GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- After extending their shutout streak to six, the Colorado Mesa University women's soccer team will look to continue their winning ways as they host the defending national champions and #1 ranked Florida Tech. They will then make the 9-hour journey to Spearfish to take on Black Hills State.
Both matches will be livestreamed on the RMAC Network (paid subscription required) and will have live stats available.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks played their first home match of the season against Fort Lewis and came out on top in a 1-0 battle which saw Olivia Bariao-Arce score the only goal of the game.
Then, they traveled to Gunnison to take on Western Colorado where the offense shined in a 4-0 beatdown. Ellie Duncan scored a hat-trick, becoming the first Mavs player since Lila Dere in Oct. 2022 to do so. Katelyn Romano also added to the total by scoring the first goal of her collegiate career.
RMAC Honors
This past week the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference named its RMAC Players of the Week it. This week saw two Mavericks awarded with Duncan and Olivia Barrett. Barrett won her fourth career Defensive Player of the Week and her second in a row while Duncan won her first Offensive Player of the Week and became the first Mavs player since 2024 to win Offensive Player of the Week.
Offensive Numbers
The Mavs have dominated on both sides of the ball, outscoring their opponents 11-3 and outshooting their opponents 119-59. 48 of those shots have gone on goal, resulting in a goal percentage of .403. After her hat-trick, Duncan now leads the team in goals with four. Jenelle Arenibas and Parker Mairs have been the sparks on the offensive side, each totaling two assists.
Historic Defense
The Mavs defense has continued to be incredibly sharp as they have not conceded a goal in six straight games and didn't even against MSU Denver, marking the first time that has happened since 2021. This stout defense is led by two-time RMAC Defender of the Week Olivia Barrett alongside Sarah Dunn and Ella Speerschneider, all whom have started eight games. The defense as a whole has only given up 11 shots with four of them going on goal. They will look to continue that dominance in these next couple games.
Keely "The Wizard" Wieczorek
Wieczorek has once again been absolutely dominant between the sticks, not only allowing a goal in six consecutive games but only allowing 0.38 goals per game. She recently won her ninth RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week award, becoming the most decorated goalkeeper in the program's history. She totals 24 saves on 56 shots faced and has only conceded three goals.
RMAC Standings
Through the first few games of RMAC play, two teams currently sit in first place with Regis and CMU both unbeaten and tied on 12 points.
The other unbeaten team is Black Hills State, who have won three and drawn once to place third with ten points.
UCCS follows them with nine points after winning three and losing one. Fort Lewis has gone 2-2 and sit with six points while Westminster has won, drawn and lost twice to capture five points.
Colorado School of Mines and MSU Denver are level on four points while Adams State has three.
CSU Pueblo, Western Colorado and Colorado Christian have all captured one point while New Mexico Highlands are still searching for their first point after dropping their first three RMAC matches.
Rankings
The Mavs are now ranked fifth in the South Central region according to a new poll by the IWSOC Coaches Poll in Partnership with United Soccer Coaches. Dallas Baptist are in first place with Midwestern State sitting in second and Texas Woman's placing third. There are three other RMAC teams that are ranked as well with Regis (#4), Black Hills State (#6) UCCS (#8) all placing alongside CMU.
About Florida Tech
The Panthers come into this match as the best team in Division II as they have gone unbeaten through nine matches so far, posting a record of 7-0-2. They outscore their opponents 27-8 and average 3 goals a game, good for ninth best in the nation. 81 of their 155 shots have been on goal, good for a shot-on-goal percentage of 0.523.
Eboni Bradshaw has undoubtedly been one of the best offensive players for the Panthers, leading the team in both goals (6) and assists (6) and putting up a whopping 18 points. Alice Mottershead and Iselin Brualokken are also two players the Mavs defense should look out for as they total seven goals and nine assists between the two of them.
The goalkeeping pair of Mette Brandes and Kaitlin Sinkler have totaled 25 saves with Sinkler making 3 and Brandes 22. Brandes has only conceded six goals in eight games played.
About Black Hills State
The Yellowjackets are having a great season thus far, owning an unbeaten record of 6-0-3. They are 3-0-1 in conference with their wins coming against Adams State, New Mexico Highlands and CSU Pueblo. They have outscored their opponents 21-5 and have only conceded two goals in a game once this season.
Forward Ivy Agee is on a tear on offense as she has scored ten goals, which is tied for second-best in all of Division II. Kylea Becker leads the team in assists with a whopping seven, which is tied for fifth-best in Division II.
Goalkeeper Rian Barthel has started and played all nine games, making 36 saves on 110 shots faced for a save percentage of 0.878%.
Take a Look Ahead
The Mavs begin a four game home stand starting with a Friday afternoon match against New Mexico Highlands on Oct. 9. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. inside Community Hospital Unity Field.
