Grand Junction, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University Men's Soccer Team looks to open their fall 2024 campaign next week when they head down to Durango on Monday, Sept. 9, to face off against South Central Region opponent, St. Mary's University, at Dirks Field for their season opener.
Monday's game will be the first time the Mavs have faced off against the Rattlers since 2017 with the Mavs collecting a 3-1 victory in their last contest. This will be the only time Colorado Mesa faces off against a South Central Region opponent after doing so three times last season.
CMU was voted to finish third in the RMAC Preseason Poll this year and in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll would receive votes to be in the Top 25 of all Division Two soccer.
This past season the Men's Soccer team ended the year with a 10-4-5 record while going 5-1-4 in RMAC play. They would have a 14-game unbeaten streak from September 9th to October 27th and go 9-0-5 during the stretch. In the United Soccer Coaches National Polls, they would reach as high as #17 while being ranked or receiving votes for multiple weeks of the season.
In 2023, the Mavericks were one win away from becoming RMAC Champions and repeating as regular season champs for the first time since the 2021 Spring Season when they were Co-Champions. They would qualify for the RMAC tournament as the #2 seed but would narrowly end their season in the semifinals to #3 CSU Pueblo after a 1-0 loss and not being selected to the NCAA tournament.
Head Coach Jon Fridal marks his fifth season in 2024 with the Mavericks and in his career has gone 41-16-9 at Mesa. Since his arrival he has led the team to four-straight winning seasons with one RMAC Tournament Championship and one RMAC Co-Regular Season Championship. He was recognized as the RMAC Coach of the Year in the 2021 Spring season. In addition, assistant coach Brandon Bautista and coach Fridal were named United Soccer Coaches South Central Regional Staff of the Year for the 2021 Fall season. Colorado Mesa has reached the NCAA Tournament once under Fridal's helm while going 1-1 in their lone appearance.
In the 2023 season, there were five team members to earn RMAC All-Conference with two of them named All-Region. Five different players earned CSC Academic All-District, with 12 members being selected to the All-Academic Honor Roll and one ultimately being a member of the RMAC All-Academic First Team.
16 different players who saw time on the pitch last season departed from the Mavs with the most notable of the bunch being First Team All-Region selection Raymond Jackson to graduation. RMAC All-Conference picks, Alec Fronapfel and Fernando Morales also finished their careers for CMU as the duo combined for 14 goals in 2023.
This year's team will now look to the leadership in the pair of RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Diego Chavez and RMAC All-Conference Second Team selection, Manuel Ponce Casas, who both saw tremendous success just a year ago. Chavez, who solidified himself as the team's everyday goalie in 2023, would lead the RMAC in goals saved with 83 while preserving six shutouts on the year to rank second in the conference. Ponce Casas would finish the year with eight goals in 18 games to be ranked sixth in the conference and would total five game-winning goals to be second in the conference.
Beyond the pair of Chavez and Ponce Casas, Mesa will look upon players like Matheus Lazzuri, Joao Pedro Moraes, Diego Medina and Dylan Hobson to help lead the team as well as each member saw significant time last season and were a key part of the Mavs success.
In total, 12 new players joined the team this season with nine of them being freshman. A trio of transfers in Daniel Paulsson, Marc Bonafe and Kensho Negi have arrived on campus as well to help bolster the team.
The Maverick's opponent, St. Mary's University, concluded the 2023 season with an 8-5-6 record and fared 1-0-1 against RMAC opponents with a 2-0 loss to CSU Pueblo and a 1-1 tie with UCCS. They were postseason qualifiers in the Lonestar Conference Tournament but would ultimately end their season there after a loss to Oklahoma Christian University. They open their season on Sept. 5 against Our Lady of the Lake University before they head down to Durango. The Rattlers will look to be led by the pair of Gael Gallegos and Alexander Carey who return this season after combining for 10 goals and three assists in 2023. Gallegos's 14 points and Carey's nine points would rank second and third on the team.
Monday's game against St. Mary's marks the beginning of a six-game away stretch for the team before the Mavs will return home to play in Grand Junction on Sept. 29, for their home opener at Community Hospital Unity Field against opponent Fort Lewis College.
Following Monday's game in Durango the Mavs will be in Salt Lake City next weekend for more non-conference action when they take on Northwest Nazarene University and Cal State Monterey Bay at Dumke Field on Sept. 12 and 14.
