SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. – Western Oregon threw the first punch. But Colorado Mesa threw every single one after that, rolling to a 6-1 victory over the Wolves in a men's soccer match on Saturday morning from the campus of Westminster College.
Six different Mavericks found the net, three in each half, led by redshirt senior Daisuke Takanaka and redshirt sophomore Alvaro Parra, who had a goal and an assist apiece.
The Mavericks overwhelmed the Wolves, playing in just their third game in program history. CMU fired 22 shots, with 15 going on target, while WOU only managed four shot attempts.
Despite fewer chances over 90 minutes, Western Oregon surged out to an early lead with a 19th minute goal by Abraham Villalobos into the lower left corner. Alex Grignon, who had scored WOU's only previous goal on the season in their season-opener against Hawaii Pacific, provided the assist.
Reigning RMAC Player of the Week Manuel Ponce Casas had a host of chances early in the match. The freshman forward finished with four shots in the match, all on target and all in the opening half-hour, forcing saves from WOU goalkeeper Juan Suarez in the third, fifth and 12th minutes.
Ponce Casas finally pulled the Mavericks level in the 28th minute with his third goal in as many games, taking a pass from Takanaka and finishing into the bottom right corner.
Once the first ball went in the net for CMU, the Mavs were off and running. The Mavericks got two goals from veterans in a quickfire span, with Colton Shafer scoring in the 41st minute and Isa Trujillo scoring in the 44th. It was the third goal of Trujillo's career, with the redshirt senior defender having played in 43 games for the Mavericks.
The goals didn't stop after halftime. Takanaka followed up on his first-half assist with a solo goal to make it 4-1 in the 57th minute before Alvaro Parra took over the final half-hour.
Making his CMU debut after playing two seasons at Georgia Military College and redshirting in 2021, the redshirt sophomore from Cali, Columbia finished up a great team move with a goal in the 66th minute, with Joey Joiner and Fernando Morales tallying assists.
Then, Parra became the playmaker for the Mavs' final goal of the night, getting the assist on redshirt sophomore forward Tallyn Bronson's goal in the 79th minute. Bronson, a transfer from Division I Belmont, was especially dangerous in limited action, tallying a goal and two shots on target in just eight minutes on the pitch.
The comfortable win allowed Mavs head coach Jon Fridal to deploy his deep bench, as 21 outfield players saw time for CMU. Starting goalkeeper Connor Durant made two saves in 76 minutes before being lifted for redshirt freshman Diego Chavez, who played the final 14 minutes but did not face a shot on goal.
The Mavericks finish their season-opening road trip with a 2-1 record and now will enjoy three straight matches at home, starting with Montana State Billings on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7:00 p.m.
