OPENING KICKOFF: The Snow College men's soccer team will wrap up their regular season with a pair of matches starting with Truckee Meadows Community Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Reno, Nevada.
Following Thursday's match, the Badgers will then travel to the College of Southern Idaho Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The No. 17 Badgers are coming off a weekend sweep against No. 11 North Idaho College (2-1) and Pacific Northwest Christian College (1-0). The two wins helped the Badgers jump to 17th in the NJCAA Top 20 Poll.
The Badgers are currently in second place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference standings behind No. 2 Salt Lake Community College. In order to lock down the second seed in the Region 18 tournament, the Badgers need two victories or a one win and one draw. SLCC clinched first place in the SWAC and will host the conference tournament Thursday Oct. 31 and Saturday Nov. 2.
KNOW YOUR FOE: The Badgers defeated the Lizards 3-2 during the first matchup this season, pushing the overall record to 9-2-0 all time. The Badgers are 4-1-0 when playing at TMCC.
The Lizards are 3-7-2 entering the final regular season weekend after falling to SLCC 9-0 and Colorado Northwestern Community College 3-0 this past weekend. The Lizards are 2-2-1 when playing at home this season.
The Badgers took 28 shots with 12 on goal and converted on three of those shots in their first matchup. Meanwhile, the Lizards were limited to four shots on goal with two getting saved by Mathias Christensen.
Snow College is 1-0 against the Golden Eagles, winning the first matchup 6-2 in Ephraim, Utah. This was the only matchup due to CSI adding soccer to its athletic program this season. The Badgers are 5-1 in road games this season.
The Golden Eagles have a 5-7-0 record and currently sit in fifth place in the SWAC standings. CSI needs both wins this weekend to have a chance to extend its season into the conference tournament.
The Badgers outshot the Golden Eagles 21-11 during their first matchup this season. Snow College scored on six of nine shots on goal while allowing two goals on the two shots on goal for CSI.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College men's soccer team defeated No. 11 North Idaho College 2-1 and Pacific Northwest Christian College 1-0 over the weekend.
The Badgers were coming off a split weekend against No. 2 Salt Lake Community College and Colorado Northwestern Community College. They dropped to the Bruins 3-1 and defeated the Spartans 5-2.
With the victory against NIC, Snow College jumped into second place within the Scenic West Athletic Conference Standings with an 11-3 overall record and a 9-3 mark within conference play. The Badgers are only behind SLCC, who paces the conference.
Jack Cook started the scoring for the Badgers against NIC in the 23rd minute to gain a 1-0 lead. Nefthaly Loya extended the lead with a goal of his own in the 41st minute. Loya was assisted by Cook.
The Cardinals answered back quickly with a goal in the 44th minute. The Badgers entered halftime with the 2-1 lead. The second half was scoreless for both teams, with the Badgers taking the 2-1 victory to force the regular season split with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals did receive a red card in the 80th minute and were forced to play a man down for the remaining 10 minutes. However, the Badgers were unable to convert on their two shots following the red card.
Both teams took eight shots with the Badgers having six shots on goal and limiting the Cardinals to only two on goal. Mathias Christensen recorded one save in the second half after facing two shots in the game. Christensen now has 37 saves on the season.
Following the matchup against the Cardinals, the Badgers then traveled to PNWCC. Snow College defeated the Spartans 1-0 after defeating them 13-0 in the first matchup this season.
The lone Badger goal came from Max Mayer assisted by Ansouname Camara in the 21st minute. The Badgers out shot the Spartans 17-8 with six shots on goal to the Spartan's two.
Christensen faced zero shots in the first half. Carson Wilde came in for Christensen at halftime and tallied two saves against the Gladiators, pushing his season total to five saves.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mathias Christensen has been named the Scenic West Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. The award comes after helping the Badgers to two victories over North Idaho College and Pacific Northwest Christian College.
Christensen, a freshman from Assentoft, Denmark, played the full 90 minutes against the Cardinals and saved one of the two shots he faced, lifting the Badgers into second place in the Region 18 standings.
He also played the first half against the Gladiators and faced zero shots during his 45 minutes of play.
This is the third time this season Christensen has claimed the goalkeeper of the week award. Christensen has started in 12 of the 13 matches for the Badgers this season. He has racked up 37 saves this season and has allowed 15 goals.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will continue play in the first round of the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament starting Oct. 31. The Badgers are playing to determine what seeding they will earn to be the second or third seed. This will determine if the Badgers will be the designated home or away team. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
