GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – In a frenetic game that featured four penalty kicks and four cards issued, the Colorado Mesa men's soccer team rose above some moments of on-field chaos to collect a key 4-2 win over Westminster at Community Hospital Unity Field.
Daisuke Takanaka and Matheus Lazzuri scored from open play for the Mavs, while Jorge Rodriguez and Fernando Morales converted penalty kicks as each side scored twice from the spot.
The Mavericks played with 10 men for over 45 minutes after forward Alec Fronapfel received a red card with just a second left in the first half, but CMU outscored the Griffins by the same 2-1 margin down a man that they did while playing 11-on-11.
Entering as the RMAC's highest-scoring offense at 3.4 goals per game, the early part of this match seemed to be trending towards another Maverick offensive explosion. The Mavs got on the board in the 11th minute when Diogo Silva's dangerous pass found Takanaka on the left wing. The redshirt senior cut onto his left foot and beat the keeper up high at the near post for his third goal of the season.
Less than a minute later, a threatening cross into the penalty area from the right-hand side led to Jorge Rodriguez being fouled in the box by Westminster defender Jackson McKeon. After drawing the foul, Rodriguez stepped up to take the ensuing spot kick and slotted it into the bottom right corner for a lightning-fast 2-0 Mavs lead.
The Mavs were the attacking team for most of the first half, but the game turned in the 30th minute when Rodriguez fouled Westminster forward Din Huremovic while chasing down a ball kicked over the top of the defense, giving the Griffins a penalty kick of their own. Huremovic converted, giving the Griffins a lifeline and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Shortly before halftime, Fronapfel was sent off after a scramble for the ball just outside the Mavs' box. With one second left on the clock, the Griffins had a free kick opportunity but sent the kick over the bar, as Coach Jon Fridal was forced to spend halftime game-planning to play with 10 men and a one-goal lead.
The Mavs were not content to sit back, however, and doubled their lead in the 55th minute when Takanaka played a centering pass that Matheus Lazzuri, who had subbed into the game less than a minute earlier, hit first time into the top right corner for his first goal of the year.
The Mavs kept the ball mostly in the middle of the park and didn't allow a shot on target from open play after the 47th minute. Raymond Jackson single-handedly created the Mavericks' fourth goal, dribbling from all the way inside his own half past two defenders and into the Westminster box, where he was fouled by sliding Griffins goalkeeper Noah Larkin.
Fernando Morales took that penalty kick and sent Larkin the wrong way to make it 4-1. But a handball in the box on CMU gave Westminster their second opportunity from the penalty spot less than a minute later, and Armin Hasanovic made it a two-goal game once more.
Connor Durant made two saves for the Mavericks, only conceding the two goals from the penalty spot. Larkin made a single save for Westminster while conceding four, two from open play and two from penalty kicks.
Overall, the Griffins outshot CMU 11-9, placing four shots on target to CMU's five. Westminster committed 10 fouls while Colorado Mesa committed 11.
Up next, No. 10 Colorado Mesa heads on the road to take on CSU Pueblo on Sunday in a nonconference rematch of last season's RMAC Tournament championship game. That match will be the first of two straight against the ThunderWolves, as a subsequent match on September 23 in Grand Junction will count in the RMAC standings.
