GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa women's soccer suffered its first setback 10 matches into the 2023 season, battling to a 1-1 draw with MSU Denver at Community Hospital Unity Field.

Each team traded a fantastic volley goal in a six-minute span midway through the second half, with Brooklyn Gold scoring for MSU Denver and Kylie Wells finding the net for the Mavs. Despite outshooting the Roadrunners 23-11 and putting 12 shots on target, MSUD goalkeeper Kylie Bach made 10 saves to earn her team a point.

Although the Mavs will be disappointed with having their perfect start snapped, the team still made more program history with the result. Colorado Mesa has now gone 10 games unbeaten to start a season for the first time and are 9-0-1 in that span, passing the 2012 team that had a nine-game unbeaten streak while starting 7-0-2.

Wells had six shots to lead the Mavericks while Abby Fotheringham collected four shots and three on goal. Adessa Correa and Mikayla Eccher had three shots each. Keely Wieczorek made a career-high five saves in goal for the Mavericks.

The teams were scoreless through the first 45 minutes and was more about the quantity of chances than the quality. The Mavericks racked up 15 shot attempts and forced Bach into eight saves while Wieczorek made four saves of her own, but neither goalkeeper truly seemed to be challenged as most of the attempts were from long range and straight at the keepers.

Wieczorek had to be alert just before halftime as Meg Gonzalez kicked a ball a mile high into the air from about 30 yards away. It nearly dipped under the crossbar at a crazy angle, but the 5-foot-3 Wieczorek had the hops to safely tip it over the bar.

MSU Denver came out with more energy in the second half and soon had the lead. After a sustained period of having the ball in the Mavs' defensive area, Gonzalez whipped a ball into the box for the perfectly timed run of Brooklyn Gold, who side-footed it first-time past a frozen Wieczorek to give the Roadrunners the lead and hand the Mavericks their first deficit in eight matches.

The Mavericks responded with a similar-looking goal six minutes later, as Adessa Correa hit a wonderful curling ball into the box. A Roadrunner defender leaped for the ball but was unable to make contact with it, and Wells was waiting at the back post to finish from point-blank range.

Bach only made two saves in the second half, but one was absolute robbery, leaping and stretching at full extension to tip away a Carli Dare strike that seemed destined for the top right corner. The Mavs were unable to make anything happen on the ensuing corner kick, one of only three that CMU had all match.

The No. 4 Mavericks are now 9-0-1 and 4-0-1 in the RMAC. MSU Denver's record now stands at 4-4-4 overall and 3-2-1 in RMAC play. Colorado Mesa has a split week next week, traveling to Fort Lewis on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. before facing Western Colorado at home at 1 p.m. next Sunday.