GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa women's soccer has entered a period of adversity with a three-game losing streak near the end of the RMAC season, but the 18^th-ranked Mavericks still control their own destiny to host a first-round RMAC playoff game with a win or tie in their regular season finale against Westminster this Wednesday.

After a program-record 13-game unbeaten streak to start the season, CMU has now lost its last three and has slipped to fourth in the conference standings, getting passed by both teams that the Mavs lost to this past week.

The Mavericks will look to clinch a top-four seed to host an RMAC quarterfinal on Sunday. If the Mavericks slip out of the top four, they would go on the road for Sunday's game. The game at Westminster is scheduled for kickoff at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Salt Lake City.

Looking Back
The Mavericks came up short in a pair of high-profile home matches that settled the RMAC standings. CMU lost 4-0 to Colorado School of Mines on Thursday and 1-0 to Regis on Sunday.

RECAPS: Colorado School of Mines | Regis

The Mavs kept the match close against Mines but fell apart late, allowing goals in the 74^th, 82^nd and 90^th minutes after it was 1-0 for most of the game. Colorado Mesa outshot Regis 19-9 but conceded on a 61^st-minute penalty kick in the second half.

Standings Check
The Mavericks are currently fourth in the RMAC standings with one regular-season game left to play. The Mavs have clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament, which the top eight teams in the 13-team RMAC qualify for. The current records of the nine teams eligible for the eight spots are listed below. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a tie.
 

Team	RMAC Record	Pts
#7 Colorado School of Mines	9-1-2	29
(RV) UCCS	9-1-1	28
(RV) Regis	8-2-1	25
#18 Colorado Mesa	7-3-1	22
CSU Pueblo	5-2-4	19
MSU Denver	5-3-3	18
Fort Lewis	4-3-4	16
Westminster	4-5-2	14
Western Colorado	4-6-1	13

 
Colorado Mesa is guaranteed to be either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the RMAC tournament. The Mavs cannot catch third-seeded Regis due to the Rangers having the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning last Sunday.

Any win or tie by CMU against Westminster clinches the No. 4 seed for the Mavs and the home RMAC quarterfinal that would come with it. To fall to the No. 5 seed, Colorado Mesa would need to lose and CSU Pueblo would need to win. A CSUP tie or loss also locks in the Mavericks to the No. 4 seed.

CSU Pueblo hosts UCCS on Wednesday in a game that will be significant to many teams around the RMAC. UCCS can clinch the RMAC regular season title with a tie or win over the ThunderWolves, as the Mountain Lions are currently just one behind Colorado School of Mines with the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Orediggers. If UCCS grabs the No. 1 seed, they would presumably be waiting in the second round of the RMAC Tournament if CMU makes it out of the No. 4/No. 5 matchup.

Colorado Mesa's most likely first-round opponents are CSU Pueblo, who defeated the Mavericks 1-0 in what was CMU's first loss of the year, or MSU Denver, who the Mavs tied 1-1 in Grand Junction earlier this season. MSU Denver closes the season at home against Colorado Christian (1-7-3 RMAC), so the Roadrunners have a favorable matchup to leapfrog CSU Pueblo if Pueblo is unable to beat UCCS.

Creating Chances
The Mavericks haven't let opposing defenses rest much, keeping the opposition honest and giving the team a chance to win by racking up shots all season long. Colorado Mesa's loss to Colorado School of Mines last Thursday was the first time all season that CMU finished a match with fewer shots than its opponent.

Despite the 4-0 scoreline, CMU had only two fewer shots than the Orediggers (18 to 20). The Mavericks have had more shots in every other game this year, including the losses to CSU Pueblo and Regis and the tie with MSU Denver.

Colorado Mesa ranks second in the RMAC in 10^th in Division II with 19.81 shots per game and 14^th in Division II with 9.44 shots on goal per game. The Mavs have 317 total shots and 151 total shots on goal.

Polls and Rankings
Colorado Mesa ranked No. 18 in the most recent edition of the United Soccer Coaches national poll. The Mavericks fell 14 spots from their No. 4 ranking last week, which was tied for the highest ranking in program history.

The Mavericks dropped from first to third in the South Central regional rankings and trail national No. 7 Colorado School of Mines and national No. 14 Dallas Baptist. UCCS and Regis rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the regional polls and are each receiving votes in the national poll.
Last week, the NCAA released its first set of regional rankings as a preview of the teams in contention for the NCAA Tournament. Six teams from the South Central region will qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The first rankings featured eight teams listed alphabetically. There were four RMAC teams– Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, Regis and UCCS ­– accompanied by four Lone Star Conference teams – DBU, St. Mary's, Texas A&M International and Texas Woman's.

The next NCAA regional rankings will rank eight teams numerically in order of projected seeds for the first time. They are scheduled to be released on Wednesday.

About Westminster
Picked fourth in the RMAC preseason poll, Westminster is instead fighting for their playoff lives as they enter Wednesday's matchup with CMU in possession of the eighth and final RMAC Tournament qualifying spot.

The Griffins are 6-7-3 overall with a 4-5-2 RMAC record. Westminster has won one of its past five RMAC matches, beating Black Hills State but losing to Fort Lewis, UCCS and Mines while tying CSU Pueblo during that span. Despite being under a .500 winning percentage overall, Westminster is outscoring (23-18) and outshooting (224-142) its opposition this season.

Graduate forward Cassidy Orr is the Griffins' leading scorer with six goals, although she has only scored once in her last eight matches. Junior midfielder Necie Gubler has four goals and four assists while Sophia DiGeronimo, Cassidy Jackson, Alex Hoffman and Brooke Streeter have two goals apiece.

The Griffins made a goalkeeper change at midseason, with senior Mashaun Estridge starting nine games in goal and making 26 saves against 13 goals conceded. Freshman Brighton Jakeman has played all 90 minutes in each of Westminster's last six matches and has 23 saves against just five goals conceded for an .821 save percentage and a 0.73 goals-against average.

Head coach Tony LeBlanc is in the midst of his 17^th season as the first and, to date, only women's soccer coach in Westminster history. LeBlanc led the Griffins to the first RMAC berth in program history in 2020 and returned to the conference tournament in 2021 and 2022. LeBlanc also took the Griffins to compete in consecutive NAIA National Championships before the school entered NCAA Division II.

Colorado Mesa has traditionally struggled against Westminster, only mustering a 2-7-1 overall record against the Griffins. The Mavericks grabbed their first-ever win over Westminster during the spring 2021 COVID season, then won 1-0 in 2022 behind a Sophia Beames goal.

Coach's Corner
Mavericks head coach Megan Remec is in her fourth 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.