Grand Junction, Colo. - The Colorado Mesa University Men's Soccer Team will play their final game of the season this week as they host the Westminster University Griffins this Wednesday, Nov. 6 for the conclusion of their 2024 campaign. This will be the 17th game of the Mavericks' schedule and final conference game.
Game time is set for a 7 p.m. start on Community Hospital Unity Field following the conclusion of the women's match.
CMU would miss out on making the RMAC Men's Soccer Championships this season after not earning enough points in their matches to qualify. Westminster would also miss out on the postseason making this game both their last.
This is just the first time that Head Coach Jon Fridal has recorded a sub .500 season while at CMU and is his second time missing out on the postseason in his five years.
The Mavs will enter their last contest with an overall record of 5-9-2 and have fared a 2-6-1 record in conference play. This past weekend they went 1-1 with a 5-0 victory over Adams State University, before falling to #19 Fort Lewis College 2-0. In their last five matches they have gone 2-3.
This season the Mavs have faced off with top-25 ranked opponents five times, with #5 UCCS being the highest ranked team they have played.
Despite their struggles this season, the Mavs have still been a top five offense in the conference with them outscoring opponents 27-22. In their last five matches they have outscored opponents 10-6. They currently average 1.69 goals per game.
Marc Bonafe currently serves as the team leader in both goals and assists as he totaled four goals with seven assists this season. His seven assists are tied for third in the conference.
13 other players have scored this year with six of them having two or more goals. The four players of Matteo Bonelli, Kensho Negi, Daniel Paulsson and Manuel Ponce Casas all have scored three goals this season to be tied for second on the team. Paulsson is the only player on the team to have a multi-goal game this year.
Matheus Lazzuri has earned three assists to sit behind Bonfae for the assists lead on the team.
The Mavs' two best offensive performances this season would come from their two 5-0 shutouts they had against Simon Fraser University on Sept. 21 and Adams State University on Nov. 1.
Colorado Mesa's goalkeeping unit has been bolstered by Diego Chavez as he has started all 16 games this season for the team. In those 16 games he has accumulated 84 saves, which is currently the best in the conference. He also holds a .792 save percentage and has recorded three solo shutouts with one combined shutout.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
The Mavs' lone opponent this week is the Griffins of Westminster University from Salt Lake City, Utah.
This season the Griffins have played to a 5-7-5 record overall while posting a similar record in conference play to the Mavs, going 1-5-3. Their most recent victory also comes against Adams State University when they defeated the Grizzlies 2-1 this last Sunday.
In Westminster's 17 games this season they have been outscored 25-19 and in conference play have been outscored 17-7. The team's two leaders offensively have been the pair of Jack Cardwell and Landon Ward as they have combined for nine of the team's goals. Cardwell is the team leader in goals with five.
Their goalkeeping crew has totaled 72 saves this season and match the Mavs in shutouts with four. Looney Roark has started the majority of the team's matches at goalkeeper and in doing so has allowed 21 goals while recording 53 saves.
Tickets for tomorrow's match can be found online at cmumavericks.com/tickets. Streaming will also occur on the RMAC Network.
