GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Following a couple game cancellations, the Colorado Mesa women's soccer team had their preseason cut short, but will turn their focus to conference play starting with Black Hills State this Sunday on Maverick Field.

Scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time, the game will also a continuation of "Fire Weekend" where admission is free to those 18 and under, and following the game there will be an autograph session with the team.

A Look Back
The Mavs sport a 3-1 record, opening with three big wins, including capturing an overtime thriller over Northwest Nazarene – who was ranked No. 10 nationally at the time. The win put them at 3-0, a similar start to the 2019 season.

That same weekend, the team found themselves in another overtime situation but it would be Minot State who escaped with the 1-2 win, handing the team their first miss.

Their opportunity to get back into the win column would be postponed as COVID protocols, cancelled their trip to California.

Head of the Herd
Freshman Lila Dere already has five tallies on the season, just two shy of her season total during the condensed spring season. With 12 goals to her name and barely even a full season under her belt, the Grand Junction local is amongst good company in the Maverick record books.

She has more goals than games played, and is riding a four-game scoring streak. In the season opener against Texas Permian Basin, she came out with a bang netting two of the teams five goals. The center forward is an offensive threat, and has shown her ability to score from deep. The best example coming from the overtime period, where she blazed through defenders and took a shot from well outside the box finding the upper right-hand corner, securing the 3-2 victory over Northwest Nazarene.

Pushing the Pressure
The Mavericks have nearly doubled the scores than that of their opponents, averaging nearly three goals per game. A large part of the offensive success comes in part from the amount of shots taken. Averaging 18.5 shots per game, CMU has taken 74 shots in the four games played thus far, 34 of those targeted between the posts.

On the back half of the field, the defense has applied their own pressure keeping opponents out of scoring position. In 42 shots, opponents have only gotten half of them on target.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.

Scouting the Opponent
Just three games into the season, the Yellowjackets under new leadership, are off to the better start than their last outing. After two early losses, BHSU snagged a dominant 4-1 win over Minnesota State – Moorhead. Just recently they doubled their win total, stealing a win in Lakewood, 1-0 over CCU.

As a team they now have five goals total, matching the season total from the spring.
In the win over Moorhead, Emma Avery picked up a hat trick while Lexi Crow emphasized the score with a goal of her own. Avery added to her season total, scoring the game winner in the CCU contest.

Voted to finish 12^th in the preseason poll, the Yellowjackets return 20 letter winners while adding another 16 to their roster.

Series History
In the overall series between the two teams, CMU holds a 4-0-1 record. The last match on March 28, 2021 ended in a 3-0 score in favor of the Mavs. All four of the CMU wins have been shutouts, the largest margin of victory being 6-0 back in 2016. In the entire series, only two goals have been allowed by CMU.