GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After two dominant wins, including a memorable Senior Day, Colorado Mesa women's soccer is headed to the RMAC Tournament. The only question that remains is what city they'll be traveling to.

The Mavs put on a show at Community Hospital Unity Field this past week, beating Adams State 4-0 and New Mexico Highlands 8-0 on Senior Day. They sit at 9-7-1 overall with a 7-4 record in conference play.

With one game left in the regular season, the Mavericks are currently the No. 6 seed in the RMAC, with the top eight teams in the 13-team league advancing to the RMAC Tournament. They have clinched a spot in the tournament and cannot fall lower than No. 6, but can only rise as high as No. 5, meaning they will have a road matchup with either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals on Sunday, October 30.

The Mavs will have one final opportunity to improve their seeding in the final game of the regular season against Westminster, taking place at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Looking Back
The Mavericks ran rampant against both opponents last week. Against Adams State, the Mavs outshot the Grizzlies 20-4, forcing Adams goalkeeper Ashlyn Bartley to make ten saves in addition to the four shots that went in. Lila Dere scored twice, including a penalty kick, while Sophia Beames had a goal and an assist.

RECAPS: Adams State | New Mexico Highlands

Against New Mexico Highlands, the Mavs scored six goals in the first half en route to an 8-0 victory. Dere scored a pure hat trick, netting three straight goals in the 16^th, 27^th and 31^st minutes. Addie Randel (one goal, two assists), Tatum Pfalmer (two assists) and Haley Klasner (two assists) also had multiple points. On Senior Day, four of the Mavs' six outgoing players (Olivia Pietro, Michaela Dangler, Bobbie Golik and Summer Mock) scored a point, with a fifth (Jacqueline Linn) getting an assist on Friday.

Playoff Possibilities
Here is a look at the top of the RMAC standings, with the top eight teams set to qualify for the postseason:
 

School	RMAC Record	Pts.
Colorado School of Mines	9-0-2	29
Regis	9-1-1	28
UCCS	8-1-2	26
Westminster	8-2-1	25
MSU Denver	6-2-3	21
Colorado Mesa	7-4	21
Fort Lewis	5-6	15
CSU Pueblo	4-5-2	14
Western Colorado	4-7	12

 
Three of Wednesday's matches matter to CMU from a seeding perspective. If the Mavs lose to Westminster on Wednesday, they are guaranteed to be the No. 6 seed due to losing the head-to-head tiebreaker against MSU Denver. They are also guaranteed to be the No. 6 seed if MSU Denver beats 1-12-1 Black Hills State.

To jump into the No. 5 seed, the Mavs need a win plus an MSU Denver loss or tie, or a tie plus an MSU Denver loss. The Mavericks could play Regis, UCCS or Westminster in the first round. UCCS faces CSU Pueblo on Wednesday while Regis has a showdown with Colorado School of Mines that will decide the RMAC regular-season championship. The Mavericks previously lost 3-2 to Regis and 3-1 to UCCS this season.

Rewriting the Record Books
Lila Dere continues to break CMU records and did it on a game-by-game basis this past week.

With her two goals against Adams State, Dere passed Tiffany Thompson's all-time career points scoring record of 85 (36 goals and 13 assists). After adding a hat trick against Highlands, Dere reached 22 goals on the season, passing Thompson's single-season goal scoring record of 21, which she set in 1998.

Those are the second and third records of Thompson's that Dere has broken this season. On October 2 of this year, Dere passed Thompson's all-time career goalscoring mark of 36 goals.
Dere now has 44 goals and six assists in her career for a total of 94 points (one goal = two points, one assist = one point). This season, she leads all of Division II with 22 goals, four more than any other player, and has added two assists. She also leads Division II in shots on goal per game (3.35) and total shots (103).

Lila is likely not done setting CMU women's soccer records either. At 46 points for the season, she is approaching a fourth Thompson record – the single-season points mark of 47. Dere is also just seven shots away from tying her own program record for the most shot attempts in a single season with 110. Currently scoring 1.29 goals and 2.7 points per game, she is on pace to smash those single-season records as well (currently at 0.94 goals per game and 2.14 points per game).

One Shining Moment
Summer Mock had a picture-perfect sendoff to her college career, scoring her first career goal in just her third game since 2019. After participating in Senior Day before the game, Mock appeared in 22 minutes against New Mexico Highlands and scored off a corner kick from fellow senior Bobbie Golik. Graduating with a degree in elementary education, Mock will begin to teach second grade and coach youth soccer following this academic year.

Coming From All Sides
While Lila Dere has understandably garnered headlines with her 22-goal season, the Mavs' secondary scorers had big weeks to show that they can put the ball in the net, too.

Addie Randel scored in both matches last week and added two assists on Sunday, while Evelyn Hammer added a goal and an assist against the Cowgirls, her first points since September 18. Both forwards now have six goals and two assists on the season, tied for the second on the team with 14 points along with Haley Klasner, who has two goals and 10 assists.

Getting Experience
Ella Harrison was put in the tough position of having to start the second game of her freshman season against Western Oregon due to other injuries. This week, with games well in hand, Harrison got two chances to get some match experience under her belt and performed well.

Harrison played the final 28 minutes of Friday's match and the entire second half of Sunday's. She accumulated a total of three saves and did not concede a goal. Harrison currently has six saves on the year and a 1.66 goals-against average.

On the Leaderboards
Colorado Mesa leads the conference with 49 goals and is second with 38 assists. They lead in both shots (315) and shots on goal (160).

Lila Dere leads the conference and nation with 22 goals, 103 shots, 57 shots on goal and 46 points. She also leads the conference with five game-winning goals.

Haley Klasner ranks second in the RMAC with 10 assists. Addie Randel and Evelyn Hammer are among six RMAC players tied for third in the conference with six goals.

About Westminster
Westminster is currently fourth in the RMAC with an 8-2-1 conference record. They are 10-4-2 overall. Westminster will either be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the RMAC tournament depending on the result against CMU and other results around the league.

Westminster has been impressive at home, compiling a 6-0-1 record, but have struggled somewhat on the road with just a 3-4-1 record. Colorado Mesa's travel partner all season long, the Griffins played the same opponents as CMU last week, defeating New Mexico Highlands 6-1 and Adams State 2-0.

Senior forward Madison Schmidt leads the team with five goals, while senior and Salt Lake native Cassidy Orr has four but has scored in each of the past three matches. Orr also scored a game-winning goal in overtime last season against CMU. Senior midfielder Alexa Maple leads the RMAC in assists.

Tony LeBlanc is in his 16^th season as the head coach of Westminster women's soccer, and he remains the only head coach to date in program history. The Griffins have had 11 consecutive winning seasons and advanced to the RMAC Tournament championship game in 2020-2021, losing in a shootout. Before Westminster joined the RMAC, LeBlanc coached the Griffins to NAIA National Championships appearances in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Series Histories
Westminster has dominated the Mavs since joining the RMAC. The Mavericks are only 1-7-1 against the Griffins all-time, although it is 1-2-1 since 2019 with both losses coming in overtime.

The teams matched up twice during the spring 2021 COVID season, with the Griffins winning the first meeting 2-1 in double overtime before the Mavs got revenge a month later, winning 3-1 for the first win over Westminster in program history. Lila Dere, Lexi Newton and Sophia Beames scored, with Haley Klasner adding two assists.

The Mavericks lost 2-1 in overtime in fall 2021. Newton scored for the Mavericks before Alexa Maple and Cassidy Orr, both of whom figure to play prominent roles this season as well, scored for the Griffins.

Coach's Corner
Mavericks head coach Megan Remec is entering her third season at the helm of the CMU program. 

In her debut campaign, played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Remec led the Mavericks to a winning 5-4-1 record and to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2017.

In her first full season in fall 2021, CMU finished 14-4 with a 10-2 RMAC record, winning the program's first regular-season RMAC title since 2000. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Remec was named the RMAC Coach of the Year, becoming just the second individual Colorado Mesa coach to win that honor and the first since that same 2000 season.

Prior to CMU, Remec spent five seasons as an assistant coach at RMAC rival MSU Denver and was also an assistant coach at Elmhurst College (Division III) in Illinois.