Men’s Soccer display dominance in 9-1 victory against CCU

Coming into the game with a record of 7-3-1, The Mines Men’s Soccer team was a heavy favorite over the win-less Colorado Christian University Cougars. After an early goal, the #23 Orediggers took off, cruising to a 9-1 win.

For the first few minutes, both sides were fairly even. The Orediggers started the game sluggishly, showing weaknesses defensively. There were sloppy turnovers by CSM on both sides of the ball and the entire team looked tired.

In the 9th minute, the Orediggers finally got on the board. A beautiful pass by Tesho Akindele found Zach Page-Belknap inside the 18-yard box, where he was able to place the ball just inside the near post.

Eleven minutes and three Akindele goals later, the Orediggers found themselves ahead 4-0. Alex Nass added to the lead with a header. Meanwhile, it was not until the first 20 minutes had elapsed that CCU finally mustered their first shot.

The tone of the game was portrayed by the CCU bench, which began the game loud and pumped. After the first two goals the bench quickly quieted. Three goals later, the bench was loud again, but this time in disgust and anger resulting in several reckless fouls.

As the Orediggers sat with a comfortable lead, CCU shocked the crowd with a goal in the 32nd minute with a quick rebound off of a free kick. The Orediggers responded with 2 more goals, ending the half with a 7-1 lead.

At the start of the second half, the Orediggers made several tactical substitutions which allowed the CSM bench to play a part in the game.

The bench picked up where the starters left off, displaying dominance with two more goals that lead to the final result of 9-1.

The Orediggers were able to learn from early mistakes and put nine into the net for the victory. Following the win, the Orediggers move to 9-5-1 overall and 7-4-1 in the RMAC. With one game remaining, Mines is currently tied for third place in the conference. The top four teams will advance to play in the RMAC postseason tournament.