COLORADO SPRINGS – Fort Lewis College women's soccer goalkeeper Christine Schmelzle was chosen as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference female October Athlete of the Month, Assistant Commissioner Sarah Meier announced on Friday.

Schmelzle, a 5-foot-9 senior from Coconino High School in Flagstaff, Ariz., allowed only four goals in nine games during October, leading the Skyhawks to an 8-0-1 record (all league matches). She played 815 minutes between the posts and earned a .44 goals against average in October, while making 39 saves in 43 shots-on-goal faced (.907 save percentage). She recorded four shutouts in nine games, bringing her career total to 21 shutouts, second best in school history.

For her performances in October, Schmelzle was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week twice, while helping the Skyhawks to their highest-ever national ranking of No. 3, their first-ever RMAC regular season title, and the top spot in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. She was also voted to the RMAC All-Academic first team, the All-RMAC first team and the CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District 7 first team, and was selected as the 2010 RMAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Colorado Mines men's soccer forward Tesho Akindele was named the RMAC Male Athlete of the Month for October. He became the first player in league history to notch three consecutive hat tricks: a CSM record four goals on Oct. 13, three goals and an assist on Oct. 15 and three goals on Oct. 17. During the entire month, he scored 15 goals, five of which were game-winners.

The Skyhawk women's soccer team (17-1-1 overall) hosts No. 23 Regis (14-5-1) in the 2010 RMAC women's soccer championship game at 1 p.m. today at Dirks Field.