GOLDEN, Colo. – In a battle of the top two seeded teams in the South Central Region, the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team lost 2-1 to Colorado School of Mines in overtime Friday afternoon. The Lions overcame a late first half goal to tie the game in the final ten minutes of regulation before giving up the deciding goal in the first overtime period.
 
The loss ends the Lions' season, having advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons. It is the third consecutive year CSM has knocked the Lions out of the postseason tournament.
 
The loss brings the Lions final record to 15-6-1. The Orediggers advance to the Elite Eight with a record of 20-2-1.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
- The Orediggers outshot the Lions 12-3 in the first half, with four shots on goal. They ended up outshooting the Lions 21-7, with eight shots on goal compared to three for A&M-Commerce.
- LSC Defensive Player of the Year and overall Player of the Year Vicky Back scored the lone goal for the Lions in the 76th minute. After A&M-Commerce drew a foul just outside the penalty area, Back fired the shot around the Oredigger wall of defenders into the right side of the net. It was her seventh goal of the season.
- Caitlin Duty made six saves in the game, giving her a total of 88 saves on the season.
- The Orediggers scored their first goal in the 43rd minute. Taylor McRae scored the goal for CSM just before halftime. Peyton Sanders scored the deciding goal in the fourth minute of overtime. RMAC and Regional Player of the Year Emily Garnier assisted on both goals for the Orediggers.
- At the start of the game, temperatures were below freezing, the coldest game of the year for the Lions.
- The Orediggers had five corner kicks to the Lions' four.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
The game was played in frigid temperatures, the coldest game by far for the Lions this season. The temperature at the start of the game was 32 degrees and only the hotly contested matchup provided any heat for either squad. Many A&M-Commerce players wore long sleeves and leg warmers to stay loose.
 
The Lions were challenged early. Garnier found an opening to fire a shot on goal but it was turned aside by Duty in the opening minutes of the game. The Orediggers had another opportunity on a free kick off of a yellow card in the 12th minute but the shot was blocked away before making it to the keeper.
 
The teams fought for possession of the ball, with neither dominating early on in the match. Jessica Rogers had an opportunity for a shot at the top of the goal box in the 15th minute but the Oredigger defense was in position and blocked the shot before it could make it to the goal.
 
CSM had another chance in the 17th minute. They got the ball into the goal box but were unable to find an opening for a shot. The Lions outlasted the passes of the Orediggers and their shot was blocked by the Lion defense and picked up by Duty.
 
The Lions had another chance in the 23rd minute. A corner kick was launched into the box but the header could not make its way through the CSM defense. Two minutes later, Sophie Haywood took a shot that couldn't find frame and went out of bounds.
 
CSM began to control the ball more often in the latter parts of the first half. The Orediggers missed an opportunity in the 34th minute. A ball was dropped into the box on a fast break and found the feet of Haley Cole five feet away. However, Cole had to rush the shot to beat the defense and sailed the ball over the goal. Another shot went high for CSM two minutes later.
 
The Orediggers had another opportunity in the 42nd minute. A shot off of the left boot of Giselle Sawaged made its way past the Lion defense. Duty dove to her right and made the save to keep the game scoreless.
 
After all of their opportunities, the Orediggers finally capitalized in the 43rd minute. Garnier passed the ball to McRae 10 yards away and she rifled the ball past the defense and into the left side of the net, putting CSM on the board 1-0 going into halftime.
 
The Orediggers had 12 shots in the first half, four of which were on goal. The Lions had three shots but were unable to put a shot on goal in the first half.
 
Sawaged had another opportunity in the first 30 seconds of the second half. She shot from 15 yards out but Duty made the save off of a dangerous bounce in front of the net.
 
The Lions had their first shot on goal in the 53rd minute. Delaney Bunselmeyer took the shot but goalkeeper Sam Zumbro was there to make the save to keep A&M-Commerce off of the board. The Orediggers had a corner kick in the 55th minute but the resulting shot by Jennifer Kendall went wide left. The teams fought for possession for the next 21 minutes, with neither team getting a shot on goal.

The Lions got the opportunity they were looking for in the 76th minute. After drawing a foul just outside of the penalty area, the Lions had a free kick that found its way through. Back surveyed the defense and fired the shot through the Oredigger line and into the right side of the net. It was her seventh goal of the season.
 
The Orediggers had a shot in the 79th minute but it sailed over the net. Duty made another save in the 80th minute, corralling the ball to make sure there was no chance for a shot on the rebound.
 
The Lions had a late opportunity. In the 85th minute they had a corner kick but the ball was knocked out of the box and taken away by the Orediggers. They proceeded down the field and Anna Deleray had another shot from the left side but Duty was there again to make the save.
 
The Lions had the final possession of the half. With a long throw in, both teams fought for the ball and the Lions were unable to get a good opportunity for a shot and the game went into sudden-death overtime.
 
In the fourth minute of the first overtime period, the Orediggers got through the Lion defense and got the deciding goal. Garnier found Sanders in the box on a free kick and she headed the ball into the net. The final score was 2-1.