2022 MEN'S SOCCER SEASON RECAP

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team put together one of the best seasons in program history in the fall of 2022 as they recorded an 11-5-4 overall record and a 5-3-2 conference record while making a run to conference semifinal game. In addition to getting back into the RMAC tournament for the first time since 2018, the Mountain Lions played their way into contention for one of the 10 bids from Super Region 4 into the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament, but ultimately came up just short of being selected for their first national tournament in program history.  
• UCCS started the 2022 campaign at home with a pair of challenging non-conference games and proceeded to go 1-0-1 to start the season, earning a 0-0 draw against Rockhurst University in the season-opener before pulling off a 2-0 upset win over then No. 7 nationally ranked Fort Hays State University just two days later.
• After losing their first match of the season on a 90^th minute goal against an eventual Elite Eight team in Northwest Nazarene University on Sept. 1, the Mountain Lions flipped the switch and rattled off a program record 12-game unbeaten streak dating from Sept. 3 through Oct. 13 to bring their record to 10-1-4 with three conference games remaining in the regular season.
• Despite dropping three tightly contested one-score games to end the regular season, the Mountain Lions secured the No. 4 seed in the RMAC Tournament and were awarded a home match against No. 5 seeded Regis University in the RMAC Quarterfinal game on Oct. 27.
• Following a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over the Rangers, UCCS made the trip up north to Golden, Colo. to take on the tournament's No. 1 seeded team, Colorado School of Mines, for an RMAC Semifinal showdown. In what would turn out to be a highly competitive match throughout, a 51^st minute goal by Mines would prove to be the difference as the Mountain Lion's season ended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Orediggers.
• "While we can look back on our 2022 season with pride and acknowledge that we made huge progress as a team, there is still a bit of disappointment among the coaches and players with how it ended," said second-year head coach Lewis Wilcox. "We ultimately had our poor run of form at the wrong time of the season, and it cost us a championship. However, for UCCS to be in the national conversation and competing for an RMAC title goes to show how far we have come in a short amount of time. This season showed we are competing in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, and arguably the toughest super-region as well. Going through this experience and narrowly missing out on the National Tournament will only help this group moving forward. I'm very proud of our group of players and staff who worked tirelessly for all of our achievements in 2022."

AWARD WINNERS
Alex Andersson: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, RMAC Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Alan Araiza-Zarate: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Declan Domyan: RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Sept. 27), All-RMAC Second Team, D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team
Nic Grotle: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Komil Khatamov: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Liam McGuire: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, CSC Academic All-District First Team
Matteo Moreno Madrid: All-RMAC Honorable Mention, RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year, D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team
Marvin Putu: All-RMAC First Team, D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team, United Soccer Coaches All-South Central Region Second Team
Kolby Raineri: RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 20, Oct. 4), All-RMAC First Team, RMAC All-Academic First Team, D2CCA All-South Central Region First Team, United Soccer Coaches All-South Central Region First Team, CSC Academic All-District First Team, CSC Academic All-America Third Team
Jack Souder: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Carlos Vargas: All-RMAC First Team
Bogdan Vedernikov: RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 11), RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll
Lars Walczyk: All-RMAC Second Team
Kaydon Zamora-Reeves: RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, CSC Academic All-District First Team
 
STAT LEADERS

• The UCCS defensive unit experienced a substantial improvement in 2022 as key contributors such as Carlos Vargas (1,664 minutes), Matteo Moreno Madrid (1,486 minutes), Cole Van Holland (1,322 minutes), Rory Scott (1,183 minutes), and Miles Seminario (1,183 minutes) helped lead the team to an RMAC leading 0.65 goals against average (GAA) while allowing just 13 goals in 20 total games. Their impressive team GAA also ranked as the sixth-best mark among all NCAA Division II men's soccer programs.
• UCCS totaled nine team clean sheets on the season to rank third in the conference and T16th in the country. The mark also sits as the third-most shutouts in a single season in program history.
• The Mountain Lion defense also did an exceptional job limiting shot opportunities as they held opponents to just 9.8 shots per game and 4.35 shots on goal per game.
• First-year Mountain Lion Declan Domyan delivered one of the top single season goalkeeper performances in team history as he started 19 games and logged 1,662 minutes in frame while leading the conference with a 0.60 GAA and 0.861 save percentage. Domyan also finished the season tied for second in the league with seven individual shutouts and third with 68 total saves. The South Africa native's season also registered as one of the best in all of NCAA Division II as he ended the year with the third best save percentage and the sixth best GAA in the country.
• On the offensive end of the ball, UCCS ranked among the top three teams in the RMAC for nearly every offensive category as they led the conference with 18.6 shots per game and ranked third with 42 total goals, 114 total points, 30 total assists, and 7.3 shots on goal per game.
• Senior forward Kolby Raineri emerged as the leader of the Mountain Lion offense in 2022, starting 19 games for a total of 1,406 minutes while notching career-highs with 11 goals, eight assists, 30 points, 71 total shots, and 31 shots on goal. The Ankeny, Iowa, native also proved himself to be one of the top offensive players in the conference as he led the league in total shots, shots on goal and assists while tying for the second most points and notching the fourth most goals.
• In his first season with the Mountain Lions as a graduate transfer, Marvin Putu was another key contributor to the team's offensive efforts as he turned in seven goals and six assists for 20 total points in 1,440 minutes of action. As the only UCCS player to start each of the team's 20 games, Putu ended the season fifth in the conference for goals, assists, and points while tying for the third-most game-winning goals with four.  
• In addition to the stellar play from Raineri and Putu, UCCS established an extremely balanced offensive attack as 14 additional Mountain Lion players scored at least one goal, including five that scored multiple times.

HOT TAKES

• The Mountain Lions 11 wins were tied for the sixth-most in a single season and the most since the team won 12 games during the 2016 season. The team's .650 winning percentage was the fourth-best in program history and their highest since the 2015 season.
• The team's 12-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 3 through Oct. 13 shattered the previous record of seven games that was established during the 1998 season.
• The quarterfinal win over Regis on Oct. 27 marked the program's first playoff win since the 2018 season when they coincidentally defeated Regis in that year's RMAC Quarterfinal match by a score of 5-3.
• On Oct. 11, the Mountain Lions earned a No. 17 national ranking in Week 6 of the United Soccer Coaches National Rankings Poll, marking the team's first appearance in the top-25  since being tabbed at T23 during Week 5 of the 1999 NSCAA/Adidas National Poll on 10/4/1999.  
• UCCS shattered a multitude of single-game program records on Sept. 15 in an 11-0 home defeat of Adams State with it being the largest margin of victory in UCCS program history and the most goals scored in a single game all-time. The team also recorded single-game program bests with 31 points, nine assists and 21 shots on goal.
• The Mountain Lions posted a plus-29 (42-13) goal differential for the 2022 season, registering as the second-best mark in the conference behind a Colorado State University Pueblo team that made a run to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. Their goal differential also finished the year ranked as the 12^th-best mark in all of NCAA Division II.
• UCCS' 0.65 team GAA ranks as the lowest single season mark in UCCS program history and the sixth-lowest mark all-time in RMAC history. In addition, the team's 13 goals allowed sits tied for the second fewest in RMAC history and was tied for the seventh fewest in the nation this season.
• Domyan's 0.60 GAA registers as a new single season program-best for UCCS and ranked as the fifth-best mark all-time in RMAC history for goalkeepers with a minimum of 750 minutes played. His 0.861 save percentage also sits as the second-best single-season mark in UCCS team history. In addition, his GAA currently ranks as the all-time top career mark among all UCCS goalkeepers with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played.
• With 18.6 shots per game and 7.30 shots on goal per game, the Mountain Lions established new program records for each category. Their shots per game mark also ranked as the fourth-most in all of Division II this season. UCCS also placed added pressure on opposing defenses by leading the RMAC and ranking second in the nation with 7.35 corner kicks per game.
• Following his exceptional 2022 season, Raineri ranks among the top-ten in program history with 59 career points (T6th), 22 career goals (T8th), 15 career assists (4th), 5 career game-winning assists (T1st), 158 career shots (6th), and 79 career shots on goal (4th) in a total of 4,334 minutes on the pitch.

2023 SEASON OUTLOOK

• Head coach Lewis Wilcox is set to return for his third season at the helm of the UCCS men's soccer program in 2023 and will have a strong sense of continuity for the new season after graduating just four student-athletes following the fall season. In addition to a solid group of returning players, Wilcox and his coaching staff have been busy on the recruiting trails thus far, signing David Gray and Parker Million to the roster as newcomers for the upcoming campaign.
• "Looking ahead to 2023, we are excited to take it one step further," stated Wilcox. "We are returning a large group of players so we should see some consistency and further development with our style of play. We know as a group we had opportunities to be more ruthless in critical moments of games, and those are the fine margins we talk about at this level as being the difference. While we are pleased with our returning group, we are also thrilled to be adding some high-level recruits in to the squad to take us to the next level. The future for this program is extremely promising, and we are looking forward to going again in 2023."

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