GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A late 89th-minute goal allowed Colorado Mesa to come away with a draw against UCCS on Sunday afternoon, ensuring the Mavs got at least a point out of a challenging weekend against two of the most talented teams in the RMAC.

After losing 1-0 to No. 15 CSU Pueblo on Friday, CMU's late strike salvaged a 1-1 draw on Sunday as the Mavs opened conference play at 0-1-1, with a 5-3-1 overall record.

The Mavs have an opportunity on paper to reset this week, playing Fort Lewis on Friday and Adams State on Sunday. Those two teams have a combined record of 1-15-3 and were cumulatively outscored 15-3 in four losses during the first weekend of RMAC action.

Both matches will be on the road, with the Fort Lewis matchup at 7 p.m. on Friday in Durango and the Adams State clash at noon on Sunday in Alamosa. They can be streamed on the RMAC network or followed via live stats.

Looking Back
The Mavs were dealt a challenging slate in the first weekend of RMAC play, facing a top-15 CSU Pueblo team and a UCCS squad that had allowed just two goals in its opening nine matches.

Against the ThunderWolves, the game was played mostly in CMU's defensive half, but a short-handed Mavs defense stood tall until an 80th-minute goal from Matthew Coleman provided the difference in a 1-0 win for the visitors.

RECAPS: CSU Pueblo | UCCS

Another defensive battle on Sunday tipped in favor of UCCS in the 60th minute on a headed goal, but defender Shane Bryan scored the first goal of his career in the 89th minute to level up the score. Bryan's goal, the third allowed by UCCS all season, came on CMU's first shot on goal attempt of the match.

Testing Depth
Injuries, mostly on the defensive end, have enabled some CMU players to step into extended roles. Reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Ethan Anderson and veteran right back Raymond Jackson each missed both games this past week.

Midfielders Leo Mireles and David Peters saw substantial time at wing back over the past two games. Jabari Anthony appeared in his second match of the year, playing 14 minutes against UCCS, while left back Gabriel Saturno played 16 minutes in his first game action of the season.
 
Midfielders Nick Bogdan (10 minutes against CSU Pueblo) and Berkeley Fuller IV (10 minutes against UCCS) also made their season debuts.  

Sophomore midfielder Diogo Silva played a season-high 60 minutes against UCCS after playing 53 minutes against CSU Pueblo, emerging as a key playmaker in the middle of the pitch. Veteran forward Alec Fronapfel played 53 minutes against CSU Pueblo, his highest total since the first match of the season against Midwestern State.

Dangerous Daisuke
Aside from goalkeeper Connor Durant, redshirt senior winger Daisuke Takanaka is the only Maverick this season to start every match this season. Takanaka ranks second on the team with nine points (three goals, three assists) and is in the top five on the team in shots and shots on goal.

Takanaka nearly tied the score in the loss to Pueblo, streaking behind the ThunderWolves defense and forcing CSU Pueblo goalkeeper Nils Roth to make a diving save to tip the ball onto the near post.

Takanaka needs one more goal to match his career highs in goals (four) and points (11), which he achieved in 19 games played in 2021.

Tough Act To Follow
The last time that CMU played Adams State was quite simply the best offensive game in program history. The Mavericks beat ASU 9-0, setting single-game program records with nine goals, 28 points and 36 shots.  

Leo Mireles starred in that game, tying a single-game program record with three assists and scoring a goal of his own on a free kick. Berkeley Fuller IV scored the first, and to date only, goal of his college career in last year's match.

Conference Leaderboards
Colorado Mesa leads the RMAC in goals per game (2.56) and points per game (7.11). The Mavs' goalkeepers rank sixth in the RMAC with a 1.33 goals-against average.  

The Mavericks have also been the most disciplined team in the RMAC, collecting the fewest yellow cards per game (1.22).  

Individually, Manuel Ponce Casas ranks tied for fourth in goals (six) and second in shots on goal (15).

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 Fort Lewis
Fort Lewis is currently 1-6-2 and in the midst of a six-game losing streak. The Skyhawks' lone win was a 6-0 drubbing of Adams State.

The Skyhawks were in Grand Junction earlier this year for the Colorado Mesa Kickoff Weekend, where they lost 1-0 to both Simon Fraser and Montana State Billings.

Sophomore forward Gabriel Legendre leads FLC offensively with four goals and two assists. Junior Aymaro Vargas tallied a hat trick in the win over Adams State while sophomore forward Tomas Duenes is the Skyhawks' leading playmaker with four assists.

Goalkeeper Evan Kowalski leads the RMAC with 5.43 saves per match. Kowalski and the FLC defense have been placed in the unenviable position of being a man down a significant number of times this season, as the Skyhawks lead all of Division II with five red cards this year.

Head Coach David Oberholtzer is in his seventh season at the helm of the Skyhawks, reaching the RMAC Tournament semifinals in 2017, 2019 and 2020. Oberholtzer played for the Skyhawks for two years and served as an assistant coach for Fort Lewis' two national championship-winning teams in 2009 and 2011. He also spent time as an assistant coach for Division I Dayton before returning to Durango to take the head FLC job.

About Adams State
The Grizzlies of Adams State are in the midst of a challenging campaign, sitting at 0-9-1 with an 0-2 RMAC mark.  

Adams State already has losses of 11-0, 8-0, 6-0 and 6-1 on their ledger from the 2022 season. The Grizzlies picked up a point in a 1-1 neutral site draw with South Dakota Mines.

Senior forward Brendan Koplin has three goals, half of ASU's six for the season. George Valenzuela has only managed an assist, but he is tied with Koplin for the team lead with 11 shots, putting five of them on target.

Adams State has had a rotating cast at goalkeeper, with three players receiving at least 180 minutes and two starts in net. Junior Zach Carr has the best numbers, playing in five matches and starting four while making 25 saves against 15 goals conceded. With a save percentage of .625, Carr is the only ASU keeper stopping more than 60% of the shots headed his way.

Justin Gilfert is in his first season trying to turn around the Grizzlies' program. He has previously served as a head coach at Southwest Virginia Community College and an assistant coach at Emory & Henry.

Series Histories
Fort Lewis may be having a down year this season, but the program has a proud tradition that includes two national championships in 2009 and 2011, so the Skyhawks hold a 13-8-5 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado Mesa. The two programs are deadlocked at 3-3-4 in their past 10 meetings.

In the last meeting in October 2021, the Mavericks won 2-1 with two goals from Joey Joiner, including a golden goal in overtime. That victory broke an 0-3-3 stretch for CMU, which hadn't won against FLC since 2017 prior to that breakthrough.

On the other hand, Colorado Mesa has absolutely dominated Adams State, with a 15-0-2 record all-time against the Grizzlies. The Mavs have a current 13-game winning streak in the series since the last draw, which was all the way back in 2011. Adams State hasn't scored against CMU since 2014.

In last season's matchup, CMU cruised to a 9-0 victory that set program records for goals and shots. Among the goal-scorers from that game, David Peters, Fernando Morales, Jannick Lange, Leo Mireles and Berkeley Fuller IV are still on the roster. Mireles also had three assists, matching a program record.