GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 5 nationally ranked University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team put forth a dominant all-around effort on Thursday evening in Grand Junction, Colo., as goals from Miles Seminario and Dillon Clarke lifted the Mountain Lions to a 2-0 clean sheet victory over Colorado Mesa University.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 2, CMU 0
Records: UCCS (11-1-2, 4-1-1 RMAC), CMU (4-7-2, 1-4-1 RMAC)
Facility: Community Hospital Unity Field| Grand Junction, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions improve to 8-17-6 all-time against the Mavericks and have a 2-0-2 record in the matchup since the start of the 2022 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions came out of the gates with a strong offensive press as they spent much of the opening five minutes of the match inside the Maverick's third of the field, earning a trio of corner kicks and recording a pair of promising shot attempts. In the seventh minute, the pressure paid off as redshirt senior Lars Walczyk found a lane in the center of the defense and fired a shot on goal that was deflected by CMU goalkeeper Diego Chavez. Off the deflection, the ball ricocheted directly back to the feet of junior Miles Seminario, who took full advantage of the situation and sent the ball into the back of the net to give UCCS an early 1-0 advantage.
• Despite UCCS continuing to dominate possession of the ball after their initial goal, the Mavericks found themselves with an excellent opportunity to even that game in the 34^th minute with a foul by freshman Dillon Clarke giving them a free kick from just outside the center of the 18-yard box. CMU midfielder Kensho Negi stepped up to the ball on the free kick and unleashed a frozen rope shot that very narrowly went wide right of the frame, keeping the Mountain Lions ahead by a goal.
• Following a quiet finish to the opening 45 minutes, the Mountain Lions had to contend with a rejuvenated Colorado Mesa squad to open the second period as the Mavericks managed to get a pair of solid shots on goal in the first four minutes of the half that were both saved by UCCS goalkeeper Soren Russell.
• After weathering the determined play of the Mavericks to start the second period, the Mountain Lions regained possession of the ball and used some excellent ball movement to score their second goal of the game in the 55^th minute. Junior Soulo Letsoalo started the momentum by playing the ball into the box for junior Nick Walker, who subsequently tapped the ball away to Seminario to take a shot on the frame. Seminario's shot would be saved by Chavez in the right corner of the net, but the ball deflected off his body and Clarke did a stellar job of following Seminario's shot to collect the deflection and direct the ball into the nylon to push the UCCS lead to 2-0.
• With the comfortable two-goal advantage in hand, UCCS settled in on the defensive end to limit the Mavericks to just four harmless shots across the final 35 minutes of the match as they secured their second consecutive clean sheet victory.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• The Mountain Lions posted advantages in total shots (15-9) and shots on goal (7-2) while matching the Mavericks with four corner kicks.
• Seminario scored his sixth goal of the season and recorded his third assist of the year. He now ranks tied for first on the team in assists and second on the squad in goals and points (15).
• Clarke nabbed his second goal of the season with his strike in the 55^th minute.
• Walczyk recorded his third assist of the season to bring him into a tie for the team-lead with Seminario, while Walker notched his first assist of the season. 
• Defensively, Adin Schwenke and Rory Scott both logged complete 90-minute performances to help UCCS tally their sixth clean sheet of the season.
• Russell played the entire game in frame for the Mountain Lions as he collected two saves on his way to earning his fourth individual shutout of the campaign.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With Clarke scoring his second goal of the season, UCCS now has five different student-athletes with multiple goals this year.
• In their shutout performance tonight, UCCS improved their team GAA for the season to 0.71. The Mountain Lions entered the day ranked first in the RMAC and tied for 13^th in NCAA Division II with a 0.77 GAA

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions wrap up their three-game road trip this weekend as they head to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Westminster University on Sunday, Oct. 27.

 
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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. 
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