Grand Junction, Colo. - In search of their 10th straight win and continued undefeated run in conference play, the #18 Colorado Mesa University Women's Soccer Team will head to the road once more this regular season when they head to the front range this weekend to take on conference opponents Colorado School of Mines and Regis University.
The Mavericks will take on Mines first this weekend on Friday, Nov. 1st at 6 p.m. at Stermole Soccer Stadium before concluding their weekend on Sunday, Nov. 3rd at 1 p.m. against Regis, on Regis Turf Field.
Friday's match against Mines will more than likely determine the winner of the conference as both teams are currently undefeated in RMAC play and both have already clinched spots in the RMAC Women's Soccer Championship. CMU is currently 11-1-2 overall and are 9-0 in the RMAC. They are on a nine-game winning streak and are three games away from matching last year's win-streak total of 12.
The large reason for which the Mavs have been so successful this season is due to their high performing offense that has scored a staggering 30 goals while only giving up 11 in return. The Mavs' 30 goals are best for second place in the conference and are tied for 42nd in the nation.
They currently average 2.14 goals per game and hold opponents to .79 goals per game.
Colorado Mesa has been led by the team having six players with three or more goals each this season. Sauvelyne Randel leads that bunch as she has scored eight times this year, with seven of those goals coming in conference play. Abby Fotheringham has scored five times to be second on the team. Four of her five goals are game winners.
The trio of Sarah Dunn, Adessa Correa and Braelyn Baclayon have all scored three times to help bolster the offense as well with Baclayon scoring twice this past weekend.
Randel and Carli Dare are tied for assists on the team with five each, which is also best for them being the conference leaders in assists.
The Mavs' goalkeeping unit has been led in large part by Keely Wieczorek this season as she has started every game and has recorded 33 saves. She has only allowed nine goals in the 14 matches she has started. In addition, she has recorded 7 shutouts this season and, in her career, has 17. Six of those seven shutouts from this year came in conference play.
Wieczorek was honored with the RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week award earlier this week. She has earned that award three times this season.
CMU has now also moved up to the #18 spot in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll for week eight of the season. They were previously #22 the last two weeks. In the South Central Region standings, they stayed in third place.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
Both teams that the Mavs will face off with this weekend currently sit in the top six of the conference and will present challenges as both happen at their opponent's home fields.
On Friday the Mavs will look to overcome their largest obstacle of the season as they take on #1 in the nation, Colorado School of Mines.
The Orediggers are currently undefeated this year and hold an overall record of 15-0-1 while being 9-0-1 in conference play to hold the number one conference position over CMU by one point. Mines' lone tie on the year comes against Black Hills State on Oct. 4th in a 1-1 decision. They have won seven straight matches since then.
Mines' offense has scored 46 times this season and averages 2.88 goals per game which is best for ninth in the nation in scoring offenses. Their two top players have been reigning RMAC Player of the Year Reese McDermott and Bella Campos as each of them have scored 10 goals or more this season. Mcdermott has scored 16 times herself with Campos having scored 10 times.
With a win over Mines, CMU will take possession of first place in the conference.
Following Friday's match, the Mavs will head over to Denver on Sunday for when they play Regis University.
The Regis Rangers are in sixth place in the RMAC right now as they currently have an overall record of 5-8-3, and in conference play are 4-4-2.
In their most recent match, they played to a 1-1 tie against Fort Lewis College on Oct. 27th.
The Ranger's top two performers this year have been Madeline Gardner and Natalie Bunch as the pair have combined for 11 of the team's 21 goals. Garner has six goals, while Bunch has contributed five.
Both games this weekend will be streamed live on the RMAC Network with live stats available to follow along with.
