Grand Junction, Colo. - The #14 Colorado Mesa University Women's Soccer Team closes out their non-conference portion of their schedule this weekend as they head down to Texas to take on a pair of foes from the South Central Region.
CMU's opponents, St. Mary's University and St. Edwards University, both hail from the Lone Star Conference and are also members of the South Central Region with Colorado Mesa. The South Central Region is made up of the combined teams from the Lone Star and RMAC Conferences.
In this young season, Colorado Mesa is currently 2-0-1 with their most recent victory being a 3-2 win over Saint Martin's University in their home opener on Sept. 13.
As a squad, the Mavs average 2.00 goals per game while having out shot opponents 44-21 so far. They average 14.7 shots per game and are tied for second in the conference with scoring average.
Five different players have scored goals this season, but the only member of the team to have more than one goal is sophomore Sarah Dunn. Dunn's most recent goal came as the game-winner in the Mavs' match against Saint Martin's. Redshirt Senior Sauvelyne Randel is the only player with more than one assist as she has two.
After Dunn's game-winner this last week, the only other player to record a game-winning goal this season is Senior Abby Fotheringham
As a team, CMU currently has 16 points which ties them for third in the conference.
St. Mary's, the Mavs' first opponent of the weekend, is currently 2-2 this season with their two most recent matches being against RMAC schools, Westminster and UCCS. The Rattlers would defeat Westminster 4-3 before being defeated by UCCS 2-0.
In 2023, St. Mary's was a top team in the Lone Star Conference as they finished the year 11-6-5 and ended second in the conference standings. They would earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament before falling to UCCS 2-1.
While six different players have scored for the Rattlers, three players have tabbed two goals apiece with another one having two assists. Both Malia Dominguez and Natalie Gonzalez each have two goals to lead the team. Shelby Paniagua has also added a goal herself, while leading the team in assists with two.
The Rattlers have currently out shot opponents 52-49 but have been outscored in goals 8-10.
Closing out the weekend CMU will take on St. Edwards University who is 1-1-1 at this point and in the 2023 season ended with a 6-7-5 record. They would be qualifiers for the Lone Star Conference Championship but were defeated by St. Mary's in the first round 2-0 before ending their season.
Before taking on CMU, the Hilltoppers take on RMAC foe Regis University on Sept. 19. They previously played Western Colorado University on Sept. 15 with that match being the Hilltopper's lone win so far. CMU will be St. Edwards last nonconference game of the season.
As a team, only three goals have been scored so far this season with only two players having scored them. The pair Annie Rocha and Tristyn Cabello have accounted for these goals with Rocha totaling two and Cabello having the other.
St. Edwards Head Coach, Nick Cowell, is currently the winningest coach in NCAA Division II history among active coaches, with 457 total wins, and is third all-time.
In the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, released on Sept. 17, CMU has now been honored with the #14 spot in the rankings. They move up four spots after being ranked #18 a week ago. They are also ranked second in the South Central Regional Poll, moving up a spot from third after last week. St. Mary's is voted in at seventh in the region.
Following this weekend the Mavs will return home to start conference play on Sept. 27 when they take on New Mexico Highlands.
