GRAND JUNCTION Colo.- After a winning campaign in 2025, the Colorado Mesa University men's soccer team will open their 2026 campaign in Texas for a two-game slate against host UT Dallas and defending national champion Midwestern State. The Mavs' two games will be played at the UT Dallas Soccer Complex in Richardson, Texas. Thursday's contest against the Comets will begin at 8 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. Mountain). The Mavs will then face the Midwestern State Mustangs on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. Mountain).
Both matches can be streamed via FloCollege (subscription required) and live statistics will be available at the links above.
Thursday's meeting will mark the second the Mavs have faced off against the Comets, who have successfully made the transition to full NCAA Division II status. The Mavs dominated the first meeting last season at home, 5-0.
The rivalry with Midwestern State is more extensive as Saturday's match-up will mark the 11th time that the teams have faced off against each other. The Mustangs hold a 7-1-2 overall record against the Mavs. Last season the two teams played to a 1-1 draw, when the Mustangs started the season ranked tenth in the country.
The Mavs finished last season going 8-7-3 with a sixth place finish in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's regular season standings with 17 points and a 5-3-2 conference record. They put up some good results against the aforementioned Mustangs, a 4-1 upset of then ninth-ranked Fort Lewis a week after a 3-3 tie with No. 7 CSU Pueblo. Those results helped the Mavs earn a spot in the RMAC Tournament, where they fell short in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Regis.
CMU Head Coach
Jon Fridal will be entering his seventh year at the helm and has complied an overall record of 54-33-14 including a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and a share of the 2020-21 RMAC Regular Season crown. The Mavs will be looking to make some noise in a highly competitive RMAC,
as they were projected to finish seventh in this year's preseason coaches' poll.
Defender
George Jones will be a key contributor to the success of this team and was named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team. Fridal will also look towards goalkeeper
Nathan Beck,
Connor Chilson,
Jonah Elstad,
Mostafa Hassan, who all started ten or more games in 2025.
Kamden Kooiman is also back as the team's leading returning goal scorer with five tallies in 2025.
The Mavs also feature some fresh faces including three transfers from NCAA Division I schools. Midfielders Afonso Toborda (VCU),
James Maxwell (Northern Kentucky) and forward
Richie Tabares Ochoa (Grand Canyon) will be given plenty of opportunities to contribute to the team.
UT Dallas finished last season with a strong 11-5-2 record including 7-2-1 Lone Star Conference mark which would be good enough to finish second in the LSC standings, behind only Midwestern State, a team the Comets were able to defeat in their initial year as LSC members.
The Comets were also picked second in this season's LSC Preseason Poll, voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and media members. They received two first place votes while Avery Brazzell, Callum Thompson and Ryder Claborn were all named to the Players to Watch list.
Meanwhile, Midwestern State would have a season of dreams in 2025. The Mustangs finished the year on an 11-game winning streak to claim the LSC Tournament and NCAA Division II titles and went 19-3-3 overall while winning the LSC Regular Season crown with an 8-2 record. They rattled off seven consecutive post-season wins while conceding just two goals and claimed their first national title with a 1-0 victory over Rollins (Fla.) in Colorado Springs.
The Mustangs appear to be loaded once again and swept the LSC Preseason Player of the Years with Parker Plaxco, Davis Mays and Jake Morris sweeping the Offensive, Defensive and Goalkeeper awards. They also received 30 of the 33 first place votes in the LSC Preseason Poll and have also been picked first in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Preseason Poll, one spot ahead of Rollins.
Following the trip to Texas, the Mavs will return to Grand Junction for a two-game home stand against the University of Jamestown and UC Merced on Sept. 3 and 5.
