Box Score SALT LAKE CITY – Colorado Mesa men's soccer raced out to a 3-0 lead and held off a late charge from Texas A&M International to win the 2023 season opener, 3-2, over the Dustdevils in a neutral-site clash in Utah.

Dimitrios Leonoglou, a center back who transferred to CMU from Western Texas College, scored the first goal of the season in his Maverick debut while redshirt junior Fernando Morales also found the net before halftime. Leo Mireles, another redshirt junior, scored early in the second half to put the Mavs up by three goals.

The Mavericks started the game on the front foot and could've added to their lead even further, hitting the post in the first half and seeing near misses on goalscoring opportunities from Manuel Ponce Casas and Alec Fronapfel. The Dustdevils made a furious comeback attempt late, scoring on a penalty kick to get on the board and finding a second with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Goalkeeper Diego Chavez and the CMU back line held tough, with Chavez making several big saves down the stretch to preserve the one-goal Maverick lead. Chavez, a redshirt sophomore, earned the season-opening win in net to begin his first year as the full-time starter after making five starts in the second half of last season.

The win marks the third consecutive year that the Mavs have pulled out a one-goal win over Texas A&M International, with CMU taking home 1-0 wins in 2021 and 2022. The Mavericks will stay in Salt Lake and play No. 18 Midwestern State on Saturday at noon, giving CMU an opportunity to avenge a 3-2 season-opening loss to the Mustangs last season.

*Note: Statistics were not available for the game due to technical difficulties at Westminster. This article will be updated with more information once complete stats are available.