THIS WEEKEND'S MATCH UP

• The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's soccer team is set for their 10^th straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament berth, once again opening play on home turf for a matchup against either the 7^th
  seeded Westminster University or the 8^th seeded Colorado Christian University. UCCS finished the regular season with a 13-3-2 overall record while going 9-2-1 in conference and will enter the postseason field as the No. 2 seed.
• The Westminster University Griffins end the regular season with a 6-5-4 overall record while going 4-4-4 in conference action. The Griffins occupy the 7^th seed in the tournament field and will play the 8^th seeded Colorado Christian University tonight at 6 p.m., who finished with a 5-8-5 overall record and a 4-6-2 RMAC record. The winner of Friday's first round match will make their way to Olympic City this Sunday to take on the Mountain Lions at 12 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.

GAME COVERAGE

• Information for the RMAC Quarterfinal Round match against WU can be found at the following links:
  • Live Stats
  • Live Stream ($)
  • Game Program
  • RMAC Tournament Bracket
  • Tickets

TICKETS

• All fans will be charged admission and are encouraged to pre-purchase tickets online.
• Ticket Prices:
  • General Admission - $16.00
  • Kids (6-17), Over 65 & Military - $11.00
  • Children 5 and Under – Free
  • Students – Free

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE NETWORK

• Fans unable to attend in-person will be able to watch the match on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. There is a direct link to the broadcast here, and can also be accessed by clicking the watch button on the women's soccer schedule page. The broadcast will be available by pay per view. Fans that purchased a season pass to the RMAC network will also have access to all postseason matches for all sports.

2026 REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW

• The Mountain Lions began the 2026 campaign with an impressive 6-2 home win over Point Loma Nazarene University who was receiving votes at the time. Three days later, UCCS would take down No. 18 Western Washington University 1-0 in what would be the team's first of nine shutout victories of the season, as freshman goalkeeper Lucy Kapranos stood out with six saves in the match. The Mountain Lions would then go on to earn their third win of the season against St. Edward's University before taking their first loss to No. 7 Dallas Baptist University in a close 2-3 battle.
• In the final week of non-conference play, UCCS took a trip to California and drew California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt 0-0 before getting back into the win column with a 2-0 win against California State University, Chico. With a 4-1-1 record in non-conference play, The Mountain Lions went into their first RMAC matchup against Fort Lewis College looking like a true contender for the first seed.
• Despite the team's impressive start, it would drop its first RMAC match 0-2 to FLC but soon went on to rattle off four wins in a row with a 16-1 goal differential during that stretch. The next match for UCCS came against another team receiving votes in Regis University, who would end up becoming the RMAC Regular Season Champions. The Mountain Lions suffered their first loss in nearly three weeks while visiting the Rangers up north in Denver to make their conference record 4-2. Looking to get back on track with three weeks of the regular season left to play, the Mountain Lions would draw Colorado School of Mines 1-1 despite taking 12 more shots than the Orediggers.
• After being unable to net more than a goal in their previous three games, the Mountain Lions' offense took off and did not stop for the rest of the season. UCCS went on to dominate its next five opponents, scoring 22 goals in the process and allowing just one, which came against Colorado Mesa University in the penultimate match of the regular season.
• The Mountain Lions ended the season securing the 2^nd seed in the RMAC Tournament with a 9-2-1 conference record and will look to keep their offense rolling as they await Friday night's result.

UNITED SOCCER COACHES NATIONAL RANKINGS

• The Mountain Lions opened the 2026 campaign ranked No. 10 in the Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches Preseason Poll in Partnership with United Soccer Coaches and stayed in the top 10 for the first three weeks of the season before falling out after week three.

2026 IWSOC in Partnership with United Soccer Coaches Rankings

Preseason	Aug. 4	#10
Week 1	Sept. 1	#4
Week 2	Sept. 8	#8
Week 3	Sept. 15	#9
Week 4	Sept. 22	NR
Week 5	Sept. 29	NR
Week 6	Oct. 6	NR
Week 7	Oct. 13	RV
Week 8	Oct. 20	NR
Week 9	Oct. 27	NR

 
RMAC AWARDS

• The UCCS women's soccer team had four student-athletes combine for a total of five weekly conference awards throughout the 2026 campaign.

• Week 1 (Sept. 1): Lucy Kapranos- RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week
• Week 1 (Sept. 1): Abby Stassi- RMAC Offensive Player of the Week
• Week 3 (Sept. 15): Malia Groshong- RMAC Defensive Player of the Week
• Week 7 (Oct. 13): Malia Groshong- RMAC Defensive Player of the Week
• Week 8 (Oct. 20): Brooke Pavlich- RMAC Offensive Player of the Week

RMAC BRACKET

• The RMAC Tournament Field consists of eight total teams with the number one seed receiving a bye to the semi-final round. Seeds two through six begin play in the quarterfinal section of the bracket, with teams seeded seventh and eighth facing off against one another in an opening play-in round two days prior to the quarterfinal matches with the winner advancing to play the second seed.
• The lone team ranked ahead of UCCS in the bracket is (1) #16 Regis University, who went 11-0-1 in RMAC play. The Rangers will host both the Semifinal and Championship rounds of the tournament.
• Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa University land at the 3^rd and 4^th seeds, respectively. Mines will take on the 5^th seeded Fort Lewis College on Sunday, as CMU matches up against Black Hills State University, who secured the 6^th seed.

RMAC LEADERS

• The Mountain Lions scored the second most goals as a team in the regular season with 53, the fourth most in program history. Colorado School of Mines led the conference with just two more goals than UCCS, as they were spearheaded by the nation's leading goal scorer in Division II, Bella Campos. Brooke Pavlich led the Mountain Lions with 13 goals in the regular season, as she finished fourth in the conference behind Fernanda Rodriguez of Regis (17) and Ivy Agee of Black Hills State (14). 12 Mountain Lions found the back of the net this season, as Abby Stassi (10), Taylynn Levi (7), Luka Johnson (5), Elise Broberg (3), Charlize Ellsworth (3), Ally Henry (3), Sophia Broberg (2), Casey Tadlock (2), Malia Groshong (2), Viktoria Valdimarsdottir (1), and Madison Groshong (1), all contributed to the 53 total.
• UCCS ended the regular season leading the conference in both assists (48) and assists per game (2.667) as Elise Broberg and Stassi finished tied for second in the RMAC with seven assists apiece. Levi and Ellsworth were close behind with six and five, respectively. Pavlich (4), Henry (3), Sophia Broberg (3), Tadlock (3), Johnson (2), and Valdimarsdottir (2) also assisted multiple goals throughout the season as UCCS had 13 different players tally at least one.
• The Mountain Lions' goalkeepers allowed 13 goals this season and just .72 per match to land at fourth in the RMAC in both categories. With freshman Lucy Kapranos starting 13 of 18 matches and newcomer Lilliana Brinkmeier starting the other five, UCCS' save percentage of .797 was fifth in the conference as the pair stopped 54 shots combined. Kapranos and Brinkmeier also finished with 10 shutouts on the season for the black and gold, as Kapranos led with six.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• UCCS and Westminster have met 17 times historically. The Mountain Lions have gone unbeaten in the last four matchups dating back to the 2024 season, with their most recent victory coming in the final match of the 2026 regular season where they took a 3-0 victory.
• The Mountain Lions have historically matched up favorably against Colorado Christian, boasting a 20-3-2 all-time record against the Cougars. The most recent UCCS win came on September 9 of this season by a score of 3-1.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS

• Westminster was 6^th in the RMAC with 17 goals allowed on the season while also finishing 6^th in total goals scored with 25.
• Freshman forward Adrianna Pulver led Westminster in goals this season with four, as 14 different players scored for the Griffins this season. WU also had three players lead the team in assists, as Natalie Cardin, Skye Kennedy, and Kayla Sato notched two apiece.
• Sophomore keeper Marin MacKenzie started 15 of 17 matches for WU, as she allowed 16 goals and notched 34 saves on 122 shots faced this season. MacKenzie turned in seven clean sheets on the season to finish sixth in the RMAC.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

• CCU enters the postseason tied for second to last in the RMAC in goals scored with 15 while allowing 18. Junior forward Alexis Byrd led the Cougars in goals and points with seven and 15, respectively.
• Overall, Colorado Christian had seven players tally a goal and nine notch an assist with just one finishing with over five points on the season.
• Freshman goalkeeper Kenzie Kunitz started 16 of 18 matches for the Cougars and allowed 15 goals while making 62 saves on 169 shots faced.

UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH J. B. BELZER

• Head coach J.B. Belzer is in his seventh season as the UCCS head coach, holding a 93-28-17 record in his time in the Springs. Belzer is in his 31^st season in the RMAC after spending 24 years at Regis University in Denver. He went on to claim his 400^th career victory earlier this season as his career record now stands at 409-174-54.
• During his time at UCCS Belzer has guided the Mountain Lions to a regular season title in three out of his six seasons, with one RMAC tournament championship in 2021.

WEATHER

• The forecast for Sunday afternoon in Colorado Springs is mostly cloudy with a daytime high of 57 degrees and a nighttime low of 43 degrees. Wind gusts of 16 miles per hour are to be expected as well, with a 25 percent chance of rain.

UP NEXT

• The winner of the RMAC Quarterfinal match will advance to the RMAC Semifinal round which will take place on Wednesday, November 4^th in Denver, Colo.

 
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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.