Grand Junction, Colo. - The Colorado Mesa University Men's Soccer will hit the road for a final time this regular season when they travel south this weekend for a pair of conference matchups with schools Adams State University and # 19 Fort Lewis College.
The Mavs will head to Alamosa first this Friday, when they take on the Grizzlies of Adams State at 3 p.m. on ASU Soccer Field. They will then get Saturday off before returning to Durango for the third time this season on Sunday to face off with Fort Lewis at 1 p.m. on Dirks Field.
Colorado Mesa enters this weekend with an overall record of 4-8-2 and in RMAC are 1-5-1. In their two most recent matches they suffered losses to ranked opponents in #5 UCCS and #25 CSU Pueblo.
The Mavs currently sit in ninth place in the RMAC standings and must win all three of their remaining games and get help to have a chance at qualifying for the RMAC Men's Soccer Championship.
As whole, the Mavs have scored 22 goals this year while only giving up 20 in return. They have been led in large part offensively by Marc Bonafe who has scored four goals and recorded six assists this season. In conference play, Bonafe has totaled three goals and two assists.
Matteo Bonelli has scored three goals to follow closely behind Bonafe. There have been 14 different players on the squad this year to have scored at least once.
Bonafe leads the team in shots taken as well with 32. Justin Ibrahim has taken 14 and Manuel Ponce Casas has taken 13 for the pair to rank second and third on the team.
Ponce Casas scored the Mavs' only goal this past weekend against CSU Pueblo as he has two goals this year after missing time due to an injury.
In the net, Diego Chavez has totaled every minute of the team's 14 games this season and in doing so has recorded 74 saves while facing 225 shots. His 74 saves are currently the best in the conference by any team. He holds a .787 save percentage and allows 1.43 goals per game.
Chavez and the team have recorded three shutouts on the year, with one of them coming in conference play against Colorado Christian University in a 4-0 victory on Oct. 18.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Both of the Mavs' opponents this weekend hail from southern Colorado with each of them having very different seasons so far.
Adams State, the Mavs' first opponent, is 2-9-2 on the year and in conference are winless with a 0-6-1 record. They are currently on a four-game losing streak and in their last five matches have been outscored 2-19. Their lone tie in conference comes from a 0-0 draw against South Dakota Mines on Oct. 13.
Eight players have scored goals for the Grizzlies this season with the trio of Ranulfo Lopez, Avery Richards and Tim Mietenkorte leading the team with each of them having scored two goals apiece.
Their goalkeeping unit has struggled this season as they have given up 38 goals and give up on average 2.92 goals per game. Their 38 goals given up ranks for the most in the conference.
After getting Saturday off the Mavs will then head down to Durango on Sunday where they take on the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis College.
CMU has played in Durango on Dirks field twice already this season for nonconference matchups at a neutral site, but this occasion will be the first time the Mavs play the Skyhawks on their own field this year. They previously met this season for a nonconference match up on Community Hospital Unity Field with the Skyhawks taking the 1-0 victory.
Fort Lewis is currently ranked #19 in the nation and has a record of 8-2-5. In conference play they have fared a 4-2-1 record, with their most notable wins being over other nationally ranked opponents, UCCS and CSU Pueblo.
Two players on the team have scored five times for them with David Citron and Tomas Duenes each leading the team with their five goals. Citron has also notched nine assists to rank second in the conference.
Both matches this weekend will be streamed live on the RMAC Network with live stats available to follow along with as well.
