GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Returning to action this Wednesday after earning a first-round bye and moving into the postseason, the #22 Colorado Mesa University Women's Soccer Team hosts the final two rounds of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship this week at Community Hospital Unity Field.
The Mavs received a first round and quarterfinal bye and will take on No. 4 seed Fort Lewis in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines, ranked seventh nationally, and No. 3 seed UCCS, ranked 14th, will then play in the other semifinal at 7 p.m.
The championship match will be played at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Unity Field as well.
Mines, UCCS and Fort Lewis all posted home quarterfinal wins on Sunday.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
Wednesday (Semifinals round):
No. 1 Colorado Mesa vs. No. 4 Fort Lewis – 4 P.M.
No. 2 Colorado School of Mines vs. No. 3 UCCS – 7 P.M.
Saturday (Championship game):
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – 5 P.M.
The Winner of the conference tournament will earn an automatic bye into the NCAA Regionals. Regionals begin next Thursday on Nov. 20 with the selection show occurring on Monday, Nov. 17 at 4:30 P.M.
The Mavericks were ranked third in the latest edition of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings, which will eventually determine the selections and seeding for the NCAA Tournament that begins next week. Six teams, including the champions of the Lone Star and RMAC Tournaments, will be selected.
Mines was ranked second while UCCS was ranked fourth. Fort Lewis was not ranked but beat sixth-ranked Regis on Sunday.
New rankings will be announced this Wednesday prior to the tournament semifinal games.
LAST WEEK'S GAME
Winning the conference last Wednesday and earning a first-round bye in doing so, the Mavs have gotten a week off coming into tomorrow's game with this being their first time all season they didn't play on a weekend.
The Mavs improved to 13-2-2 overall to conclude the regular season and finished RMAC play with an unbeaten 9-0-2 RMAC record, good for 29 points and a 2.64 point per match average.
In their last game against Westminster, they took home a close 1-0 victory over the Griffins, with both schools boasting top-5 defenses in the nation at the time.
Kylie Wells scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 50th minute of Wednesday's title clinching victory and has scored five game-winning goals this season.
Keely Wieczorek and the Maverick defense extended their shutout streak as well with Wieczorek stopping Westminster's only shot on goal to post her RMAC-leading and school-record extending 14th shutout of the season.
She and the Maverick defense did not allow a single goal in RMAC games this year, a first in conference history.
The Mavs have also not conceded a home goal this season, going 8-0-1 at home. They are unbeaten in 17 straight home games (15-0-2) over the last two years.
Wieczorek was named as the RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time this season and the eighth in her career on Thursday after shutouts in the last three games.
Mari Ige was also named as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her CMU career.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Coming into Wednesday, the Mavs have outscored opponents 31-4 this season while having the number one ranked defense in the nation. They hold that mark with a goals against average of 0.24.
The Maverick defense have not conceded a goal for a combined 1,017 minutes and 49 seconds of total game time, an RMAC record and the ninth longest stretch in Division II history
Over the last five games they have outscored opponents 5-0 while going 3-0-2 in that stretch.
Kylie Wells is the team's top scorer this season with the Senior owning nine goals and three assists for 21 total points. She has five game-winning goals to tie for first in the conference.
Ellie Duncan ranks second on the squad with four goals while the trio of Olivia Bariao-Arce, Sarah Dunn and Parker Mairs all have three to tie for third place. Seven others have scored as well for the Mavs.
In addition, 19 assists have been recorded this season with six players having two or more.
In the goalkeeping category, Keely Wieczorek owns 50 saves in the net while totaling 14 shutouts to post a new program record. Wieczorek leads the country with her 0.235 goals against average while the Mavericks as a team are tied for the national statistical lead with that same mark.
Wieczorek also ranks second in the country with her .926 save percentage.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Looking to finish what they started earlier this year, the Mavs take on the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks (11-4-3, 7-2-2 RMAC) to start their week with their previous matchup this season being declared a no contest after the two only went 11 minutes into their game before weather ultimately ended it early.
Due to the game being declared a no contest Wednesday's meeting will be the first official game between the two schools since last year's RMAC quarterfinals matchup when Fort Lewis narrowly advanced after winning in a penalty kick shootout.
In the last 10 matchups, Colorado Mesa owns a 5-2-3 record.
This year the Skyhawks have been another top-5 defense in the nation with them allowing just 0.33 goals per game while outscoring opponents 30-6. Their six goals given up are tied for third fewest amongst all Division II.
Offensively they are led by Jenna Salazar and Anna Tucker with the duo combining for 15 goals and seven assists. Salazar has four game-winning goals to lead the team.
Trinity Lujan has anchored the net with 57 saves and a .905 save percentage to back up 14 shutouts, including 12 solo. Lujan is also this year's conference freshman of the year.
Following a win on Wednesday, the winner of the game will go on to then face either Mines (13-2-3, 9-1-2 RMAC) or UCCS (13-2-4, 8-1-3 RMAC) with both of those schools boasting explosive offenses.
UCCS has scored 43 goals this season while Mines has 37. Both schools average over two goals per game.
For UCCS, they are led by Abby Stassi owning 15 goals with seven others having scored at least twice. Taylynn Levi backs up that offense with three goals and a seven assists.
The Mountain Lions' goalkeeper, Nylah Mirshafiei, has also been solid with a 0.73 goals-against average and 48 saves. She has 10 shutouts with nine of them being solo.
For Mines, Bella Campos has been the leader, with the Senior owning a staggering 19 goals this season and racking up her points total to 42. She was named as the conference player of the year earlier today.
The Orediggers' goalkeeper, Allie Lundgren, is another top goalkeeper in the conference with 62 saves and a .827 save percentage. She allows just 0.81 goals per game.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
Streaming will occur via the RMAC Network through their pay per view plan with live stats available online to follow along with.
Tickets for all RMAC Championships are available at RMACSports.org/tickets. Fans can purchase tickets via the link below and will receive them via email with a QR code. When you arrive at the gates, scan the QR code on your phone for a frictionless entry.
All RMAC Championship events, including the Women's Soccer Championship, will be broadcast on the RMAC Network. Broadcasts of all RMAC Championship matches are included in your annual or monthly subscription. Pay-per-view purchase options are available at https://rmacnetwork.com/purchase/
COLORADO MESA TURNS 100
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.
Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com
