SALT LAKE CITY – A lone goal from senior midfielder Michael Jimenez in the 30^th-minute of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Quarterfinal Match propelled the sixth-seeded Regis University men's soccer team (10-7-1) past the third-seeded Westminster College Griffins (9-10) on Thursday night.
 
How It Happened: RMAC Men's Soccer postseason action got underway on Thursday night as Regis traveled to Utah to take on the Griffins in the opening round of the RMAC Tournament. In the early going, both teams began firing away shots looking to draw first blood. Neither team put a shot on frame until junior Vilhjalmur Kaldal sent a shot into the lower left corner which was saved by the Westminster keeper 11:58 into the first half.
 
Senior Michael Jimenez was subbed into the match at the 29:55 mark of the first half, and the first time he touched the ball, less than 12 seconds after he entered the game, he buried a shot into the top left corner of the goal to give RU a 1-0 lead. Graduate student Parker Klein picked up the assist on the play as he played the ball into space which allowed Jimenez to gather the ball and launch his shot at goal.
 
Following the post-goal kick-off to resume play, the Griffins offense worked the ball into Regis' defensive zone. The build up was capped off with a shot on goal, but reigning RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week, Tim Dolan was there to make the save. Another chance for WC came a few minutes later and Dolan once again made the save. As the game progressed, the play started to get chippy. One yellow card was issued to a player for both teams in the first half, but in the second half a total of eight yellow cards were assessed, five of which were on the Rangers.
 
Dolan made another big save in the 56^th-minute as he dove to his left to secure the shot. His final save of the night came in the 82^nd-minute on another low shot that was easily corralled by Dolan. It was the play of the defense that got the job done for RU. After Jimenez scored the goal to put the team in front, it was clear that the Regis defense was motivated to lock it down, and that is exactly what they did.
 
Game Notes: The RU defense was top-quality all evening. They forced the home team into taking shots that never had a chance to do any harm. Although the Griffins took 19 shots in the match, only four of them reached the frame of the goal. With a 1-0 lead, the Regis defense locked it down to earn the clean sheet. Dolan (4 SV) was taken out of the game with 10 minutes left after he had an issue after going to the ground on a play. Senior Cooper Erickson came on and looked strong as he punched away a few attempts from Westminster set pieces. Dolan and Erickson combined to earn the shutout win. Jimenez, the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week scored his second goal in three games, which was also his second game-winner. Klein was the assist-man on the play, setting up a great chance for his teammate to score.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: With the opening round win, the Regis University men's soccer team will advance to the semifinal round of the tournament where they will match up with the second-seeded Colorado Mesa University Mavericks this Sunday, November 7 at 3 p.m. in Grand Junction, Colorado. The winner of the RMAC Semifinal will advance to the RMAC Men's Soccer Championship to face the winner of the match between fifth-seeded Colorado State University Pueblo and the top-seeded Colorado School of Mines Orediggers.