Colorado Mesa University had to play from behind for the second straight game on Friday, but the Mavericks never panicked, securing two goals in the second half to get past UCCS with a 2-1 victory, their sixth straight win.
Although the Mavericks have found plenty of first-half success this year, there past two games have had slow starts. CMU outshot the Cougars 5-3, but the Mountain Lions scored with five minutes left in the half.
UCCS’s Alex VonHolle scored his sixth season goal on a penalty kick. Eddie Cardenas received a yellow card for the Mavericks, their first yellow of the game.
Lawan Abary and Kevin Del Mazo nearly scored for CMU, but UCCS goalie Scott Jensen registered two saves to keep the Mavericks at bay.
Del Mazo was issued a yellow card with two minutes left in the first half, but the Mountain Lions couldn’t capitalize on their favorable field position.
CMU came out of the half pushing the ball upfield and found themselves in UCCS territory for an extended period. The Mavericks kicked five shots toward Jensen in a span of six minutes but couldn’t make any of them count. Peter Vandam nearly got the ball past Jensen, but he was sure-handed all afternoon and secured another save.
A foul on UCCS put CMU in business. Abary settled himself in for the penalty kick and had no problem sinking it past Jensen. The score was Abary’s 10th of the year.
Six minutes later, CMU pulled off the comeback once again. Del Mazo sent a corner kick perfectly near the goal, and after some short back and forth, James McGhee passed it to Chris Boyd who finished off the play and gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.
McGhee, who was recently named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for week four, has been a steady contributor for the Mavericks in his senior season. He has three goals and two assists while playing stellar defense for CMU.
The Mountain Lions did their best to capture a late comeback but were wide and high in their last shots in the final minutes.
CMU kicked 12 shots in the second half, with seven on goal, while UCCS struggled in the second half only kicking 4 shots and placing little to no pressure on Briley Guarneri, CMU’s goalie who recorded zero saves during the game.
CMU’s undefeated season continues with the win as they move to 8-0-2 and 6-0-2 in the RMAC.
The Mavericks will vie for their sixth win on Walker Field this season against Regis University on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CMU has won their last seven matches against the Rangers.
