For some of the teams competing in the Fall 2021 season, this is their second time competing in a calendar year due to COVID-19 pushing Fall sports back to the spring.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) fall sport teams did not disappoint as many of them had athletes put up record statistics. Here’s a look at a few of the teams that had good seasons.
Men’s Soccer: MVP
The men’s soccer team have been dominant on the soccer pitch this season and all their success has been a joint team effort all season long. The team went 16-4-2 and made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament. It was the team’s best run since 2018.
Throughout the season, the Mavericks have had 20 different players score a goal. Redshirt sophomore forward Alec Fronapfel leads the offense with nine goals. Twenty different players scored a goal for the Mavericks this season as they showed that they are a very versatile team.
The Mavericks redshirt freshman forward Fernando Morales also contributed to the success of the men’s soccer team.Morales’s final goal of the 2021 seaon came in clutch for the Mavericks as it would be the game winning goal in the RMAC Championship game on Nov.13.
The Mavericks defense was able to make redshirt goalkeeper Connor Durant’s job a little easier through the season as they were able to stop their opponents and limited the amount of shots they were able to get on the goal.
Durant faced 251 shots this season and saved 71 of them. He had a big role in the team’s postseason run as well: he defended the net well in the penalty kick round against Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in the team’s first game of the NCAA tournament.
The team’s hard fought effort and winning mindset is what pushed them to be as successful as they were throughout the 2021 season.
Women’s Soccer: Runner-Up
The women’s soccer team they was the co-regular season champions as well as having many other accomplishments throughout the season.
They racked up two wins against top ten ranked opponents in Northwest Nazarene University on Sept. 9 and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Oct. 3.
The 2021 team was the first team to collect double-digit wins since 2011 and the first to get to 14 since 2000. They also only had four losses this season and went 9-1 at Unity Field.
Redshirt freshman forward Lila Dere did something that has not happened to a Maverick women’s soccer player since 2000. Dere was able to claim the RMAC Player of the year title which was well deserved after she was a leader of the Mavericks offense.
Football: Honorable Mention
The football team came out this season knowing that they had something to prove in a tough RMAC.
The Mavericks finished the season with their best record since the team with 9-2 in 2017. They did something that no other team was able to do in the regular season: beating CSM.
In the game against the Orediggers, the Mavericks had a big momentum shift as they were able to get a safety with just under three minutes left in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Karst Hunter then threw a 27 yard pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Dwight Blakey with 50 seconds left in the quarter.
At that point in the game, the Mavericks were down 21-16, but with a field goal and a touchdown in the second half, were able to pull off the upset win against CSM when they were the No. 3 team in the country.
CMU’s redshirt senior defensive back Damar’ren Mitchell led the Mavericks in tackles for the season and was named an All-American at the conclusion of the season. Mitchell had his Maverick career high of 15 tackles against Chadron State College on Sept. 25.
On the offensive side of the game, Hunter broke records in passing yards (2,481), completion percentage (62.5%) and completions (190) all in a single season.
He ran the ball for 385 yards while scoring six touchdowns and he threw for 2,481. Through the ten games he played this season he only threw four interceptions ,which is the second best in the RMAC.
