Discipline.
With a schedule that requires the Women’s Soccer team to always be at the top of their game, the veteran presence that Colorado Mesa University (CMU) has in place has benefitted them in playing close games throughout the season.
CMU has only lost one of the five games they have played within the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
They have had a very demanding schedule with playing then nationally-ranked University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, as well as Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and Regis University (RU) within a week. The team was able to walk away with a win in all of those games.
“Our mindset going into these games is that we refuse to lose. We will do whatever it takes to win. We have put in a ton of hard work and it is going to pay off for us,” Freshman forward Lila Dere said.
CMU has had games that tested them outside of their conference as well. They competed against then ranked No.10 Northwest Nazarene University.
The Mavericks were able to force an overtime in the second half as they scored two goals. Dere then was able to find an open gap six minutes into overtime to give her team the victory.
The Mavericks, like other teams in the RMAC, had their 2020 season pushed until the spring of 2021, turning their offseason practice schedule into an actual season. Redshirt freshman midfielder Sophia Beames discussed how having back to back seasons has been good for the team as they understood the things that they needed to work on after the three month break.
“We had an end of season talk last year because we went out in the first round of the RMAC tournament. We had just looked at all of our statistics and we had everything, we just couldn’t score goals and we kept giving up goals. I think going into this season we knew what we needed to do to get things done,” Beames said.
A part of their game that the team felt like they were missing was the attack on both offense and defense. One thing the team reevaluated during the offseason is how they scored a lot of goals but also were giving up a lot of goals on the defensive end as well.
Redshirt sophomore defenders Michaela Dangler and Devyn Parsons have really held things down on the defensive front. They are one of many reasons why CMU has seen success in women’s soccer this season. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chloe Dody has also been a brick wall at the net as she has only allowed ten goals through the nine games she has appeared in.
“We definitely have so many talented and amazing players in defense. Devyn [Parsons] and Sydney [Prestia] are solid in the center and we have a whole group of outside backs that work together to make some huge plays and saves. Our goalkeepers are also really amazing at communicating and making some big-time saves,” Dangler said.
Dere has been a driving force for the Mavericks offense.
She has recorded 11 of the team’s 23 goals. She recorded four of those in the game against RU while putting up two goals against CSM.
Midfielders, Redshirt junior Lexi Newton and redshirt sophomore Mira Houck have controlled the midfield, making sure that they get the ball into the attacking zone so the pressure is put on the other team.
Houck, after joining the team in the spring, is playing her first season with the Mavericks and is definitely helping put the pressure on the other team by being aggressive and having a dominant presence on the field.
Something else that makes the Mavericks team a force to be reckoned with is that the team’s bench is just as determined. The Mavericks secret weapon is having people like forward redshirt redshirt senior Sydney Hathaway and redshirt freshman Addie Randel on their bench, who have been able to control the ball well on the pitch.
The Mavericks schedule does not get any easier as they take on Colorado Christian University and Metro State University-Denver for their last two home games of the regular season.
The Cougars will be in town to take on the Mavericks on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. and the Roadrunners will head through Grand Junction, Colo. on Oct. 24 at 12 p.m.
