GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Red-hot and on a four game winning streak, Colorado Mesa men's soccer will stack up against RMAC competition for the first time shortly before the official start of the conference season.
The Mavs ran their win streak up to four by defeating Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser by scores of 5-1 and 3-1, respectively. Now, CMU will face RMAC foes Westminster and CSU Pueblo in nonconference matchups as the final tune-up before conference play starts on Friday, September 23.
Community Hospital Unity Field will play host to the matchup with Westminster on Friday, September 16 at 7 p.m. before the Mavericks will head over to Pueblo for a Sunday matinee with the ThunderWolves, kicking off at noon.
The Sunday matchup will be the first of two straight with CSU Pueblo, as the ThunderWolves will travel to Grand Junction on Friday, September 23 for the official RMAC opener.
Both games can be livestreamed on the RMAC Network. Live stats will also be available online.
Looking Back
The Colorado Mesa Kickoff Weekend presented by Doubletree by Hilton ended in a 2-0 week for the Mavericks.
In their 2022 home opener, the Mavericks overmatched Montana State Billings with two brilliant team goals in the first half finished off by Raymond Jackson and Joey Joiner, before Manuel Ponce Casas, Alvaro Parra and Fernando Morales scored in the second half.
Ponce Casas (four), Joiner (three) and Parra (three) had multi-point games. Jackson tallied the first goal of his career while Kevin Nunez tallied his first career point by assisting on Morales' goal.
RECAPS: Montana State Billings | Simon Fraser
Against Simon Fraser on Saturday, the Mavericks outshot the Red Leafs 11-2 over the first 45 minutes, but only had a Daisuke Takanaka penalty kick goal to show for it heading into the break. After halftime, Ponce Casas took over, scoring twice in the second half for his fifth and sixth goals of the season.
M-P-C
Freshman forward Manuel Ponce Casas has taken Division II by storm, scoring in the first five and counting matches of his collegiate career. After a pair of four-point games, Ponce Casas was honored by the conference office for the second time this season with the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award.
Ponce Casas tallied his first two assists of the season against MSUB on Thursday, alertly taking a free kick quickly to set up Raymond Jackson's goal and firing a shot on goal that Joey Joiner tapped in for a rebound. Ponce Casas got on the scoresheet himself just four minutes after halftime off an assist from Alvaro Parra.
Against Simon Fraser, Ponce Casas increased his goal per game output, finding the net twice in the second half of a 3-1 victory, including a pinpoint header back across goal into the bottom right corner off a cross from David Peters to put the match out of reach.
With his second weekly honor, Ponce Casas becomes the sixth Maverick to win multiple Player of the Week awards in the same season, joining goalkeeper Briley Guarneri (2015), forward Roy Abergil (2016), forward Moshe Perez (2017), goalkeeper Brendan Brown (2019), goalkeeper Connor Durant (2021) and defender Ethan Anderson (2021). No CMU player has ever won three Player of the Week awards in the same season.
Ponce Casas has put 14 of his 17 shots on target so far this season. His shot accuracy percentage of 82.4% ranks fourth in Division II.
Dual Threats
The Mavericks have had a well-rounded offensive attack, partly because their main offensive weapons have been equally adept at creating and finishing chances.
All four CMU players that have tallied multiple goals so far this season also have multiple assists. Manuel Ponce Casas leads the way with six goals and two assists, but redshirt sophomores Joey Joiner and Alvaro Parra and redshirt senior Daisuke Takanaka all have two goals and two assists apiece.
The Mavs have tallied 15 assists on 17 goals so far this season, which ranks second in the RMAC.
Milestone Watch
With two wins this past week, goalkeeper Connor Durant now has 20 in his career, passing Josh Tanaglia for third all-time in CMU history. Durant also ranks third all-time with 91 saves.
Durant is directly behind Micah Conrads in both categories. Conrads, who played at CMU from 2011-2014, accumulated 30 wins and 190 saves in his career.
Conference Leaderboards
Colorado Mesa has been offensively dominant, leading the RMAC in total goals (17), goals per game (3.4) and assists per game (3.0). They rank second in shots per game (16.4) and lead in shots on goal per game (9.6)
The Mavs' goalkeepers rank fourth in the conference with a .769 save percentage and third in the conference with 4.0 saves per game.
The Mavericks have also been the most disciplined team in the RMAC, collecting the fewest yellow cards (six) and the fewest fouls per game (8.2).
In the Polls
Colorado Mesa returned to the top 10 this week after spending one week outside it. The Mavericks rose eight spots to No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll from September 13.
Midwestern State, the only team to beat CMU this season, is ranked No. 5. West Texas A&M is the only other South Central region team in the top 25, with the Buffaloes currently at No. 18. The University of Colorado-Colorado Springs was among schools just outside the top 25 to receive votes.
Colorado Mesa ranks second in the South Central regional poll, trailing Midwestern State and just ahead of West Texas A&M and St. Mary's (Texas).
Colorado Mesa was picked to win the conference in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, claiming eight of 11 first place votes, followed by Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo.
Coach's Corner
Mavericks head coach Jon Fridal is in his third season in charge at CMU, boasting a .783 winning percentage from the first two seasons.
In his first year, played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mavs went 6-1-1, including 5-0-1 in conference play, as Fridal took home RMAC Coach of the Year honors, becoming the second coach in the history of the program to do so.
In his first full campaign in the fall of 2021, Fridal led the Mavericks to a 16-4-2 record, a second-place RMAC regular-season finish, an RMAC Tournament title and a win in the NCAA Tournament.
Along with assistant coach Brandon Bautista, Fridal was honored as the United Soccer Coaches South Central Regional Staff of the Year in 2021.
About Westminster
Westminster was picked fifth in the preseason RMAC Coaches Poll. The Griffins started the season 0-2, but have won their last three matches over Western Oregon, Hawaii Hilo and Hawaii Pacific.
Redshirt sophomore Din Huremovic is Westminster's main offensive threat, scoring three goals and two assists, including a brace in a season-opening loss to Azusa Pacific.
Redshirt senior midfielder Luke Merrill had a five-point match against Hawaii Hilo, while sophomore midfielder Zach Moss has scored in each of the past two matches.
Redshirt junior Jace Vance is the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week and has played in every minute of Westminster's five matches so far this year.
Westminster is led by seventh-year head coach Josh Pittman. Pittman has been with the Griffins since 2016, and won RMAC Coach of the Year honors in 2018 when Westminster finished second in the conference.
Pittman was the first head coach in Colorado Mesa men's soccer history, piloting the Mavericks from their inaugural season in 2007 until 2013. Pittman finished his CMU tenure with an overall record of 54-62-17. He spent one season as the head coach of Dixie State in 2015.
About CSU Pueblo
CSU Pueblo was picked third in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. They currently have a 4-2 record and fell out of the Top 25 this past week.
Junior forward Gabriel Campora has six goals, tied with CMU's Manuel Ponce Casas for the league lead. Campora scored twice against Newman and four times against Northwest Nazarene in a 6-0 victory.
Junior forward Reggie Nicolas has five points (two goals, one assist). He leads the ThunderWolves and ranks tied for second in the RMAC with 10 shots on goal. Junior midfielder Mario Sandoval has three assists.
ThunderWolves head coach Oliver Twelvetrees began his tenure in April 2020. In his first full season in 2021, CSU Pueblo went on a run to the RMAC Tournament Championship final, knocking off No. 1 seed Colorado School of Mines in the process, before losing to the Mavericks.
The ThunderWolves tallied a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament over Seattle Pacific before losing to eventual national champion Cal State LA.
Series Histories
Colorado Mesa has a 13-2-2 career record over Westminster, including a 6-1-2 record in Grand Junction.
The Mavericks have won the past three meetings, shutting out the Griffins each time.
Colorado Mesa has a 15-4-3 advantage in the all-time series against CSU Pueblo, boosted by a current Mavs 10-game winning streak. The ThunderWolves have been shut out in eight of the 10 Mavericks during the streak, which includes CMU's 3-1 win in last year's RMAC Tournament championship game.
The last ThunderWolves win against CMU was on October 28, 2011, a 3-2 victory in Grand Junction.
