GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa women's soccer team enters the post season and the upcoming Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament as the top-seed, playing host to No. 8 seed Fort Lewis in Sunday's quarterfinal.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Maverick Field.

Regular Season Co-Champions
Despite the overtime loss in the conference finale, Colorado Mesa had just two setbacks in the loop while capturing 10 wins and claimed the head-to-head over the other co-champions UCCS, giving them the No. 1 seed overall.

With an identical 10-2 record, UCCS claimed the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 MSU Denver in their respective quarterfinal.

No. 6 Westminster will head to No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, and No. 5 CSU Pueblo will trek up to No. 4 Regis to round out the 8-team pool.

Winners will advance to the semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 10, with the championship match taking place on Saturday, Nov. 13 both being hosted by the higher remaining seed.

Schedule Breakdown
With a 4-0 shutout of Colorado Christian back on October 22, the Mavericks picked up their 10^th win of the season, hitting double-digit wins for the first time since 2011.

At 13-3 overall, they have eclipsed double-digits and are working towards the best season mark since the 2000 campaign when the team posted 14 wins.

Having the luxury of playing at home for the first round, the Mavs are an undefeated 8-0 when playing at Maverick Field.

Top Contenders
The Mavs have combined for 282 shots, leading the conference with an average of 17.63 per game. 148 of those shots have landed between the pipes, which boast the top-spot in the league with an average of 9.25 SOG per game.

At an average of 2.25 goals per game, CMU boasts the third highest scoring offense and are outscoring opponents by a 1.37 margin. Ahead of them are UCCS and Regis, both of which the Mavs claimed wins over and placed multiple goals past.

Eight of the of the Mavericks 13 wins have not been decided by multiple goals, putting together 36 on the season to their opponents 14.

Head of the Herd
15 goals in 16 games, eclipsing 20 goals in calendar year. Not to mention her 22 career goals is tied for seventh in the CMU record books. She is first Maverick player to reach double-figure goals in a season, since Daniela Ramirez in 2009.

Her name has been called multiple times throughout the season, helping put Colorado Mesa within the conversation is Grand Junction local, Lila Dere.

Dere claimed Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after producing six goals in a weekend against Colorado School of Mines and Regis. Her brace led the way in a 3-1 victory over the Orediggers, she then did one better than a hat trick, recording all four of the team's goals in a 4-1 triumph of the Rangers.  

Her scoring success can be attributed to the amount of shots she takes. With 94 shots attempted she now holds the single season record, and averages 6.00 per game – also a program best.

Her 16 shots taken against Colorado Christian shattered the single-game high, the previous being 11 held by three former Mavs.

At her average of 6.0 shots per game and 3.31 shots on goal, she leads the nation and her six game-winners is the sixth-best mark in the country. Her total points (34), points per game (2.12), and total goals (15) fall within the top-10 of their respective categories.

Defensive Unit
An all-around effort on the pitch, the Mavericks have seen a lot of success on the offense but credit the defense who has put in work to keep opponents out of attacking position.  

The defensive unit continues to limit opponents to no more than 9.9 shots per game, causing opponents to take shots from a distance, just 67 shots being taken on goal.
2-way center midfielder Mira Houck has posed problems on both offense and defense this season, starting all 16-games thus far and logging 1415 minutes. She scored her first goal in a

Maverick uniform in the conference opener against Black Hills State, and assisted on a goal in the 3-2 upset of UCCS, her then second-chance score against her former team gave way to the team's seventh straight win, the 11^th on the season.

Despite missing one contest, Michaela Dangler does not skip a beat anchoring the back line. She has gone the distance in all 15 contests played, even getting up field to score and provide help. In an overtime battle at New Mexico Highlands, it was Dangler who scored the game-winner to uphold the Mavs winning ways, she then added an assist at Adams State for quite the offensive effort that weekend.  

Carli Dare holds down the outside wing, also providing help in the Mavs attacking third with a few assists to her credit. Devyn Parsons lines up alongside Dangler making 12 starts on the season and logging over 1,000-minutes in the defensive third.

Scouting the Skyhawks
Behind a 1-0 win over Western Colorado, the Skyhawks secured their spot in the RMAC Tournament and their fifth win overall. They finished the regular season with a 3-7-2 record.

When the team's last met on October 15, Lexi Newton scored in the 74^th-minute, lifting her team to a 1-0 decision in Durango. The win marked the first for the Mavs since 2016, two of the last four meetings ending in a tie.

Madyson Barela leads the team with five goals, and an assist, Katie Smith on her tail with four goals. Katlyn Rosenbaum started the last three matches in goal, collecting 30 saves, conceding just nine goals for a.769 save percentage, two solo shuts and three combined.

RMAC Preseason Poll
This season the Mavericks came in at No. 7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, moving up a spot from last season's poll, collecting 85 votes. Head Coach Megan Remec returns for the Fall season after leading the team to 5-4-1 record last season and a berth in the RMAC Tournament.

Colorado School of Mines garnered seven first-place votes to take home the top-spot, followed by UCCS and CSU Pueblo who each received three first-place votes.