GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- Following some great results at home, the Colorado Mesa University men's soccer team opens the month of October by making the over 100-mile trek south to take on Adams State and Fort Lewis. The match against the Grizzlies will take place on Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. inside ASU Soccer Field. The rematch with the Skyhawks will be in Durango this time on Oct. 4, with kickoff set 1 p.m. inside Dirks Field.
Both matches will be livestreamed on the RMAC Network (paid subscription required) and will have live stats available.
Last Time Out
The Mavs opened up RMAC play against two ranked opponents in #2 UCCS and #13 CSU Pueblo.
They stunned UCCS 3-2 with goals from George Jones, Hayes Malone and Edoardo Oliveri to seal the program's first ever win against a top five opponent.
The Mavs then drew with CSU Pueblo 1-1 with a goal from Oliveri and a career-high nine saves from Nathan Beck being the highlights.
Team Stats
The Mavs are outscoring their opponents 15-14 and averaging 1.67 goals per game. Of the 140 shots the team has taken, 57 of been on target resulting in a shots on goal percentage of .407%.
Richie Tabares Ochoa continues to be the catalyst for the Mavs offense as he leads the team in goals with five and is tied with Kamden Kooiman in assists with three. He racked up two assists over the last two games along with two points, extending his point total to 13.
Oliveri has also been a tear as of late, adding an assist or goal in four of the five games he has played. He racked up two more goals this home stand to bring his goal total to four.
The Mavs defense bent but never broke as they only conceded three goals on 48 total shots. The backline lead by George Jones, Jonah Elstad and Daniel Ehler has been stingy and will look to improve on this road trip.
Nathan is Becktastic
Beck had amazing stretch of games as he made 15 total saves over the course of two games against UCCS and CSU Pueblo. He increased his save total to 36 and his save percentage to .720%. His average saves-per-game is 4.00, good for third best in the RMAC.
His performance over the past couple of games was good enough to net him his first RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week award, the first Mav goalkeeper to win the award since Diego Chavez on Sept. 24, 2024.
RMAC Standings
With just a few games into RMAC play, the standings can still change over the course of the next month.
So far Fort Lewis and Regis sit in first place both with 2-0 records and six points. CSU Pueblo and CMU are tied with four points after they both won and tied.
MSU Denver and Colorado Christian both won and lost to gain three points while UCCS and Westminster got a point. Mines and Adams State are still looking for their first point of RMAC play.
Ranking
The Mavs find themselves just outside the top 25 national rankings as they are receiving votes according to a new poll by the United Soccer Coaches. They also rose one spot in the regional rankings as they now sit in fifth in the South Central region. Midwestern State retain their number one spot as they remain undefeated at 8-0-2.
Among the ten ranked teams in the South Central region, six of those teams come from the RMAC. Along with CMU; CSU Pueblo (#2), UCCS (#3), Regis (#4), Fort Lewis (#6) and MSU Denver(#7) all find themselves in the regional rankings.
About Adams State
The Grizzlies currently own an overall record of 1-6-1 with their lone win coming against Wayland Baptist University. Their first two RMAC matches resulted in a scoreless draw with Mines and a 5-0 loss to Colorado Christian.
Historically, the Mavs have an unbeaten 20-0-2 record over the Grizzlies and currently have an 18-game winning streak dating back to 2011. The last match between these two resulted in a 5-0 win for the Mavs.
Ben Bradford and Hector Hererra are tied with one goal each while Idrees Altaee has an assist. Goalkeepers Lars Ostermann and Bryan Amezcua have totaled 55 saves with Ostermann having 17 and Amezcua 38.
About Fort Lewis
The Skyhawks hold a 5-2-2 overall record with wins against the likes of Lubbock Christian, West Texas and St. Edward's. The team has been ranked as high as 12th this season, but setbacks against Northwest Nazarene and CSU Pueblo dropped them from the rankings. Their first two RMAC matches resulted in wins as they beat Colorado Christian 3-0 and MSU Denver 2-1.
The Mavs own an overall record of 9-17-6 against the Skyhawks with their last match being on Sept. 17 of this season, where the game resulted in a 1-1 draw.
The Skyhawks have outscored their opponents 20-9 with Simão Agostinho leading the charge with six goals. Reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week Raul Baptista Filipe leads the team in assists with four. The goalkeeper duo of Lucas Martin and Fred Reiter have combined for 27 saves with Martin making 23 and Reiter 4.
Take a Look Ahead
The Mavs return home for their lone match of the week against Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 11. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. inside Community Hospital Unity Field.
