RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines Men's Soccer picked up a highlight win over #11 CSU Pueblo on Sunday with a final score of 2-0.
Match 1: Hardrockers vs. UCCS, 0-1 L
To open the weekend at Dakota Fields, South Dakota Mines Fell 1-0 to UCCS on Thursday evening.
Even though the Hardrockers totaled seven shots in the first half, both teams went into halftime with a 0-0 tie.
Ethan French recorded the lone shot on goal in the 33
rd minute.
Nickolas North was saved in the 49
th minute in the second half. UCCS went up 1-0 on a goal from Eduardo Macias in the 86
th minute. That held until the end as UCCS took down South Dakota Mines 1-0.
North recorded three shots and one shot on goal.
Even Henriksen and
Erik Castanon both tallied two shots.
Daniel Freitas made four saves.
Match 2: Hardrockers vs. #11 CSU Pueblo, 2-0 W
Against one of their highest ranked opponents of the season, South Dakota Mines blanked CSU Pueblo 2-0 at Dakota Fields.
On a cold windy day, the Hardrockers applied early pressure as
Parker Yocom and
Zach Peroff recorded shots in the first five minutes. Freitas made a save on his only shot faced in the half in the 40
th minute. The ThunderWolves and Hardrockers went into the locker room with a 0-0 tie.
Freitas made two early saves in the second half on CSU Pueblo. On a set piece in the ThunderWolves zone,
Lucas Cardona served a ball to
Rider Grow. Grow put it in the back of the net to make the score 1-0 in the 59
th minute. It was Grow's first goal of the season and second of his career.
In the 71
st minute, Freitas sent one into the box and
Sawyer Rueckert scored off his head. It was Rueckert's first goal of his career.
Freitas stopped the late pressure from the ThunderWolves with two saves in the last seven minutes. The Hardrockers held on to win 2-0 over the #11 ThunderWolves.
Grow and Rueckert both scored for South Dakota Mines. Freitas picked up a clean sheet with five saves. Both teams collected seven shots in the game. The ThunderWolves had 13 fouls and six yellow cards.
For South Dakota Mines, this is their first win against a ranked opponent in program history. The ThunderWolves, who made the NCAA Final Four last season, were 9-0 all-time against the Hardrockers going into this game. It is also CSU Pueblo's first loss of the season. With the win, South Dakota Mines moved to 6-3-2 overall and 1-3 in the RMAC.
What's Next
The Hardrockers have six games remaining in the 2025 regular season. They will begin a four-game road trip on Oct. 17 at (RV) MSU Denver, followed by a match at Colorado Christian on Oct. 19. They will go to Westminster and Colorado Mesa on Oct. 24 and Oct. 26.
