Grand Junction, Colo. – The #10 ranked Colorado Mesa University Women's Soccer begins yet another Fall of competition this year as they look to open their season against opponent Chaminade University on Sept. 5, at this year's Northwest Nazarene Tournament, hosted by Northwest Nazarene University.
The Mavs, who were voted in at #10 in this year's United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, are contenders for another Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship this season and will look to defend their RMAC Tournament title. They would also be voted in at third in the RMAC's Preseason Poll out of the 11 soccer programs in this conference.
The Mavs are coming off a historic season in 2023 for Women's Soccer as they finished the year with 18 wins to become the program's highest single-season win total and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. They would reach as high as fourth in the national rankings after entering the season unranked and would start the season 12-0-1 before suffering their first loss. On the year the Mavs would end up 18-4-1 overall and 8-3-1 in RMAC play. In addition to these accolades, the Mavs were also able to claim their first-ever championship of the RMAC Tournament, which they entered as the #4 seed. They would reach the South-Central Regional Final in the NCAA Tournament before ending their season in a 1-0 loss to UCCS.
In the 2023 season, six different members of the team were awarded All-Conference honors with four of them being honored for All-Region, and ultimately one member being named an All-American. Six members of the team would earn Academic All-District with 14 earning All-Academic Honor Roll. Senior Mira Houck would be honored with the RMAC's Summit Award in 2023, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA also competing at the site of the finals for their respective sport's championship. Houck has maintained a 4.0 GPA her entire career throughout college.
Of last year's team almost every single one of the Mav's top performers will return to the pitch with 2023 D2CCA All-American Sauvelyne Randel leading the charge of these performers. She will look to continue her career after scoring 15 goals this past season to rank second in the conference. In addition to her experience, the other members to return to lead this team are the upperclassmen of midfielder Abby Fotheringham, defender Carli Dare, defender Ally Wachtel, and forward Kylie Wells. All five of these players were honored with All-Conference in 2023 with Fotheringham, Dare, Randel and Wells being selected to All-Region.
Sophomore Goalie Keely Wieczorek, another All-Conference performer for the Mavs, returns as well. She was an Honorable Mention selection in 2023 while also being awarded RMAC Goalie of the Week three times throughout the season.
The Mav's offense in 2023 would average 2.30 goals per game and end the year with 53 total goals to be ranked #17 nationally. Randel's 15 goals would be ranked #12 nationally in goals scored by a player, while her seven of them being game winners was ranked second.
Colorado Mesa will look to boast much of last year's team again this season as 20 of the 28 players are returners, with only eight newcomers joining the Mavs. Seven of those new members are Freshman, with only one transfer joining the team in Braelyn Baclayon from Salt Lake Community College.
Thursday evening's game will also dawn the beginning of Head Coach Jody Lingafeldt's career here at Colorado Mesa as she was hired back in May to become the program's sixth head coach in its history. This will mark Lingafeldt's first Head Coaching job as she served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the previous 10 years, with the last five being at UC Davis. She would serve in similar roles at Dominican University and Sonoma State University as well in her career. Lingafeldt in her career has more than 20 years of coaching experience at multiple levels.
On the weekend, the Mavs will look to face off against two opponents, Chaminade University, and then host team, Northwest Nazarene University, on Saturday the seventh.
The Silverswords of Chaminade finished the 2023 season with a 7-4-5 record while faring 1-0-1 against RMAC opponents with a 1-0 win against Western Colorado and a 1-1 tie against Fort Lewis College. Their game against Colorado Mesa marks their season opener as well and will be the only time they face off with an RMAC opponent in the 2024 season. Chaminade finished fifth in the PacWest last season and marked their second-straight winning season. Two of their leaders who can be accredited to that success are the duo of Mo'okini Haley and Kenna Kiefer as the pair would combine for 11 goals in 2023. Haley would lead the team in scoring with seven goals herself, including four game winners.
The host team of the event, Northwest Nazarene, will be the Mav's final opponent on the weekend. They concluded the 2023 season with a 6-5-7 record and will face off with the Minot State University Beavers on Thursday Sept. 5, before taking on the Mavs. They would only face-off with one RMAC opponent last season as they took on Westminster on Sept. 16 with NNU taking the victory in a 2-1 decision. NNU and Chaminade also saw one match against each other in the 2023 season with the final being a 0-0 tie. Nicole Lewis and Savanna Herz look to be key contributors once again this year after combining for four goals and 10 assists in 2023. Lewis would be awarded the GNAC Freshman of the Year award in 2023.
Following this weekend's road trip the Mavs return home to play on Sept. 13, when they host their home opener against St. Martin's University at 7 p.m. on Community Hospital Unity Field. Tickets can be purchased online at CMUMavericks.com/tickets.
