Orediggers clinch the four-peat as RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament Champs
RMAC Media, Matt Kennedy
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GRAND JUNCTION, CO - In an absolute classic for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Tournament Championship game, Colorado School of Mines was able to capture their fourth-straight tournament title after downing Colorado Mesa 4-3 in overtime at Maverick Field on Sunday night.
The Orediggers utilized their subs to overcome a CMU hat trick and a back and forth match on the pitch that needed extra time for a winner to be decided.
Since 2010, CSM has now won eight RMAC Tournament championships while head coach Greg Mulholland remains undefeated in the RMAC tourney since taking the helm back in 2017. This win marks eight total conference titles between the regular season and the tournament.
Tournament MVP, CSM’s Michael Sprauer came off the bench and scored two goals, including the game winner 53 seconds into the first overtime period. Sprauer came into the game with only two goals on the season before bringing his total to four after Sunday.
The Oredigger bench accounted for seven points (three goals and one assist) and six of the total shots on goal CSM dished out.
The Mavericks gained the early lead in the first half thanks to a strike from Alec Fronapfel in the 14th minute to get the night going. Fronapfel came into the game with five goals and 11 points which led the team. 16 minutes later, Michael Sprauer found the high left corner for his first goal and tied the game up 1-1.
At the end of the first half, the stat sheet was as close to even as it can get. 10 shots each for both teams with six being on target for CSM and five for CMU. The Maverick defense dished out four saves while Doherty for CSM had three.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Azad Illiozer fired for the Orediggers and zipped his fifth goal of the season into a CSM lead. That gave Illiozer five points over the tournament after he had three points with a goal and an assist in the semis against Fort Lewis.
Three minutes passed on the game clock before, almost out of nowhere, Alec Fronapfel fed a pass from Ramses Atahualpa past Brian Doherty from the left side of the box to tie the game up 2-2. The much needed goal from Fronapfel allowed the Mavericks to work the momentum pendulum for another 24 minutes before the hat trick would come to fruition thanks to a loose ball after a missed shot that led to an assist from Daisuke Takanaka.
It was the first hat trick for an RMAC player this season as Fronapfel had scored no more than two games in a game as a Maverick. Last week against Regis, he had two in a 5-0 victory.
To counter the CMU hat trick, CSM’s Lucas King responded five minutes later in the low right corner of the net to tie the game up 3-3. King’s goal with 12 minutes to go in regulation was the saving grace as the eventual golden goal came from Sprauer to send the Orediggers to four-straight trophy presentations.
The four goals by CMU is twice as many they allowed in all the games combined leading up Sunday. On the stat sheet, the Mavericks had 14 total shots compared to the Orediggers’ 13. The Mavs also had nine corner kicks that ended up not working out for them in some crucial parts of the match. Both teams had five saves.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Michael Sprauer(MVP), Colorado School of Mines
Baptiste Debuire, Colorado School of Mines
Brian Doherty, Colorado School of Mines
Azad Illozer, Colorado School of Mines
Lucas King, Colorado School of Mines
Chris Seery, Colorado School of Mines
Ethan Anderson, Colorado Mesa
Daisuke Takanaka, Colorado Mesa
Gabriel Peres, Colorado Mesa
Alec Fronapfel, Colorado Mesa
Eric Peter, Regis