A UCCS throw-in in the second extra period turned into a free-for-all in front of the CSU-Pueblo net. Shaswar was able to push in into the goal as the Mountain Lions improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.

The win, combined with the UCCS women’s team’s victory earlier Wednesday, assured UCCS of at least a split for both men’s and women’s soccer in the Steel & Silver Series. The all-sports competition awards four points for the season series winner in each of the 10 sports that the schools have in common and five points for the athletic department with the highest cumulative grade-point average.

The Mountain Lions opened Wednesday’s scoring just 3:35 into the match. Bret Drefs collected a loose ball and deposited it into the lower left-hand corner of the net. The goal was Drefs’ fourth of the season and his third in UCCS’ past three matches.

The matchup between these two schools often gets heated and it did so on Wednesday. It impacted the match as the Thunderwolves’ Jamie Prakhine was red-carded after a dangerous tackle in the 75th minute.

The physical nature showed up again as UCCS was whistled for a foul inside the box with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Robert Kinsey converted the penalty kick to knot the match at one.

The loss drops CSU-Pueblo to 1-5-1 this season and 1-2 in conference play.

Brandon Costa made one save to improve his record to 4-2 in goal for UCCS.

UCCS had the Thunderwolves on their heels early as they had 14 first half shots, finishing the night outshooting CSU-Pueblo 23-13.

The Mountain Lions nearly scored in the 24th minute as Agnes Arnadottir and Jessica Escobedo each got off a shot on goal on a scramble in front of the net.

Escobedo tallied another three shots on net to account for the six the Mountain Lions had on the evening.

A throw-in from the right side of the field into the box wasn’t cleared and found its way to Link, located on the left side of the box near the 18. Link took a touch in front of her defender and drilled into the upper left corner of the net.

Being a defender, Link doesn’t get that many opportunities to score. In fact, she had a mere six shots all of last season-but she made them count. Five were on goal and two went in.

“It’s so important to help out on the offensive side because the offense constantly helps out on the defensive side by pressuring their defense high,” said Link. “It’s a team effort all across the field so I’m happy to repay the favor.”

The Mountain Lions played stingy defense and used three key saves by sophomore Kelly Schroeder the rest of the way to earn the victory.

Mines broke through in the 26th minute when Dani Hering played a ball far post that looked like it was on its way out of bounds when Erin Onat back heeled the ball in to give CSM the lead.

Onat struck again just a minute later this time with perfectly struck ball from just outside the box on the left side placed inside the far post in the top corner for her fourth goal of the season. Megan Woodworth would notch the assist on the goal.

Ten minutes would pass before another goal but two more came and they came quickly. Woodworth tallied her third goal of the year on a cross in from Aubrey Bagley in the 37th minute.

Just one minute and 24 seconds later Becca Morales collected a ball from Woodworth and slotted it under a diving UCCS goalkeeper. The goal was Morales first of the season, Woodworth’s second assist of the game and sixth on the season.

CSM goalkeepers Penny Rogers and Amy Hegarty helped keep a clean sheet as the Oredigger back four recorded their fourth shutout of the season. Rogers recorded four saves in 75:25 minutes in goal.

Next Up: The 20th-ranked Orediggers (6-0, 2-0 RMAC) will host Colorado Christian on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and 11th-ranked Metro State on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Orediggers took leads at 1-0 and 2-1, but the Mountain Lions tied the match shortly afterward each time. Mines took a 3-2 lead with just 5:51 remaining and, while UCCS did manage a shot and two corner kicks afterward, the advantage held up.

Bret Drefs scored one goal and assisted on the other for UCCS (3-3, 1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). Mathew Cox added a goal and Kyle Lee had an assist.

Zach Page-Belknap had a goal and two assists for Mines (4-1, 2-0 RMAC). Page-Belknap penetrated and dropped a backward pass to the top of the box that Baski Baker converted into the Orediggers’ first goal. The goal, which came at the 13:48 mark, was Baker’s third this season.

The Mountain Lions answered in the 31st minute. Quick passes by Drefs and Lee left Cox open at the top of the box. His shot into the top right corner was his second score of the season.

Page-Belknap scored in the 62nd minute with assists credited to Alex Gunberg and Alex Nass. Drefs answered by converting a penalty kick just 1:37 later. The final goal was a turnaround score by Seun Ogunmodede at the 84:09 mark.

Brandon Costa made six saves for UCCS. Manville Strand had three saves for the Orediggers.

For the men, a pair of penalty kicks was too much to overcome as Colorado Colorado Springs was beaten 2-0 by the No. 3-ranked Midwestern State Mustangs Sunday at Mountain Lion Stadium.

Dean Lovegrove converted his PK at the 5:29 mark. Chris Dwyer did the same at 79:08. Otherwise, the Mountain Lions acquitted themselves nicely against one of the best teams in NCAA Division II.

UCCS outshot Midwestern State 16-8 and had a 14-1 advantage in corner kicks.

What they couldn’t do was get one past Mustang goalkeeper Michael Wood (3-0-0), who has allowed just one goal in three matches this season.

The loss evened the Mountain Lions’ record at 2-2 as they head into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. UCCS will host Metro State on Friday.

Mountain Lions 2, Fort Hays State 1 (OT): Julia Saenz scored less than two minutes into overtime as the Colorado Springs women defeated the Fort Hays State Tigers Sunday afternoon at Mountain Lion Stadium.

With just 1:58 expired in overtime, Hannah Levett rolled a crossing pass in front of the net. Saenz, making a run up the middle, punched it just under the cross bar.

The Mountain Lions (3-0-0) opened the scoring in the 39th minute. Alexis Michaelkovich sent a corner kick that Levett headed just inside the near post. Fort Hays State (1-3-0) evened the score in the 55th minute. Cindy Benitez took an extreme-angle shot from the right side that UCCS goalkeeper Kelly Schroeder went horizontal to stop. A sliding Rachel Wiesen was able to get a toe on the ball just ahead of the UCCS defenders.

UCCS goalkeeper Brandon Costa made four saves for his second win in as many starts this season.

Mash Shaswar, Mathew Cox, Brett Drefs and Matt Friesen scored for the Mountain Lions.

“We came out with a ton of energy from the get-go,” coach Henry Ellis said. “The guys were flowing and it allowed us to keep pace of the game from the start and establish ourselves.”

With the loss, Sioux Falls fell to 0-3-0 on the season.

The Tigers had to regain their composure after the Division II Mountain Lions scored a pair of late goals to erase a 3-1 deficit. But unlike a year ago when Colorado College dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime, the Tigers scored the deciding goal and snapped a two-game skid against their crosstown rivals.

“It shows a lot of character by our guys,” head coach Horst Richardson said. “I’m so exceedingly proud of them to not fold because we have been snake-bit in overtime the last two years. I can’t even recall the last overtime game that we won.”

Parham struck for first the first game-winning goal of his career from six yards out, putting the shot over the outstretched arms of UCCS junior goalkeeper Jarod Thomas and just under the crossbar.

Matt Fechter picked up his third assist of the game, the first game-winning assist of his career, after misfiring on a bicycle kick from 15 yards out on the left side. As the Mountain Lions’ defenders turned toward the goal, Parham was left unattended in the middle of the box.

Junior goalkeeper Brian Graf stopped six shots in his collegiate debut. He nearly stopped a penalty kick in the 75 minute, but UCCS’s Eric Goldberg’s shot went off his hands and inside the left post.

The Tigers made the most of their chances in the first half. Junior forward Daniel Wright netted his first career goal on CC’s first of the contest in the 13th minute after taking a feed from Parham and putting a shot from the right side into the upper left corner.

Nearly 17 minutes later, junior midfielder Keith Drury buried a header off a perfect serve by Fechter from outside the box on the right side.

Junior midfielder Scott Kocel gave the Mountains Lions a much-needed boost when knocked home the rebound of a shot by sophomore forward Matthew Cox in the 48th minute, but Colorado College got that one back 3:27 later when sophomore forward Brandon Ogilvie scored on a header off of a Fechter corner kick.

The lead looked secure until Goldberg’s penalty kick in the 75th minute, and UCCS tied the game a little more than 10 minutes later when senior forward Matt Friesen settled a pass from Scott Kocel, spun in the center of the box, and beat Graf with a shot toward the left post.

Thomas finished with two saves for the Mountain Lions, who finished with a 19-9 edge in total shots and a commanding 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Next Up: Colorado College returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Kean University at 1 p.m. The Mountain Lions travel to Kansas to take on Fort Hays State on Sunday.

Midfielder Sara Egbom’s free kick from 30 yards out in the 15th minute slipped through the hands of Mountain Lion goalkeeper Kelly Schroeder into the side netting as No. 12 Fort Lewis College (7-1-0 overall, 3-1-0 RMAC) upended Colorado-Colorado Springs (4-3-0, 1-2-0 RMAC) at Dirks Field in Durango.

“Bottom line is it was a set piece to win the game,” head coach Damian Clarke said. “In the last three games, we’ve finished three set pieces.”

The past Sunday, the Skyhawks scored a pair of goals off corner kicks in a 2-1 overtime win at Nebraska-Kearney.

“The back four once again had a very solid performance,” said Clarke, who used six players in the back. “We’re very happy with our two freshman center backs. Both Lauren Riley and Madyson Wellcome are outstanding footballers.”

Goalkeeper Christine Schmelzle made three saves in picking up her fifth shutout of the season.

The Skyhawks outshot UC-Colorado Springs 16-8, but only managed five shots on goal against the Mountain Lions. Schroeder finished the match with four saves. FLC also skipped a pair of shots off the crossbar in the second half.

Fort Lewis hosts Adams State (3-5-0 overall, 2-2-0 RMAC) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Dirks Field. Colorado-Colorado Springs faces Mesa State College at noon on Sunday in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Matt Friesen ended a 404 minute scoreless drought with a goal in the 7th minute of the game. Jaron Stewart picked up the assist for UCCS.

Reese Kegans evened the score for the Mavericks in the 31st minute with his shot off a rebound of a Sam Dixon attempt.

“We got a point and we stopped our skid,” head coach Henry Ellis said. “It’s a big confidence booster right now for us just mentally as a team.”

Goalie Adam Liszewski finished with five saves for UCCS (1-6-1, 0-3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). Chris Raines stopped eight shots for Mesa State (4-3-1, 0-3-1 RMAC).

 The Mountain Lions face Fort Lewis at noon on Sunday at Mountain Lion Stadium.