GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Beginning the 2025 season with a home tournament for a change, the Colorado Mesa University Men's Soccer Team opens their fall this weekend as they host the Colorado Mesa Men's Soccer Showcase at Community Hospital Unity Field.
Taking place concurrently with the Women's Soccer Kickoff Weekend Tournament, the Mavericks will host the schools of Westminster University, Midwestern State and UT Dallas over the Friday through Sunday period with Colorado Mesa taking on both Midwestern State and UT Dallas while hosting neutral site games for Westminster to take on both schools as well.
The Mavs' games take place on Friday at 7 P.M. against Midwestern State and then Sunday at 1 P.M. against UT Dallas.
Each of the schools are also in-region opponents with the games having an impact on further seedings down the road for getting into the NCAA Tournament. Both schools hail from the Lone Star Conference, which represents the other conference in the South Central Region with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
HOW LAST YEAR ENDED
The 2024 campaign was one that featured many moments of ups and downs for the Mavs as they endured many injuries and battled through a tough schedule of three NCAA Championship qualifying teams. In the end they finished with a record of 5-10-2 while finishing ninth in the RMAC standings.
Despite their record they still managed highlights throughout their season as they ended with a positive scoring differential outscoring opponents 27-25. The Mavericks were in every game as well, with nine of their 10 losses coming by only one or two goals, including one-goal losses to a pair of nationally ranked teams, UCCS and Fort Lewis in back-to-back games and another one-goal setback to then-No. 25 CSU Pueblo.
The Mavs recorded four shutouts on the year with two of their victories coming as 5-0 decisions against both Simon Fraser University and Adams State University. Following the end of the season, three different players earned All-RMAC honors with one of them returning this season in Kensho Negi.
THIS YEAR'S TEAM
Moving onto this year's squad the Mavs have a vastly balanced look this year as they feature many of last year's key players while adding a significant bunch of new faces. In total there are 33 players on this year's roster with 20 of them being returners and 13 players joining the team. Of those 13, seven of them are transfers with the other six being freshmen.
New assistant coach, Will Lukowski, was also hired prior to the start of the season as he joins Head Coach Jon Fridal's staff after serving as an assistant coach at multiple other institutions for the previous seven seasons.
Returning to bolster the offense include the quartet of Matteo Bonelli, Manuel Ponce Casas, Kensho Negi and Daniel Paulsson as each of them scored three goals or more last season. Bonelli is the Mavericks' returning points leader with eight in his first season with the team last year.
Other notable players to return who saw significant time last season include Dylan Hobson, Jose Canales, Connor Chilson, Riccardo Legnante, Stefanos Christodoulakis, Justin Ibrahim and Joao Pedro Moraes as each of them appeared in 13 games or more on the year.
Transfers George Jones and Court Gonsalez can be looked upon to make an impact as well with Jones being an All-Conference selection last season at MSU Billings and Gonsalez being an All-Region pick at Casper College.
In the net, the Mavs will look to find a new goalkeeper of the team with the three faces of Nathan Beck, Michael Gale and Alejandro Jiminez each vying for the position.
ABOUT MIDWESTERN STATE
A top team from the Lone Star Conference, the Mustangs had a very successful season in 2024 with them finishing the year 15-3-3 and reaching as far as the third round of the NCAA Tournament. They eventually fell to Fort Lewis in the quarterfinals 2-0 with them finishing second in the regular season in the conference standings and #10 in the national rankings.
In the recently released preseason coaches' poll the Mustangs were picked to win the conference with them also being the preseason #10 ranked team in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Association. They have won four consecutive conference tournament titles heading into this year.
Selected as members of the LSC Men's Soccer Preseason Players to Watch were the duo of Liam Pritchard and Skylar Krchnak with Pritchard being an offensive player to watch and Krchnak being a defensive player to watch. Pritchard was a second team All-Conference selection in 2024 while Krchnak was selected to LSC All-Freshman team last season.
Among Pritchard, who was a top offensive player for the Mustangs with seven assists last year, the team brings in a new group with the only other player to have notable numbers returning being Gabriel Gacovicaj who scored four goals with two assists in 2024.
ABOUT UT DALLAS
A newcomer to the Lone Star Conference, the Comets are a new program to join the Division II ranks after serving as a Division III athletics school for the past 26 years. They began their two year process of moving up divisions in 2023 with 2025-26 serving as their first official year as a Division II school.
Last season facing DIII competition the Comets finished the year going 13-1-2 with them being an independent team and not eligible for postseason play.
Coming into this season they were voted to finish ninth in the Lone Star Conference while having the two players of Evan Pustejovsky and Callum Thompson earning recognition to the players to watch list. Pustejovsky was a second team All-Conference selection with Dallas Baptist last year before transferring while Thompson joins the Comets this season as another newcomer transfer.
25 new players have joined the program since their jump to Division II making for the Comets to be a team with many unknowns.
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 the event can be purchased online at cmumavericks.com/tickets or in person at the gate.
