RAPID CITY, S.D. – Graduate Student
Peter Chang found the net in the 46
th minute for the lone score of Friday evening's match in Rapid City, S.D., as the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team earned a 1-0 conference victory over South Dakota School of Mines.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 1, SDM 0
Records: UCCS (8-4-5, 4-2-3 RMAC), SDM (3-14-0, 1-8-0 RMAC)
Facility: Dakota Fields | Rapid City, S.D.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 11-0 all-time against South Dakota Mines and have allowed the Hardrockers to score just five total goals in the series with eight clean sheets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Friday evening's matchup between UCCS and South Dakota Mines began as a defensive battle as neither team managed to find the net in the opening 45 minutes of play while combining for just four shots on goal, three of which coming off the legs of the Mountain Lions.
- UCCS' best opportunity to score in the first half came in the fifth minute when Ben Ashfield drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box which set up the Mountain Lions with a free kick chance. Ashfield would take the free kick and put it on frame, but the ball was kept out of the net by Hardrockers' goalkeeper Daniel Freitas.
- After a 15-minute break for halftime, the Mountain Lions went into the second half with added aggression, and it quickly paid off as Peter Chang found the back of the net for a goal less than one minute into the period. Marvin Putu began the threat by placing a pass into the left side of the penalty box for Kolby Raineri, who dribbled briefly with the ball before sending it off the head of Chang and into the nylon for the score that gave UCCS a 1-0 advantage in the 46th minute.
- With the early second half goal in the books, UCCS was able to sit back and defend their lead for the remainder of the half as they limited the Hardrockers to just three shots in the period to earn the 1-0, clean sheet victory.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- Chang's game winning goal registered as his fifth of the season, while Raineri's assist was his sixth of the season.
- As a team, the Mountain Lions outpaced the Hardrockers in shots (16-10), shots on goal (5-4), and corner kicks (6-3).
- Ashfield led the Mountain Lions with four total shots and two shots on goal, while Alex Andersson recorded three shots and Dani Barajas, Martin Launay, and Chang each tallied a pair of shots.
- Soren Russell made the start between the sticks for UCCS and went on to keep the Hardrockers off the scoreboard for his fourth clean sheet of the season. Across a full 90 minutes of action, Russell was a perfect 4-for-4 on his save opportunities.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With his fourth shutout of the season, Russell moves into a tie for the most in a single season by a sophomore goalkeeper in program history.
- After earning three points in the RMAC standings by virtue of tonight's win, UCCS now has 15 points for the conference season and sits in a tie for fifth place with Westminster University with just one game remaining on the regular season schedule. The top six teams in the conference standings will qualify for the RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament, which will begin on Thursday, Nov. 2, with the quarterfinal rounds.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will close their regular season slate on Sunday, Oct. 29, as they travel to Denver, Colo., for a matchup against Regis University at 12 p.m.
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 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
