GOLDEN, Colo. — Adams State had an answer for every challenge Thursday night. An early deficit. A second-half barrage. A late penalty kick. More than 11 minutes with 10 players. The Grizzlies overcame them all.
Adams State rallied past Colorado School of Mines, 3–2, at Stermole Soccer Stadium to capture its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory of the season. Levi Levin and Andy Pablo turned the match with two goals before halftime, Kaidin Reese supplied the eventual winner and Bryan Amezcua made seven second-half saves to help bring the victory home.
Hector Herrera assisted on both Pablo's go-ahead goal and Reese's decisive finish. The win lifted Adams State to 2–10–1 overall and 1–6 in conference play.
Mines struck first when Timothe Strout scored at 5:18. The Grizzlies responded with pressure of their own. Reese tested goalkeeper Noah Hildreth just over a minute later, then added two more attempts during the opening 21 minutes. Jonathan Vazquez-Morales also took two shots as Adams State searched for a way through.
Levin found it.
At 38:21, he worked around defenders inside the penalty area and fired a shot that caromed off the far post and into the net. His first goal of the season erased the deficit and gave the Grizzlies an opening.
Less than four minutes later, Adams State seized the lead.
Herrera sent a through ball from midfield to Pablo, who gathered it near the top of the box and finished past the goalkeeper at 42:09. In a span of 3:48, the Grizzlies transformed a 1–0 deficit into a 2–1 advantage.
Adams State entered halftime with eight shots and the lead. Protecting it required a different kind of effort.
Mines pushed forward after the break and recorded 23 second-half attempts. Amezcua met the challenge. He stopped Marcus Saa in the 55th minute and Kaoru Kato in the 56th, then denied Braedan Wallace and Pol Garcia Oliveras to keep the Grizzlies in front.
As the Orediggers searched for an equalizer, Adams State made its opportunity count.
Following a throw-in and an unsuccessful Mines clearance, Herrera played the ball from the end line into the center of the box. Reese finished at 78:22, stretching the lead to 3–1 with his second goal of the season.
The celebration gave way to another test just 18 seconds later. A red card left Adams State with 10 players, and Avi Levin converted a penalty kick to cut the margin to one.
The Grizzlies still had more than 11 minutes to defend their lead.
Amezcua stopped Daniel Bruno at 81:13 as Mines continued to attack. Adams State held its ground through another series of attempts before its goalkeeper delivered one final save, denying Kato at 88:49.
The Grizzlies protected the advantage through the final whistle, completing a comeback that combined timely finishing with a determined defensive stand.
Adams State scored on three of its four shots on goal. Reese led the team with four attempts, while Herrera's two assists helped create the difference. Amezcua played all 90 minutes and recorded each of his seven saves after halftime.
Up Next
Adams State will return home to host Regis on Friday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. MT at the ASU Soccer Field.
