GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Five matches, five wins.

The Maverick women's soccer program is off to a scalding start, tying the 1997 team with five straight wins to open the season. CMU has also risen to tied for fifth overall in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, the team's highest ranking since the 20^th century.

But the Mavs are 0-0 in RMAC play just like everyone else, so CMU will need to keep their momentum rolling as conference play starts this weekend as the Mavericks hope to outpace their sixth-place preseason projected RMAC finish.

Colorado Mesa will face New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 3 p.m. and Adams State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both of those matches will be on the road. The Mavs start a stretch of three straight home RMAC games the following Sunday, October 1 against Black Hills State.

Looking Back
Colorado Mesa looked impressive in dispatching Angelo State and West Texas A&M, who were picked second and third, respectively, in the Lone Star Conference's Preseason Poll. It was a statement set of games for the RMAC as CMU and Fort Lewis, picked sixth and seventh in the RMAC Preseason Poll, went a combined 4-0 against the two Texas schools.

RECAPS: Angelo State | West Texas A&M

Sauvelyne Randel starred for the Mavericks, scoring twice against Angelo State in a 2-0 win and adding the game winner in a 2-1 win over West Texas A&M. Mikayla Eccher scored her second goal of the season to get the Mavs on the board against WT.

Goal Machine
Randel's three goals on the weekend gave her six for the season, a total which currently leads the RMAC by two goals. It also means it took Randel just five matches to match her final goalscoring total from 2022, when she tied for second on the team with six goals and 14 points.

The redshirt junior's three-goal weekend came with some added recognition as Randel was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. All five of Randel's shots were on goal over the weekend, and nine of her 13 attempts for the year have been on target.

Player of the Week Release

Randel's honor marks the third consecutive week that the Mavericks have garnered one of the RMAC's weekly awards to open the season. True freshman goalkeeper Keely Wieczorek won the season's first two RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week awards on September 5 and September 12.

Rumbling up the Rankings
The Mavs' 5-0 start has drawn some eyeballs across the region and the country. The United Soccer Coaches national poll released on Tuesday ranked CMU tied for fifth in the nation, a 12-spot leap from their No. 17 ranking last week.

United Soccer Coaches Poll

The T-5 ranking is the highest regular season ranking in Maverick program history, surpassing October 6, 1997 when the Mavericks rose to No. 7 overall. It matches CMU's highest ever ranking at any point, as the Mavs were also tied for fifth in the 1999 preseason national poll. The 2023 team now joins the 1997 and 1998 squads as the only Maverick teams to be ranked inside the national Top 10 during a regular season poll.

The Mavericks were unranked in the preseason national poll but have been ranked in each of the three regular season polls that United Soccer Coaches have released. CMU first appeared at No. 23 before moving up to No. 17 and now No. T5.

Aside from the national plaudits, Colorado Mesa is currently the top-ranked team in the South Central Regional. The Mavs moved up two spots from a No. 3 regional ranking last week to take the No. 1 spot, vaulting over Dallas Baptist (national No. 9) and Colorado School of Mines (national No. 15). Fort Lewis and Regis currently give the RMAC four of the top five programs in the region, with UCCS (sixth), MSU Denver (eighth) and Westminster (ninth) giving the RMAC overwhelming representation in the regional top 10.

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.

Unbeaten Run
Colorado Mesa has an opportunity to set a program record for most consecutive wins to start a season. They also may have some opportunities to extend that record.

With their 5-0 start, the 2023 teams are tied for the program's best-ever start with the 1997 Mavs, a team that finished 17-4. The Mavs are currently four games away from matching their longest unbeaten streak to begin a season, which sits at nine games from 2012. Colorado Mesa opened that season with a tie but went 7-0-2 to start the year before suffering their first loss.

The next four Maverick opponents are New Mexico Highlands, Adams State, Black Hills State and Colorado Christian, four schools that took up the bottom four spots in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Colorado Mesa defeated those four opponents by a combined score of 22-0 last season.

After those four matches, a potentially challenging week awaits when the Mavs host MSU Denver (picked fifth, beat CMU 1-0 last season) and travel to Fort Lewis (picked seventh, currently 4-0-2). The true test to the Maverick schedule comes at the very end, as CMU ends the season against Colorado School of Mines, Regis and Westminster (picked first, third and fourth in the conference, respectively).

Prior to that three-game stretch, Colorado Mesa will face teams projected to finish behind them in the preseason poll in seven of their first nine conference games.

Conference Leaderboards
With their stifling defense and undefeated start, Colorado Mesa is statistically one of the top teams in the RMAC.

The Mavericks have outscored opponents 16-2, and CMU's +14 scoring margin is one better than Colorado School of Mines's +13 for tops in the conference. The Mavs have allowed the conference's fewest goals and scored the second-most. Mines has a narrow lead in goals scored (17-16), but the Orediggers have played one more game than CMU. Colorado Mesa has the third-most shots in the RMAC (89) and the fourth-most shots on goal (36).  

Individually, Sauvelyne Randel is the RMAC's leading scorer with six goals and 12 points. Randel also tops the RMAC with three game-winning goals. Haley Klasner leads the RMAC with four assists, ahead of a group of six players with three.

Keely Wieczorek leads the RMAC in goals-against average (0.44) and save percentage (.846). While Wieczorek has been fantastic when called upon, her 11 total saves rank only ninth in the RMAC due to the Maverick back line's ability to limit scoring chances in front of her.

About New Mexico Highlands
New Mexico Highlands is still searching for its first win of 2023, as the Cowgirls are 0-3-1 through four matches. The team has lost 2-1 to Eastern New Mexico and 4-0 to both Lubbock Christian and Southern Nazarene but managed a 2-2 tie at Northwestern Oklahoma State. New Mexico Highlands was picked 13^th and last in the RMAC preseason poll.

Last season was a challenging one for Highlands, as they finished 1-15 and were outscored 59-5. The Cowgirls will have continuity on their side for 2023, however, as leading scorer Katy Rayner (two goals) returns alongside goal scorers Jenny Mueller and Melissa Olivares.  

New Mexico Highlands is on pace to outperform 2022, with three goals already through four matches. Rayner has found the net again while junior forwards Izzie Scott and Paige Gowen have a goal apiece and lead the club with nine and six shots, respectively.

The Cowgirls have split the season evenly between two freshman goalkeepers. Peyton Greener has made three starts, playing the full 90 minutes once and the opening 45 minutes twice. Albuquerque native Parker Frei played the second half in those two matches and played the full 90 minutes in NHMU's 2-2 tie. Both keepers have allowed six goals apiece in 180 minutes, with Frei making 19 saves and Greener making 14.

Bianca Contreras-Edwards has been the head coach of the Cowgirls since the 2019 season. Contreras-Edwards has worked her way up the ranks at NMHU, starting as a player before spending a year as a graduate assistant and three years as an assistant coach before earning the head job. Prior to transferring to Highlands, she won a CCCAA championship with San Bernardino Valley junior college as a player.

The Mavericks are 23-10-5 all-time against New Mexico Highlands and are unbeaten in their last seven meetings. The series has contained some blowouts, with CMU winning 8-0 in 2022 and 6-0 in 2019, but also some close matches, such as 2021 when the 8-1 Mavericks needed overtime to beat the 1-8 Cowgirls.

About Adams State
The Adams State Grizzlies were picked 10^th in the RMAC preseason poll after finishing 2022 4-11-1 overall and 3-8-1 in conference play.

This season, Adams State is 1-2-2. The Grizzlies have tied with Eastern New Mexico (0-0) and West Texas A&M (1-1) and beaten Oklahoma Panhandle State 3-0. ASU's two losses, while still in nonconference games, are both to RMAC opponents in Fort Lewis and Colorado Christian.

Redshirt junior Karlee Caballero is off to a hot start with three goals in five matches. Caballero has already equaled last year's total as she led the Grizzlies with three of ASU's nine goals in the 2022 season. Junior Brissa Toribio has a goal and two assists while freshman Athena Huggins recorded two assists in the Panhandle victory.

The Grizzlies have enjoyed strong play in goal from sophomore Ashlyn Bartley, who played every minute in goal last year for Adams as a true freshman. This season, Bartley has allowed five goals in five matches while making 18 saves, including nine saves in a 2-1 defeat to CCU last Saturday. Bartley ranks fourth in the RMAC with a .783 save percentage and a 1.11 goals-against average. Bartley will not play every minute of this season, as sophomore Lianna Albert played for 36 minutes in relief against Fort Lewis.

Alex Greco is in his second season as the head coach at Adams State. Prior to coming to ASU, Greco was an assistant coach with the Division I Iowa State women's program. Greco has Division II head-coaching experience with Lynn, where he went 7-8-3 as the interim head coach in 2019 and led the Fighting Knights to a conference postseason berth.

The Mavericks are 24-6-3 all-time against the Grizzlies, including four consecutive wins. The Mavs got a 4-0 win in 2021 with two goals from Lila Dere, a goal and assist from Sophia Beames and a goal from Sauvelyne Randel.

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.