COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After falling to a 1-0 deficit in the first half of Thursday evening's match at Mountain Lion Stadium, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team responded with three second half goals to rally past the Regis University Rangers by a score of 3-1.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 3, REGIS 1
Records: UCCS (7-1-3, 2-0-1 RMAC), Regis (4-6-1, 1-1-1 RMAC)
Facility: Mountain Lion Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 18-41-8 all-time against Regis and are now 2-0 against the Rangers under current head coach Lewis Wilcox.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:      

• The Rangers controlled first half possession from the opening kickoff, firing off six unanswered shots in the first 17 minutes of action. In the 28^th minute, they finally got a shot to fall into the back of the net as Kristian Hooker connected from 15-yards out to make it a 1-0 lead for Regis.
• The UCCS offense would begin to put pressure on RU goalkeeper Luca Falagrady for the remainder of the half, taking six total shots with two being on goal, but were unable to find an equalizer as Regis finished the first half with an 11-6 shot advantage and carried a one goal advantage to the break.
• The Mountain Lions came out of the locker room with increased intensity to begin the second half, and it quickly paid off as senior Kolby Raineri found a small crease in the defense and fired into the top right corner of the net to even the game, 1-1, in the 50^th minute.
• Less than three minutes later, the UCCS offense went on the attack once again with Raineri crossing the ball into the box for Marvin Putu, who fired a left-footed strike past the goalkeeper to give the Mountain Lions their first lead of the match, 2-1.
• UCCS continued their offensive attack in the 79^th minute as freshman Miles Seminario touched a pass into the middle that was received and immediately booted into the net by Komil Khatamov, extending the advantage to 3-1.
• The Rangers went on the attack in the final 10 minutes of action as they desperately looked for an answer, but despite getting two final shot opportunities, goalkeeper Declan Domyan and the UCCS defense held them off the board to secure the 3-1 victory.

STATS FROM THE GAME:

• The Rangers held the advantage in both shots (19-14) and shots on goal (10-6), while UCCS paced the match with a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• Raineri continued his spectacular senior season, recording his eighth goal and sixth assist of the season to boost his season point total to 22. The Ankeny, Iowa, native also led the team with four shots and three shots on goal.
• Another big contributor on the offensive end this season, Putu scored his fifth goal of the season while firing two shots and one shot on goal in 75 minutes of action.
• Khatamov made the most of his 23 minutes on the pitch, scoring his second goal of the season with his 79^th minute score.
• Seminario played 56 minutes off the bench for UCCS, recording his third assist of the season with one shot.
• The backline trio of Carlos Vargas, Rory Scott, and Cole Van Holland each played the full 90 minutes while holding the Rangers to just the one first half goal.
• Domyan also logged a full 90-minute performance in frame for the Mountain Lions as he notched a season-high nine saves while facing a total of 19 shots.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• With the win, the men's soccer program extends their unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2) dating back to Sept. 3, establishing a new program record.
• After adding three points to his career tally, Raineri now ranks tied for ninth all-time in the category with 51 in his career. The senior forward also moves into a tie for 10th all-time in career goals (19), a tie for fifth all-time in career assists (13), and seventh all-time in career shots (130).
• Entering the week, the UCCS offense ranked among the top-10in the nation for multiple categories, including shots per game (17.60 – sixth), total goals (25 – seventh) and total points (68 – 10^th).
• For the third consecutive week, the UCCS men's soccer team received votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Ranking Poll. The Mountain Lions did improve in the USC South Central Regional Rankings, moving up to No. 5 in the region in the week four poll after being placed at No. 7 the previous week.

UP NEXT:

• The Mountain Lions will be back at Mountain Lion Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 2 as they take on South Dakota School of Mines for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

 
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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.  Read Full Article