GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Never, ever count this Colorado Mesa team out.

Trailing 3-0 after the first 45 minutes, Colorado Mesa put more and more pressure on Regis in the second half and eventually scored twice in dramatic fashion in the match's final three minutes to steal a point with a 3-3 draw against Regis in the RMAC season-opener. The Mavericks move to 5-2-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the RMAC with the result.

Fernando Morales scored twice, pulling a goal back in the 50^th minute before scoring a thrilling winner with 1:34 left in the match when CMU gained an indirect free kick inside the box under extraordinary circumstances. Alec Fronapfel scored a penalty kick in the 88^th minute to bring the Mavs within one and assisted on Morales' winner.

While Colorado Mesa hasn't had a comeback of this scale in 2023, the Mavericks winning the second half has been nothing new for this team. Colorado Mesa has now been trailing or tied at halftime in four of the past five matches but has a six-game unbeaten streak anyway. In the last six matches, Colorado Mesa has been outscored 4-2 in the first half but is trouncing opponents by a 12-2 margin after halftime during that span.

As good as the second half was, the first half wasn't pretty. Reigning RMAC Player of the Year Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit put the visitors ahead in the ninth minute and a quickfire double from Michael Jimenez in the 23^rd and 30^th minutes had the Mavericks down 3-0 before a half-hour had passed on the game clock.

The Mavericks did well to respond early in the second half. Joao Pedro Moraes, who started the second half after not playing in the first half, played the ball down the left wing to fellow substitute Diego Medina. The freshman left back received the pass from Moraes and expertly directed it towards the top of the box with his first touch for Morales to finish.

Colorado Mesa dominated the second half statistically, taking 13 shots after halftime to the Rangers' five, but the Mavericks were coming up just short on their chances for most of the second half. Regis goalkeeper Greg Squire made seven saves, including two in a 30-second span on Lucas Doerzbacher. The Regis back line helped out with a miraculous goal-line clearance to rob Fronapfel of a goal in the 79^th minute.

Regis soaked up the pressure well and had a couple of golden chances to score in the second half. A takeaway in the Mavericks' half caught CMU out of position and led to a one-on-one breakaway for Carlson-Du Toit, but the All-Region striker was denied by Chavez from point-blank range.

Then, with 2:59 left to play, Joey Joiner was fouled in the box for a penalty kick opportunity for CMU. Fronapfel stepped to the spot and sent the keeper the wrong way to cut the lead to 3-2 and ignite a raucous home crowd at Community Hospital Unity Field.

The game's defining moment came a minute later. Manuel Ponce Casas had a soft shot attempt saved by the Regis goalie, who took his time getting up and releasing the ball down the field to try to run out the clock. After ignoring warnings by the referee to move the game along, he was whistled for a violation of the six-second rule that prevents goalkeepers from holding the ball indefinitely.

Since the ball was in play due to the save (as opposed to a goal kick or ball out of play), the delay of game call resulted in an indirect free kick for CMU from the spot the keeper was standing, which was a step inside the 18-yard box. Fronapfel stood over the ball once again and took the kick by nudging it to his left for Morales to run onto. Morales buried a shot under the wall into the bottom left corner and Community Hospital Unity Field erupted into bedlam.

The Mavericks will have a couple days off before taking the pitch again versus South Dakota Mines on Sunday. It will be a nationally-ranked home doubleheader for CMU on Sunday, with the No. 5 women's team playing Black Hills State at 11 a.m. before the No. 24-ranked men play at 2:30 p.m.