GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – On a historic night for the CMU women's soccer program, a Regis program with plenty of history of its own had a counter for every Maverick punch.
Regis defeated Colorado Mesa 3-2 from the Regis Match Pitch in Denver, with the Rangers scoring all three of their goals within five minutes of either of CMU's two strikes finding the net.
Despite the loss, star forward Lila Dere officially achieved an important, albeit expected milestone: by scoring both Maverick goals in this match, Dere reached 37 goals in her already illustrious career, passing Tiffany Thompson for the most in Colorado Mesa women's soccer program history.
The redshirt sophomore's 36th career goal just might have been her best. Off a ricocheted throw-in, Dere ran to a loose ball and passed to midfielder Peyton Bundy, who chipped a one-two pass back in Dere's direction. Dere stutter-stepped and took one touch to control the bounding ball, then unleashed a 30-yard laser on a half-volley that eluded leaping Regis goalkeeper Katelyn Martin to open the scoring in the 17th minute.
Five minutes later, however, the Mavericks found themselves trailing. Audrey Teague scored her fifth goal of the season in the 21st minute, then Teague and Sarah Wynn earned assists by finding Natalie Bunch for a goal just 50 seconds later. Both teams attempted nine shots in the first half, with Regis putting five on target to CMU's two.
Dere got her record-breaking opportunity four minutes into the second half when Addie Randel was fouled in the box to give CMU a penalty kick. Dere placed her spot kick perfectly into the top right corner, putting it past Martin even though the Regis keeper dove the right way.
In addition to being a career record-breaker, the goal was Dere's 15th of the season, matching her total from last year with seven regular season matches still to play.
But once again, Regis had an immediate answer. Two and a half minutes after the Mavs tied it, the Rangers regained their lead through Kelby Kuo's goal.
Stella Bohlender forced a save from Martin in the 58th minute and two Regis defenders received yellow cards in the final three minutes of the match as they frantically tried to protect their lead, but the Mavs were unable to get a third goal.
As usual, Dere created a multitude of chances for herself, finishing with eight shots and three shots on target. Chloe Dody made five saves, her third straight match with five or more after the Mavs keeper had set career highs in CMU's previous two matches.
The Mavericks have lost three straight and now sit at 4-6-1 overall and 2-3 in the RMAC. They will have a split week coming up, with a home match against Fort Lewis on Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to Gunnison for a road clash with Western Colorado next Sunday at 1 p.m.
