RAPID CITY, S.D. --- South Dakota Mines' soccer team is headed to the road to open up RMAC, taking on Westminster on Friday and Colorado Mesa on Sunday.
The Hardrockers hope to continue their momentum after some strong recent play and winning two of their last three.
GAME INFORMATION
Westminster
Date/Time: Sept. 29 / 4:30 p.m.
Site: Salt Lake City, Utah
Stadium: Dumke Field
Series Overall: Westminster leads 8-1.
Streak: Westminster Won 8
Series at Westminster: Westminster leads 3-1.
Streak at Westminster: Westminster Won 3
Last Meeting: Westminster won in Rapid City, 2-0 (10/16/2022).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacsports.com/sdmines
Colorado Mesa
Date/Time: Oct. 1 / 2:30 p.m.
Site: Grand Junction, Colo.
Stadium: Community Hospital Unity Field
Series Overall: Colorado Mesa leads 11-1-0
Streak: Colorado Mesa Won 7
Series at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa leads 7-0.
Streak at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa Won 7
Last Meeting: Colorado Mesa won in Rapid City, 6-0 (10/14/2022).
Watch Live: RMAC Network |
www.rmacsports.com/sdmines
TRENDING UP
The Hardrockers have looked different on the pitch this season, fighting through games, and having a strong back line, but it hadn't all come together until recently. After starting the season 0-5, the Hardrockers finally got everything to start to come together, defeating Eastern New Mexico on the road, and then getting another road win at Adams State on a late goal, now having won 2 of their last 3.
FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
One of the main issues for South Dakota Mines early in the season was their inability to find the back of the net, however, that was not the case in the win over Adams State, grabbing two goals.
STRONG SET PIECES
Historically, South Dakota Mines has not been great on set pieces, but this year they have had several chances to finish off set pieces, and on Sunday, the Hardrockers converted on not 1, but 2 set pieces with
Garrett Cole finding
Ryan Gaughan on a corner and
Hayden Jaramillo finding
Rider Grow on a free kick.
MILESTONES
The Hardrockers continue to move the bar up, as they have now won two of their last three games for the first time in school history. Winning two road games in the same season is also a first. With an assist on Sunday,
Hayden Jaramillo moved within one of tying the career school record. On Tuesday the RMAC announced its players of the week, and Sunday's game-winning goal scorer,
Rider Grow earned the Defensive Player of the Week award, making the first time a Hardrocker has earned a weekly award from the RMAC since 2017.
STRONG SECOND HALF
Against Adams State, the Hardrockers were dominant throughout much of the contest but especially in the second half, pushing play and creating numerous chances. Overall, they outshot the Grizzlies 14-7 and 10-2 in the second half. They finally got it into the net in the 70th minute when
Garrett Cole connected with
Ryan Gaughan on a corner kick. The Hardrockers weren't finished there, adding another when
Hayden Jaramillo delivered a nearly 50-yard ball on a set piece, finding the head of
Rider Grow for the game-winning goal in the 88th minute.
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster has typically been a solid program in the RMAC, qualifying for the RMAC tournament in each of the last five years, and this year looks to be similar. After some early back-and-forth results against Texas and California schools, they faced off with UCCS and Colorado School of Mines last weekend, and both were close battles with typical top-of-the-RMAC programs, and they were able to walk away from Golden, Colorado with a 1-0 victory and are 3-3-2 to begin the season.
The graduation of one of their best players and 2022 RMAC First Team All-Conference selection Luke Merrill are tough shoes to fill but they also return second team selection Jace Vance and honorable mention, now sophomore Jack Cardwell.
Cardwell and Armin Hasanovic are their leading scorers, as Hasanovic has already scored three times on the season, while Cardwell has scored twice and assisted once. Hasanovic is seventh in the RMAC in points.
Roark Looney and Noah Larkin have split time in goal thus far, to varying results, with Larkin posting two clean sheets, while Rooney is allowing 1.6 goals against average.
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks are one of the most successful programs in the conference, being a consistent RMAC contender and earning several trips to the national tournament. They are coming off a season where they went 9-7-1, their worst full season since 2012, and look to get back to the upper echelons. They are off to a good start at that goal, starting the season 5-2-1. Their early results have resulted in them being ranked #24 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Colorado Mesa had four all-conference selections in 2022, but three of them are gone to graduation with defender, Raymond Jackson returning.
Manuel Ponce Casas was dangerous as a freshman but has taken another step up in his sophomore year, scoring 3 goals and dishing four assists to begin the season. Fernando Morales has also scored four goals while Alec Fronapfel has scored three goals.
Overall, the Mavericks are one of the most potent offenses in the RMAC, scoring 14 goals for an average of 1.75 per game. Their defense has been suffocating, however, averaging .88 goals allowed per game behind Diego Chavez, reigning RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week. He has allowed an average of .88 goals per game and has two clean sheets.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the road weekend of play, the Hardrockers will be back at home on Friday, October 6th, and October 8th, taking on Fort Lewis and Adams State for an early senior day.
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.
