- Match Notes
- Live Stats
- Watch Live
Tweet #BuffNation
Tweet #TraditionInMotion

CANYON, Texas – The #13 Buffs will make their sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Postseason this weekend as they head to Golden, Colorado for the South Central Regional Semifinals against fifth ranked Colorado School of Mines on Sunday afternoon starting at 3:30 p.m. CT.
 
#5 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
The Orediggers enter the weekend with an overall record of 18-1-1 as they finished RMAC play with a mark of 13-0-1, Mines is unbeaten in their last 18 matches after wins over UCCS and Colorado Mesa to claim the RMAC Tournament Title.
 
First Team All-RMAC selection John Haist leads the way offensively, ranking second in the nation in total goals (23) and total points (52). The Orediggers average 2.70 goals per contest on 414 shots with 181 of those falling on goal for a shot percentage of .130. Drew Johnson is 18-1-1 in goal for Mines, allowing 13 goals with 58 saves for a percentage of .817.
 
Greg Mulholland is in his first full season at the helm of the Orediggers after serving in an interim role last season following 10 years as the top assistant. Mines advanced to last year's Sweet 16 round as they claimed RMAC regular season and tournament titles with an overall record of 17-4-1.
 
THE SERIES
Sunday afternoon will mark the 15th overall meeting on the pitch between the Buffs and the Orediggers in a series dating back to the 1992 season. The two teams will meet for the first time in over four years as the Buffs took the last meeting back on September 5, 2014 in Canyon, WT has won the last two matchups.
 
THE LAST MEETING
Seniors Christopher Hutton and Michael Williams connected on a second-half goal to give the Buffs the advantage and eventual win in the 2014 season opener. Hutton tapped in the score in the 69th minute to start the team off 1-0 on the year.
 
The Buffs were edged out in both shots, 12-14, and shots-on-goal, 4-5; however, they pressured consistently with many attempts within inches of the net and seized the opportunity to take the lead when it counted.
 
WT HEAD COACH BUTCH LAUFFER
Butch Lauffer enters his 28th season as head men's soccer coach at West Texas A&M. Lauffer is now the longest tenured head coach in West Texas A&M history in a storied career dating back to 1991. Lauffer reached the 500-win plateau on September 30th of last season in Odessa, Texas with a dominating 13-2 win over UT Permian Basin.
 
During his tenure, Lauffer has coached the men to 27 consecutive non-losing seasons and the women to 12-plus victories in 12 seasons. Lauffer has recorded a 331-147-36 (.667) record at the helm of the Buffs with a 521-214-53 (.684) overall record at WT.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Entering the week, the Buffs lead all of Division II soccer in total goals (64) while ranking second in total points (181.0), fourth in total assists (53.0), fifth in scoring offense (3.2) and sixth in shutouts percentage (0.6) and assists per game (2.65). WT is seventh in team goals against average (0.531), points per game (9.05), save percentage (0.841) and shots on goal per game (8.9) while ranking eighth in shots per game (18.15).
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alexander Vencel ranks third in save percentage (0.88) and fifth in goals against average (0.449) while senior Julio Vargas is Top-20 in shots on goal per game (11th, 2.35), shots per game (14th, 4.1), total points (17th, 37.0), total goals (19th, 14.0) and total assists (19th, 9.0).
 
BUFFS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Buffs are making their sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Postseason this weekend as they are back in the tournament for the first time since the 2009 campaign. WT has made three runs to the Sweet 16 round with back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight in 2000 and 2001. WT is 4-5 all-time in the NCAA Postseason dating back to their first appearance in 1997.