RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines soccer team looks to pick up a couple of wins this weekend and push itself in the RMAC tournament race with just another week to go in the regular season after its schedule this week.
GAME INFORMATION
CCU
Date/Time: Oct. 20 / 1:30 p.m.
Site: Denver, Colo.
Stadium: Lakewood Memorial Field
Series Overall: South Dakota Mines leads 7-6-1.
Streak: CCU Won 4
Series at CCU: CCU leads 5-3-1.
Streak at CCU: CCU Won 3
Last Meeting: CCU won in Rapid City, 6-0 (10/9/2022).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacsports.com/sdmines
Regis
Date/Time: Oct. 22 / 3:00 p.m.
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Stadium: Dakota Fields
Series Overall: Regis leads 7-1.
Streak: Regis Won 8
Series at South Dakota Mines: Regis leads 4-1.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: Regis Won 4
Last Meeting: Regis won in Rapid City, 7-0 (9/23/22).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacsports.com/sdmines
TRENDING UP
South Dakota Mines has shown significant signs of progress under Interim Head Coach Bill Schaefer. Three wins is their most since 2019. Another win would tie the school record for single-season wins with 4.
STRONG SET PIECES
The Hardrockers have been dangerous on set pieces this season with several goals coming off free kicks or corner kicks.
COMPETITIVE IN DEFEAT
Despite the recent scorelines, the Hardrockers have been competitive in nearly all of their contest this season. Against MSU Denver on Friday, the Hardrockers gave up two second-half goals but were competitive in shots and shots on goal.
DYNAMIC DEFENDERS
South Dakota Mines has a strong backline that blends youth with experience. Aydon Ellis, Jacob Miklas, Trent Ripley, Zach Peroff, and Rider Grow make up the defensive core. Despite the stats, those 5 make up a strong back line with Peroff and also being dangerous on the offensive end, scoring a goal each,
RESETTING THE RECORD BOOKS
Hayden Jaramillo set the single-season record for assists in 2022, recording five. This year, he has taken on a bit of a different role, recording a career-high in shots, goals, and approaching shots on goal, but against Adams State he found Mateo Clagg for a goal, getting his second assist of the season and ninth of his career, tying the school record for career assists.
SCOUTING CCU
Over the past couple of seasons, CCU has begun to turn their program around under Brad Camp after historically not having a ton of success, they finished with a winning record in each of the last three seasons. Camp was hired in 2018 and his first season was in 2019.
2023, however, has not started with the same level of success, sitting at 3-5-6 overall and 1-3-3 in RMAC play, and having lost two straight.
Devin Najarro and Gabe Roloff lead the Cougars as the two players to score more than 1 goal thus far. Navarro has done it with efficiency, scoring 3 goals on just 10 shots and five shots on goal. He has also added an assist this season.
Michel Pinoncely has taken over from 2022 RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Max Collingwood in net and has done so at a high level, working to a .93 goals against average and a 75.5% save percentage. The GAA is second in the RMAC while the save percentage is fourth.
The defense has certainly not been the weakness for CCU as that .93 opponent average per game is second-best in the RMAC.
Offensively, it has been a bit of a different story as they average .786 goals per game, tied for second lowest in the RMAC.
SCOUTING REGIS
Regis is also struggling a bit on the year, sitting with a record of 4-9-2 and 2-4-1 in RMAC play.
They have struggled to a 2-6-1 record on the road as they come to Dakota Fields.
Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit returns as their leading threat on offense coming off being named the 2022 RMAC Player of the Year. He is a bit off last year's pace but is still a very dangerous player with four goals and 2 assists along with 43 shots with 21 of them landing on goal. He is joined by Michael Jimenez who has also scored four goals for the Rangers.
Regis is in the middle of the pack on the offensive end but does struggle a bit on the defensive side of the ball, averaging giving up 1.8 goals per game, the third-highest in the RMAC.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend, the Hardrockers look to finish the regular season strong with a pair of home games next week to close out the schedule as they take on UCCS and CSU Pueblo on Friday, Oct. 27, and Sunday, Oct. 29.
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 13 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
