RAPID CITY, S.D. -- The South Dakota School of Mines men's soccer team pulled off a day of firsts as the Hardrockers defeated the University of Mary Marauders Wednesday afternoon at Sioux Park Stadium in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Not only was it the first win of the young season for the 'Rockers --- as well as the first win for new head coach
Ryan Thompson --- it was also the first time that the program has outright defeated the Marauders, their oldest rivalry in the team's history.
The team has tied their North Dakota counterparts twice before and fell to them in eight other meetings, but Wednesday's installment was a different story.
The Hardrockers went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage off a goal scored by
Sterling McKenzie in the 33
rd minute.
Mary knotted the game early in the second half off a Black Palmquist goal but the Hardrockers had the quick answer, pulling back out in front when
Brenden Sherwin booted the ball my Mary's goalkeeper off an assist from Nick House.
SD Mines finished with 15 total shots, eight were on goal, while the North Dakota squad tallied 13 shots, four on goal.
Tyler Ring earned the win for SD Mines, playing all 90 minutes in goal. He gave up the one goal but did come away with three saves.