By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Regulation time was not enough in either quarterfinal match of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday.
No. 3 seed Fort Lewis needed a goal in the 84th minute to force overtime. Neither the Skyhawks or No. 4 seed MSU Denver could score in the overtime periods, leaving the match tied 2-2 and sending the match to a shootout. It took until the sixth round before Fort Lewis prevailed, advacing to the semifinals. Earlier Saturday, No. 4 UCCS and No. 5 Colorado School of Mines needed a second overtime period to resolve their contest and the Mountain Lions Jack Souder ended the match 70 seconds in the second overtime with a header off a corner kick for the game-winning goal .
No. 4 seed UCCS advances to face No. 1 seed CSU Pueblo on Wednesday at Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium in Pueblo. No. 3 seed Fort Lewis travels to No.2 Regis for the second semifinal also on Wednesday but at Regis Turf Fields in Denver.
All RMAC Championship events, including all seven women’s soccer championship matches, will be broadcast pay-per-view on the RMAC Network. Purchase options for the fall championships were announced earlier Wednesday and are available at RMACSports.org/buyRMACtv.
Tickets for all RMAC Championship contests are available at RMACSports.org/tickets.
Match Recaps
Match 1: #4 UCCS 2, #5 Colorado School of Mines 1 (2OT)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Jack Souder headed home a corner kick in the 102nd minute, sending No. 4 seed Univeristy of Colorado Colorado Springs to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's semifinals with a 2-1 victory against No. 5 seed Colorado School of Mines on Sunday. The Orediggers scored the game's first goal as Kian Mueller scored unassisted in the 34th minute, but the Mountain Lions leveled the score 10 minutes later when Nick Walker scored in the 44th minute. Neither team would score in the second half, or in overtime, pushing the game into the second extra period. It took only 70 seconds into that overtime period for Souder to find the back of the net off a Eduardo Macias corner kick. UCCS goalkeeper Soren Russell made six saves on seven shots on goal.
Match 2: #3 Fort Lewis 2, #6 MSU Denver 2 (FLC advances on PKs, 6-5)
DURANGO, Colo. – Goalkeeper Lucas Martin batted away a penalty shot in the sixth round of the shootout as Fort Lewis defeated MSU Denver 6-5 in the shootout after the teams finished regulation and two overtimes tied 2-2. Fort Lewis's Jacob Ramos scored the game's first goal, putting in a rebound in the 11th minute. MSU Denver leveled the score on Jackson Vander Ven's goal in the 61st minute then took the lead in the 77th minute on Parker Landry's volley into the net. But Fort Lewis rallied to tie the match on Fabrizio Aguilera's 84th minute equalizer. Neither team scored in the two overtime periods, but neither team could be stopped in the first five rounds of the shootout. In the sixth round, Fort Lewis' Casey Stracher netted his shot for the lead and Martin sealed the win with his save.