GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa women's soccer continues to make program history week in and week out, and this week they'll provide Maverick fans with two chances to see the team play at home.
The No. 4 Mavericks – who set a program record for highest-ever national ranking for the second straight week – will face Colorado Christian on Friday at 7 p.m. and MSU Denver on Sunday at 3 p.m. Those two matches will double the amount of home games for CMU so far this season, as the Mavericks have raced out to an 8-0 start despite playing only one of their first seven matches at home.
In their two upcoming contests, the Mavs can set a program-record for longest unbeaten start to a season and will also try to maintain their current marks of not allowing a goal on their home field or during the RMAC conference season.
Looking Back
Colorado Mesa made the most of their one-match week last weekend, defeating Black Hills State 5-0 in the team's first home match since September 1. The Mavericks outshot Black Hills State 36-1.
RECAP:
Black Hills State
Abby Fotheringham scored two goals in the match's first seven minutes and
Shelby Steele scored directly off a corner kick in the first half before
Mira Houck and
Evelyn Hammer added on in the second half. Hammer's goal completed a slick sequence of play in which
Mikayla Eccher lofted a long vertical pass towards the box and
Isabel Schauber headed it across goal and over the keeper's head before Hammer finished it off with another header before the ball touched the ground.
Home Cooking
The Mavericks will have as many home games in the span of three days this weekend as they have had through the season's opening five weeks.
After starting the year at home with a 3-0 win over Lubbock Christian, the Mavs played six straight games away from home, with four at neutral sites in Pueblo and Durango and two conference road games at New Mexico Highlands and Adams State. The Mavericks returned home to play Black Hills for their conference home opener, winning 5-0.
Early performances at home have been good, with the Mavericks yet to allow a goal in two matches. The Mavericks made Community Hospital Unity Field a fortress last season, too, going 7-1 at home and outscoring opponents by a combined 29-4 in Grand Junction.
Home highlights last season included an 8-0 win over Highlands on Senior Day, a 4-0 win over Adams State and two four-goal performances just three days apart, with
Lila Dere netting all four goals in a 4-0 win over Nebraska-Kearney and
Evelyn Hammer finding the net four times in a 5-0 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. The four-goal games by Dere and Hammer in 2022 were just the second and third such performances in program history.
Five of CMU's nine remaining matches to close out the season will be at home, including three of the next four.
Friendly Confines
Abby Fotheringham has only played two matches at Community Hospital Unity Field, but she has made the most of them.
Fotheringham, a transfer from Utah State, only needed seven minutes to score two goals against Black Hills State in the first home match for CMU since the season-opener vs. Lubbock Christian. Fotheringham scored twice in that game, too, making it four goals in just 102 minutes played at the CHUF.
Fotheringham has just the four goals as well as two assists so far this season. Both assists came in the 7-0 neutral-site win over Newman. Her 10 points are tied for second on the team and tied for fifth in the RMAC. She ranks tied for fifth in the RMAC with 21 shots and tied for third in the conference with 14 shots on goal, and if history is any indication, CMU's upcoming run of home games will see her bury some more chances.
Unblemished
Through eight matches, Colorado Mesa is still perfect, with eight wins and no losses or ties. They are one of only three teams left in Division II that has yet to drop a point this season, joining No. 2 Catawba and No. 3 Saint Rose.
Longest Winning Streaks in CMU WSOC Program History
(no losses or ties) |
| 12 |
September 15, 2000 – October 22, 2000 |
| 9 |
October 3, 2021 – October 31, 2021 |
| 8 |
September 1, 2023 – current |
| 6 |
September 14, 1997 – October 10, 1997
October 23, 1998 – November 15, 1998 |
Colorado Mesa has already shattered the program record for most consecutive wins to begin a season and can top another program milestone by the end of this week. The women's soccer program's longest unbeaten start to a season was nine games back in 2012, when the Mavs started 7-0-2 before suffering their first loss. If the Mavericks win or tie both of their next two matches, they will pass the season-opening record and move into the top three of longest unbeaten streaks at any point in program history.
Longest Unbeaten Streaks in CMU WSOC Program History
(no losses, including ties) |
| 12 |
September 15, 2000 – October 22, 2000 (12-0-0) |
| 11 |
October 4, 1998 – November 15, 1998 (10-0-1) |
9
|
October 3, 2021 – October 31, 2021 (9-0-0)
August 31, 2012 – September 28, 2012 (7-0-2) |
| 8 |
September 1, 2023 – current (8-0-0) |
Can't Lose If They Don't Score
A big factor in CMU's unbeaten start has been their defense, which has only allowed two goals and tallied six shutouts through eight matches in 2023. No team has scored multiple goals on the Maverick defense this season and the Mavericks have only trailed for a total of 35 minutes in eight games.
Colorado Mesa's 0.25 goals-against average ranks fourth nationally in Division II. The Mavs lead the RMAC in goals-against average, goals allowed, shutouts and save percentage (.882).
The Mavericks have, incredibly, held their opponents to two shots or fewer five total times this season, including in each of the past four matches. In their last four wins against West Texas A&M, New Mexico Highlands, Adams State and Black Hills State, the Mavs have allowed a
total of six shot attempts. Not shots on goal (although that figure is also at six), but total shots, of any kind.
The Mavericks have relied on a main unit of freshman goalie
Keely Wieczorek and a back four of redshirt sophomore
Carli Dare, junior
Kaydree Rapp, sophomore
Ally Wachtel and sophomore
Bree McCullough but have maintained a level of excellence even when missing pieces.
True freshman defender
Sarah Dunn has filled in twice and played a full 90 minutes against both Newman and Black Hills State when Wachtel and Rapp each missed a game apiece. The Jets and Yellow Jackets combined for three total shots with Dunn in the lineup.
Lighting It Up
Despite having an elite defense to take the pressure off the attack, the Maverick offense ranks among the best in the country as well. Having scored 27 goals in eight games, CMU's 3.38 goals per game leads the RMAC by nearly half a goal per game and ranks tied for sixth in the nation.
The Mavericks have the conference's top scorer in
Sauvelyne Randel, who leads the RMAC and ranks inside the top 15 nationally with seven goals. Randel's four game-winning goals place her in a six-way tie for second nationally.
Haley Klasner, who just set the school's all-time career assist record two weeks ago, ranks tied for sixth in the nation with six total assists and tied for fourth with 0.75 assists per game. Both figures lead the RMAC.
Randel ranks third in the RMAC with 15 points (seven goals, one assist) while Klasner and
Abby Fotheringham are tied with one another for fifth at 10 points (Klasner has two goals and six assists, Fotheringham has four goals and two assists).
In the Polls
The Mavericks rose yet again the United Soccer Coaches national poll, moving up one spot to a No. 4 national ranking.
It is the second top-five ranking in program history, with the first coming last week. The Mavericks were unranked in the preseason national poll but have now been ranked in five consecutive polls and in the top 10 for three consecutive polls.
Aside from the national plaudits, Colorado Mesa is currently the top-ranked team in the South Central Regional for the third straight week. In the regional rankings, the Mavericks lead national No. 16 Colorado School of Mines and No. 17 Dallas Baptist. UCCS and Regis, who rank fourth and fifth in the regional rankings, are each receiving votes in the national poll. The Mavs will face UCCS, Mines and Regis in an 11-day span from October 19-29.
The Mavericks have changed their fortunes and outlook quickly, as CMU was picked just sixth in the RMAC Coaches Preseason Poll. Colorado School of Mines led the way with 131 points and nine first-place votes. UCCS, Regis and Westminster were picked second through fourth and garnered one first-place vote apiece. MSU Denver edged out the Mavericks for fifth while Fort Lewis and CSU Pueblo rounded out the top eight.
About Colorado Christian
Colorado Christian, picked 11
th in the RMAC Preseason Poll, is off to a 2-5-2 start with an 0-3-1 record in RMAC play. The Cougars lost their opening three matches to Black Hills State (who CMU just beat 5-0), Regis and UCCS but garnered a point with a 0-0 draw against CSU Pueblo last Sunday. In nonconference play, CCU defeated Eastern New Mexico and Adams State and tied Texas-Permian Basin.
The Cougars are a defensive team that has played a lot of low-scoring matches. In nine games, the Cougars have only scored seven times but have only allowed nine goals themselves. The Cougar offense has scored multiple goals in just two of nine matches but have only allowed their opponent to score twice on two occasions as well. Colorado Christian has not yet had a game this season where either they or their opponent score more than two goals.
Jessie Sims is the team's leading scorer with three goals, but junior forward Capri Dewing, an All-RMAC Honorable Mention player last season, is far the team's most consistent offensive threat. Dewing leads the RMAC with 43 shots (4.78 per game) and ranks second with 15 shots on goal. Despite that volume, Dewing has just one goal and one assist so far this season.
Colorado Christian has split time between two goalkeepers, both of which have performed well. Junior Ireland Jeffrey played the first five matches in goal, conceding five and making 14 saves. The last four games have featured senior Alana Lopp in net, who has allowed four goals while making 22 stops.
Anne Metz is in her second season as the CCU head coach. The team went in her first year. Metz spent three seasons as an assistant coach for CCU after a successful playing career that saw her play professionally in Scotland. Playing for NAIA school John Brown University, Metz had 20 goals and 24 assists in her career and won three all-conference honors and NAIA All-American plaudits as a senior.
Colorado Mesa has controlled the all-time series with CCU, holding a 28-9-4 record. The Mavericks have won the last four meetings between the two schools, including 4-0 wins in each of the past two.
About MSU Denver
MSU Denver was picked fifth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, one spot ahead of Colorado Mesa. So far, the Roadrunners have been a .500 team in 2023, compiling a 3-4-3 overall record and going 2-2 in the first two weeks of RMAC play.
Among common nonconference opponents with the Mavericks, the Roadrunners beat Angelo State 1-0 (CMU won 2-0) and tied Lubbock Christian 1-1 on the road (CMU won 3-0 at home). Against RMAC teams, MSU Denver has beaten CSU Pueblo and Black Hills State while losing to Regis and UCCS, the teams picked second and third in the preseason poll.
It has been a new cast of characters for MSU Denver this season, as none of last year's four players to earn All-RMAC plaudits return. Freshman midfielder Monica Yoder has a team-high three goals, including tallies in the wins over Black Hills and CSU Pueblo. Sophomore Sami Spring has scored twice while senior forward Kailey Maness has a team-high three assists. Junior forward Tessa Killmon leads the team with 15 shots and five shots on goal and has scored once this season against Regis.
Junior goalkeeper Kylie Bach, who finished second in the RMAC in goals-against average last season (0.82), has a 1.22 goals-against average so far this year. Bach has made 43 saves while allowing 11 goals. She is coming off a career-high 10 saves in a 1-0 loss against UCCS last Sunday.
Head Coach Kat Mertz is in her third season in charge at MSU Denver after going 22-10-6 over her first two. Mertz has an extensive Division I resume, spending five years as the head coach at UNLV from 2005-2009 and making the NCAA tournament in each of her first two seasons. She was the head coach at Saint Louis for a year in 2012 before leaving for Oregon. Mertz was at the helm of the Ducks program for seven seasons, going 49-74-13 overall. She has assistant coach experience at UCLA, Texas and Oklahoma.
MSU Denver has the edge over Colorado Mesa all-time, with the Mavericks only going 17-28-1 against the Roadrunners. The last three meetings between the two schools have ended in 1-0 scores, with the first two going CMU's way before MSU Denver won by that score last year.
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.
