GOLDEN, Colo. – Back at home after a west coast swing last weekend, the Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team was back at Stermole Stadium Thursday for a matchup against Western Washington. Despite an early goal for the Orediggers (1-2-2), the Vikings (2-0-2) managed to tie things right before the end of the first half before finding the net for the go-ahead goal in the final eight minutes to take a 2-1 win.
 
Mines didn't waste much time getting on the board to begin the evening following a pair of delays pregame that delayed the start of play for about 45 minutes. Tristan Semelsberger tallied his third goal of the season on the ninth minute, weaving through the Vikings' back line before sending a volley past the reach of the keeper to make it 1-0 in favor of the home team.
 
That score held until the 42nd minute, when Western Washington's Eric Bunnell took a pass from Diego Alvarado and went top shelf to even things up heading to the intermission.
 
Coming out of the break, Mines looked to regain the lead and began the period with four shots from four different players in the first 15 minutes of action but unfortunately, none found their mark. One of the Orediggers' best chances of the second half came following a set piece in the 69th minute. Semelsburger settled the volley from the near corner and fired from near point-blank range but was turned away by keeper Patrick Restum. The ball deflected to Gabe Rodriguez on the rebound who tried to flip the carom over a prone Restum, but Viking defender was able to get a boot on the attempt to steer it clear and keep the score level.
 
The next shot of the evening ended up being the go-ahead one, as in the 84th minute, WWU's Albin Jonsson played a ball from Andrew Rotter for a one-timer past a sliding Doherty for the goal.
 
Following the resumption of play, Mines wasn't able to find a look to tie things as time ran down, coming up short in a hard-fought battle by a score of 2-1.
 
NOTABLES
-Two players made their debuts for the Orediggers in the game, as Marc Zimmerman and Nathan Dreher each checked in over the course of the evening.
-Semelsberger led all players with four shots in the game, while Zimmerman and Azad Iliozer each managed a pair.
-Eight different Orediggers tallied a shot Thursday night.
-Lucas King and Grant Bell each played all 90 minutes for the third time this season.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers will wrap up this homestand Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Stermole Stadium with a contest against Seattle Pacific, who fell to Regis by a final of 2-1 Thursday night. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will be offered at www.minesathletics.com.

Fans can keep up with Mines men's soccer on Twitter at @MinesMSOC. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.