Fort Lewis College was able to shock the Mavericks by securing a 1-1 draw in a double-overtime standoff in the first match of conference play. This match came down to the wire and was filled with exciting offensive performances and outstanding defensive efforts on both ends off the field. However, CMU’s 23 total shots resulted in only one lone goal.
“It’s a shame to get punished for your only mistake of the game like we did but overall I thought we defended very well,” Head Coach Andrew Coniff said.
The Mavericks played as a well-rounded team most of the game and excelled in areas that have proven to be problematic for them in the past.
CMU kept the pressure on all throughout the first half having a total of 11 shots with multiple being on goal. Even with the heavy offensive play the Mavericks still took the match into the half scoreless.
The Skyhawks came out in the second half looking like a whole new team, almost scoring the first goal of the match within the first 30 seconds of play.
The game was filled with physicality put on by both sides with seven yellow cards given out on the night.
Goal number one came from the Skyhawks via Hakeem Rabiu in the 58th minute with a beauty of shot one-on-one against Peter Vandam.
“That goal came off of a counter where we kinda had a sloppy turnover out the back and they just had one direct ball to beat us,” Coniff said. “They capitalized on it and I think we could’ve had a clearance but there was a miscommunication with our goalkeeper.”
With CMU being down 0-1 with just 32 minutes left in the match, the Mavericks knew they had to get something going. It finally came from none other than Alec Fronapfel in the 83rd minute. The freshman still leads the team with three goals on the year.
The defense did a really good job at still limiting opportunities while we were pushing to go forward,” Coniff said.
Both teams battled it out in overtime but were unsuccessful. The Mavericks finished the game with six shots on goal as well as taking 11 corners.
CMU will take on CSU-Pueblo in the second game of their RMAC home stretch this Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
