GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Guaranteed at least a top-two seed in the conference tournament and with a chance to win the conference outright, the #20 Colorado Mesa University Women's Soccer Team plays to one more regular season game this week as they head to Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday to take on Westminster University.
Looking to remain undefeated in conference play, the Mavericks will take on the Griffins at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday night when the two meet at Dumke Field.
Currently the Mavs are assured of first or second place in the RMAC standings and would win the regular season title if they are able to match or have a better outcome than the Colorado School of Mines' result on Wednesday.
If they win the regular season title, they will receive a bye all the way to the semifinals and would then host the semifinal and championship rounds on Nov. 12 and Nov. 15, respectively.
If they end up as the No. 2 seed, they will host an RMAC Tournament quarterfinal this Sunday (Nov. 9) against the winner of the No. 7/8 first round game seed.
LAST WEEK'S GAME
The Mavericks, ranked 20th in last week's national poll as well, remained unbeaten in RMAC play and posted their ninth and tenth straight shutouts, tying 14th-ranked UCCS 0-0 on Thursday night before dominating Regis, 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Both opponents were amongst the South Central Region's top eight, according to last week's official NCAA Regional Rankings, which also included the Mavs.
The top eight teams were ranked in alphabetical order in the initial set of rankings, that will be released on numerical order again on Wednesday.
The Mavs finished with a 17-9 advantage in total shots in Thursday night's tie against UCCS before they then dominated Regis in shots, 21-3 on Sunday.
Mari Ige and Ellie Duncan scored in the 18th and 69th minutes of Sunday's win, respectively, with Ige having the game-winner.
Junior goalkeeper Keely Wieczorek extended her school-record for shutouts in a season as well, recording her 12th and 13th of the season. She made five saves on Thursday and two more against Regis on Sunday.
Playing in their last home game of the season, the Mavs did not concede a goal in nine home games, going 8-0-1 at home this season. They are also unbeaten at home in 17 games (15-0-2) over the past two seasons and are assured of hosting at least one more game during the RMAC Tournament.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Coming into Wednesday, the Mavs have outscored opponents 30-4 this season while having the third ranked defense in the nation. They lead the RMAC in goals against average at 0.25 while ranking in third in offense with 1.875 goals per game.
Over the last five games they have outscored opponents 5-0 while going 3-0-2 in that stretch.
Still holding as the team's top scorer has been Kylie Wells this season with the Senior owning eight goals and three assists for 19 total points. She has four 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, 12 assists have been recorded this season with five players having two or more.
In the goalkeeping category, Keely Wieczorek owns 49 saves in the net while totaling 13 shutouts to post a new program record. Her save percentage of .925 ranks second in the nation with her recording 49 saves to this point.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Westminster University is 7-2-6 (4-2-5 RMAC) heading into this week with this being a battle of the conference's two top defenses, as there have been just nine combined goals allowed throughout the season.
This past weekend the Griffins played to a 1-0-1 record as well with them shutting out Black Hills State 3-0 in their win, before tying #14 UCCS 0-0, same as the Mavs.
As an offense they have only managed 16 goals, but in return have only given up five, including just four in conference play.
Addie McCallister and Kara Dickey lead the team with three goals each while Kim Hendrickson adds two. Seven others have one goal apiece.
Marin MacKenzie is the team's goalkeeper totaling 46 saves with 11 shutouts. She's given up just four of the team's goals while owning a save percentage of 0.909, which ranks third best in the nation.
The Griffins come in as the fifth ranked defense in the country, just two spots behind Colorado Mesa.
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.
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
