DENVER, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games on Sunday afternoon against Metropolitan State University Denver as they played the Roadrunners to a scoreless draw despite playing with just 10 men for 63 minutes of the match.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UCCS 0, MSUD 0
Records: UCCS (8-0-2, 1-0-1 RMAC), MSUD (3-5-2, 0-1-1 RMAC)
Facility: MSUD Assembly Athletic Complex | Denver, Colo.
All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions move to 14-45-6 all-time against the Roadrunners.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Roadrunners opened Sunday afternoon's match with a quick offensive push as they found the space to get off a pair of shots within the opening five minutes of action with the first one going off target and the second being saved by UCCS' starting goalkeeper Soren Russell.
- After thwarting the early efforts of MSU Denver, the Mountain Lions got their attack started in the 13th minute with senior Dani Barajas logging the first shot for the Mountain Lions with a strike that was blocked by the opposing defenders. In the 25th minute, UCCS put together their most promising scoring opportunity of the first half as junior Rory Scott got into position in the box to put a shot on frame off his head that was saved by MSU Denver goalkeeper Nick McNeil. Seconds later after MSU Denver put the ball back into play, the Mountain Lions regained possession of the ball and saw junior Miles Seminario test McNeil again with a strong shot off his left foot, but the Roadrunner's netminder managed to stretch out his leg to keep the ball from going into the net.
- Just minutes later, MSU Denver gained possession of the ball on the UCCS side of the field with midfielder Cooper Landry streaking towards the frame. As he neared the 18-yard box and prepared to take a shot on frame, Russell made his way out of the box to stop the attempt and was issued a red card by the official for a hand ball, giving the Roadrunners a free kick from just outside the penalty area and ending the Russell's afternoon in the 27th minute.
- On the ensuing free kick, MSUD forward Harrison Tibbetts played a low line drive around the UCCS wall that was saved by the Mountain Lions' substitute goalkeeper, Danny Fischer, to keep the game even at zero. The match would remain scoreless for the remainder of the opening half despite the Mountain Lions playing down a man as both teams recorded just one shot on frame in the final 18 minutes of the period.
- Coming out the halftime break, the Roadrunners began to take advantage of the Mountain Lions being undermanned as they earned three corner kicks and unleashed four shots, two on target, within the first 15 minutes of the period.
- The lone scoring chance of the second half for the Mountain Lions came in the 69th minute when they drew a free kick just in front of the midfield circle. Senior Drew Sanchez played a nice ball into the box, where redshirt senior Jack Souder was able to get his head on the ball and touch it off the right woodwork.
- After the narrow miss by Souder, the Mountain Lions were unable to muster much offensive pressure for the remainder of the half, but the defensive unit kept the Roadrunners off the scoresheet to finish the game in a 0-0 draw.
STATS FROM THE GAME
- UCCS was outshot in the match 20-9 with the Roadrunners also recording six shots on goal to just three for the Mountain Lions. MSU Denver also held a distinct advantage in corner kicks (8-1).
- Seminario provided much of the offensive firepower for UCCS on Sunday, logging a team-leading four shots and two shots on goal across 61 minutes of action.
- Graduate student Adin Schwenke and freshman Luke Noameshie played the full 90 minutes on the defensive end, helping the Mountain Lions record their second consecutive clean sheet and third of the season.
- Russell started the match in frame for UCCS and recorded one save across 27 minutes before leaving the game due to a red card. Fischer made his season debut in relief of Russell and logged 63 scoreless minutes with four saves.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Despite snapping their eight-game winning streak, the Mountain Lions still hold a 10-game unbeaten streak to begin the season and have now accrued four points in the conference standings across their first two RMAC games.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions return home on Thursday, Oct. 10, to continue their conference schedule against Colorado Christian University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Mountain Lion Stadium.
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.
