No. 22 Orediggers Suffer 2-1 Upset At Colorado Mesa

GRAND JUNCTION – NSCAA No. 22 Colorado School of Mines men's soccer lost its first road match of the season Wednesday, falling 2-1 on a late goal to Colorado Mesa at Walker Field in Grand Junction.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime following an unassisted score by Spencer Jackson at 23:10, Mines (8-3-1, 6-3 RMAC) evened the contest 2:58 into the second half with sophomore Joe Haines delivering a through ball to senior Tesho Akindele who converted his RMAC-leading 12th of the season.

The Orediggers kept the offensive pressure high, outshooting CMU 16-3 in the frame; however, the Mavericks were the first to end the deadlock as Stevie Palma launched the deciding goal to the upper shelf from distance with 10:54 left to play.

Mines finished 19-6 in shots and held a 9-5 advantage in shots on target. Akindele led all players with four of six attempts on goal; sophomore Jared Herselman placed two and senior Alex Gunberg, senior Baski Baker and sophomore Richard Garvey each had one.

Tied for 21st in the Division II career archives in goals (69) and 24th in points (167), Akindele currently leads all active NCAA players in both categories. The conference leader with 29 points through 12 games this season, Akindele entered the week ranked sixth nationally in total points and seventh in goals.

The win was the first in series history for the Mavericks (6-4-3, 4-2-3 RMAC).

Mines continues road play at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20 against neighboring rival Metro State at Auraria Field in downtown Denver.