 that ranks second-best in the region.
• The Colorado School of Mines attack has two Orediggers with 20 or more points with Reese McDermott leading the way at 29 points off the third most goals in the region (14) and one assist. Behind McDermott is fellow sophomore Laura Butler who has scored seven goals and a team-high six assists for 20 points on the season.
• Aiding the Orediggers on both sides of the ball is a pair of major award winners in RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Barnhart and RMAC Freshman of the Year Afton Rascoe who have each registered 15 points on six goals and three assists.
• Barnhart (1,806 min.) in partner with junior Katie Kohler (1,813 min.) have been the anchors for the stout Mines backline with both defenders starting in all 20 games.
• In goal, the Orediggers have used a combination of three different keepers with redshirt sophomore Emma Carstens and freshman Sadie Wolf seeing a majority of the action by combining for a 15-1-3 record and 12 shutouts. Wolf has started a team-high 10 games where she's allowed five goals for a 0.49 GAA and .857 save percentage while holding an undefeated 9-0-1 record. Carstens has seen action in nine matches with a 6-1-2 record that has surrendered eight goals for a .91 GAA and .714 save percentage.

 
HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions' attack has served as a top-25 offense in Division II by notching the eighth most assists, 14^th most goals, ninth most points, and T-16^th best scoring offense.
• UCCS has made their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament and will play in their 10^th NCAA Tournament match in six years.
• The Mountain Lions hold a 1-0 record in NCAA First Round matches, with their lone first round win coming against Angelo State in 2018.
• 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 fifth most shutouts as Walker is tied for the second most goalie minutes played in Division II (1,820).
• For the season, the Mountain Lions are holding a positive goal differential of 37 as they are outscoring opponents 53-16 for the season, marking the second-best goal differential in the conference behind Mines.
• 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.
• So far this season, the 2022 Mountain Lions have posted the program's fourth most points (147) and goals (53), third most assists (45), and are tied for the most shutouts (11).
• After last week's semifinal match, Zoe Sims sets a new season career-high with six points scored on her career-high second goal of the season.

 
WEATHER

• Friday's weather will be more on the colder side with a high of 38 degrees in mostly sunny and light wind conditions.
• If UCCS advances to Sunday's second-round match, the weather will call for slightly warmer temps at a high of 45 degrees. Winds are forecasted to be minimal at nine miles-per-hour in partly cloudy conditions.  

 
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 356-154-41 career record for the seventh most wins in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer history.
• In the NCAA Tournament, Belzer holds a career record of 7-9-2.

 
TICKET PRICES

• Ticket Prices:
  • Adults - $10.00
  • Over 65 - $5.00
  • Children - $5.00
  • Under 5 – Free
  • First 100 UCCS Students will receive FREE admission into Friday's match with proof of ID.

 
UPCOMING GAMES

• The winner of Friday's first round match will face No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. inside Stermole Soccer Stadium in Golden, Colo.

 
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.