GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After capturing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, the Colorado Mesa men's soccer team secured their spot in the NCAA Super IV Regional Tournament receiving a No. 4 seed and the hosting rights to Saturday's second round.

The Mavericks will take on familiar foe in Colorado School of Mines who enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Community Hospital Unity Field.

Bracket Breakdown
The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee announced the field of 40 teams for the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship, Monday (Nov. 15).

Ten teams were selected from each of the four super regions. Teams from the same region will be paired for first- and/or second-round competition, which will be conducted Nov. 18-21 on campus sites. Third-round/quarterfinals will be held on campus sites and completed by Dec. 2-5. The semifinals and final will be played Dec. 9 and 11 at Switchbacks FC Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado hosted by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In the 2019 championship, Charleston (West Virginia) beat West Chester 2-0 to claim their second national championship title in three years.

A total of ten teams from the Super Region qualified for the NCAA Tournament with automatic spots going to the champions of the five conferences in the Super Region.  The Pacific West Conference and Great Northwest Athletic Conference's representative are determined by the regular season standings while the LSC, RMAC and CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) spots are awarded through the post-season tournaments.
The teams selected to the championship from each region are as follows in rank order:
Super Region 1

1. Franklin Pierce (19-1) *
2. Charleston (WV) (17-1-1) *
3. Wilmington (DE) (16-3-1) *
4. Millersville (15-5) *
5. Gannon (16-3-2)
6. Davis & Elkins (16-1-2)
7. American Int'l (14-4-1)
8. Lock Haven (13-3-2)
9. Post (12-5-1)
10. Molloy (10-6-4)

Super Region 2

1. Young Harris (17-0-1) *
2. Palm Beach Atl. (13-2) *
3. West Florida (11-3-3) *
4. Tampa (13-3) *
5. AUM (10-3-3)
6. Chowan (13-3-1)
7. Nova Southeastern (12-3-1)
8. Limestone (10-4-1)
9. Lenoir-Rhyne (10-5-1)
10. Coker (11-6-2)

Super Region 3

1. UIndy (15-1-2) *
2. Lake Erie (15-3-1) *
3. Wis.-Parkside (15-3-2) *
4. Ill. Springfield (12-5-2) *
5. Maryville (MO) (13-3-3) 
6. Fort Hays St. (13-5-2)
7. Lewis (11-4-3)
8. Cedarville (13-4-1)
9. Ohio Dominican (11-6-3)
10. Davenport (11-7-1)

Super Region 4

1. Cal State LA (14-2-2)*
2. Midwestern St. (16-2-1) *
3. Azusa Pacific (12-2-2) *
4. Colorado Mesa (16-3-1) *
5. Colo. Sch. of Mines (14-4-1)
6. West Tex. A&M (13-4)
7. Cal Poly Pomona (12-4-3)
8. CSU Pueblo (14-5-2)
9. Seattle Pacific (12-3-2)
10. Biola (11-6)

*Denotes host site 

Familiar Territory
The Mavericks return to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in program history, and the first since the 2018 season.

During the 2018 run, Colorado Mesa upset No. 6 seeded MSU Texas using a 5-4 advantage in PKs. They would be halted in the next round in an overtime heartbreaker at the hands of West Texas A&M.

Their record of 3-5-1 in NCAA appearances is highlighted by the 2014 squad who captured the South-Central Regional Championship defeating all nationally ranked teams in the process.

Charlie Dukes heroics in the title match came just two minutes and 16 seconds left in regulation. The goal would hold for the remainder of the match as the Mavs historic season took them into the Final Four.

Rhett Cook, Isa Trujillo, Chris Boyd, Ross Elliott, Colton Shafer, Tristan Widic, Ethan Anderson, Nick Rizzo are all current members of the team who were also apart of the 2018 squad.

Boyd and Rizzo recorded minutes in both the Mavs NCAA games that season, while Anderson was a key player in the first-round match netting the team's fourth PK attempt after Briley Guarneri made the stop on MSU Texas's previous attempt.

Scouting the Orediggers
The Orediggers out of Colorado School of Mines will enter Saturday's matchup with a 14-4-1 record and will play their first contest since dropping the RMAC semifinal to CSU Pueblo back on Nov. 7, 2-0.

Mines took home the regular season title after defeating the Mavericks in the conference loop in double-overtime. Michael Sprauer was behind that game-winning goal, Quin Collins scored the initial goal in the 74^th minute.

Daisuke Takanaka net the equalizer for CMU in the following three minutes which forced the game into extra minutes.

Lucas King leads the Orediggers with 18-points, thanks in large part to his 12 assists. Tristan Semelsberger and Gabe Rodriguez are at the head of the Mines attack, each with six goals to their name.

King, Semelsberger alongside defenseman Patrick Allan were All-RMAC First Team honorees. Sprauer and George Marchant landed on the All-RMAC Second Team.

Twice as Nice
Anderson was named the outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Defensive Player of the Year after sharing the title last spring. The Highlands Ranch native has logged pitch time in all 18 games for the Mavericks, producing three goals and three assists in the process.

Early on he recorded a brace in 5-0 shutout of Simon Fraser, and just recently net the equalizer against Colorado Christian on October 31. His assists came in the season opener against Texas Permian Basin (Sep. 2), adding his second and third against MSU Denver (Oct. 15).
When he's not up field aiding in the offensive efforts, he is anchoring the Mavs defense that holds the third best goals against average in the country at .583. The team has given up just 12 goals, while allowing just 82 shots on goal and 226 shots in total by opponents.

Goalkeeper U
Named RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year, Durant is the fourth Maverick to receive the honor and keeps the title in Colorado Mesa's possession for the fourth consecutive season. Micah Conrads took home to award in 2013, Briley Guarneri followed up in 2018 and started the streak. Brendan Brown who preceded Durant, claimed back to back honors in 2019 and then again during the spring 2021 season.

Out of Westminster, Colorado, Durant has stepped into the role and played significant time between the pipes. With over 1,700 minutes logged, he's conceded just 10 goals for the nation's third best rank of a 0.52-goals against average. His .867 save percentage to leads the conference, and all Division II. His nine solo shutouts are fifth best in the nation as well. He's collected a season high seven saves on three separate occasions, and went five straight games without allowing a goal through.  

A Look at the Herd
The Mavericks have compiled 53 goals, refusing to give opponents no more than 12. After surpassing the 100-shot mark after the first meeting with Fort Lewis, they have struck 346 times averaging 17.3 per-game. Of their total shots, they have placed 151 on target for a .436 SOG percentage.

Throughout their RMAC tournament run they outscored opponents by a 6-1 margin.

Their offensive threat extends by getting into scoring territory and keeping ball in the opponent's half with an 118-80 edge in corner kicks.

They lead the conference in scoring average at 2.65, keeping opponents to a .60 average. In 20 games, they edge out Colorado School of Mines with 151 shots on goal, for an average of 7.55.

In terms of goals, the Mavericks have tallied 16 game winners and were the first to strike on 15 of those outings. They came away with two overtime goals and five equalizers. Now with 58 assists, they remain atop the RMAC, averaging just under three per game and have 20 more than the next team.

Defensively, they sit atop the RMAC boasting a .583-goals against average, ahead CSU Pueblo who is at .658 on the season. As previously mentioned, they have allowed just 12 goals by opponents, tallying 11 shutouts in process. The Maverick back line has held strong, taking off some of the pressure put on CMU goalkeeper Durant.

Top-10
Ranked 11^th in the recent United Soccer Coaches poll, the men in maroon and gold have put together stats that rank among the best in the country.

The team's 58 assists lead the RMAC, and remains the third best mark in the country. Add in the team's 53 goals into the mix, their 164 points continues are sixth most throughout Division II. With a .583 team goals against average and .550 shutout percentage they rank third and seventh in those respective categories.
It doesn't stop there, with an average of 2.90 assists per game, and an .854 save percentage puts them third in both. At an average of 8.20 points per game, they sit ninth nationally.

Alec Fronapfel's now five game-winners are seventh most in the national ranks, but is not far behind the leaders who have seven.

Spreading the Wealth
20 different players are behind the team's 53 goals, leading the way is redshirt sophomore Alec Fronapfel who has nine after scoring the team's third goal in the RMAC championship match.

The Fort Collins native picked up where he left off last season, extending his scoring streak to five with goals in the first two games of the season. His heroics in the overtime thriller against Texas A&M International, gave way to a 5-0 start to the season. For the second year in a row, the forward was named to the All-RMAC First Team and earned RMAC Tournament MVP.

Fronapfel is just one of nine players who have three or more goals on the season. The next highest scorer being Fernando Morales who pushed his season total to seven after scoring the team's second goal in the semi and then the ultimate game winner against CSU Pueblo. He has scored in five of the last eight games – which includes a brace against MSU Denver.
Off a free kick attempt, Ethan Anderson added his fourth goal of the season to his stat line and is one of three defenders who have converted offensively for the Mavericks.

Colton Shafer, Chris Boyd, David Peters, Daisuke Takanaka, and Jannick Lange each have three, two others with a pair to their credit.

In the assist column, Leo Mireles continues to lead the team with seven. John Roberts, Raymond Jackson, Joey Joiner and Isa Trujillo are not far behind with four a piece, multiple others dishing out help to the Mavs offense.
Record Breakers

The team's nine goals scored against Adams State, took the cake for most goals scored in a single game by the Mavericks. The previous record was set back in Sept. 28, 2012 when the

Mavs put seven past Colorado Christian. Six different players scored in that outing, Brandon Burton leading the way with a pair in the win.
That same game set the record in points with 20, behind a culmination of the seven goals and six assists.
36 shots were taken on Sunday, which also matched the program record set just about six years prior, also against Colorado Christian.
Mireles' three assists matched a program high, the last current player to do it was Ramses Atahualpa back in Sept. 2019 against Northwest Nazarene.

Elliot and Mireles each tallied five points, tied for 7^th most in a single-game. The most recent to do it was Alec Fronapfel when he put together five points against Regis on April 17, 2021 with a pair of goals and an assist.

United Soccer Coaches Poll
Following an impressive 6-1-1 spring season, that saw the Mavericks capture a share of the RMAC Regular season title, the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll saw CMU come in at No. 21.

Despite the loss to Mines and a draw at Colorado Christian in closing weekend of conference play, the Mavericks moved back up into the No. 11 spot in the recent USC poll and are 16-3-1 overall.  

RMAC Preseason Poll
The Maverick men picked up five first-place votes and were favored in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. Colorado School of Mines matched the Mavericks first-place votes, both teams expected to finish at the top of conference.

The Orediggers came in at No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) preseason poll, and have since moved up to No. 4. CSU Pueblo took the No. 3 spot, followed by Fort Lewis who picked up a first-place vote, coming in at No. 4.

Season Two
Head coach Jon Fridal enters his first fall season at the helm of Colorado Mesa men's soccer. Hired in December of 2020, he coached the Mavericks throughout the condensed 2021 spring season where the team finished 5-0-1 in conference play and earned hosting rights to the RMAC Tournament. The team appeared in the championship match, finishing the season with a 6-1-1 record.

After capturing a share of the RMAC regular season title, Fridal was named RMAC Coach of the Year. Ethan Anderson and Brendan Brown also headlined the postseason honors, grabbing Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year.

Along with Anderson and Brown, Fridal coached two other RMAC First Team members in Daisuke Takanaka and Alec Fronapfel, with Isa Trujillo rounding out the honorees on the All-RMAC Honorable Mention team.

In addition to their on-field accomplishments, eight players picked up RMAC All-Academic Honors, and two being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.