The brisk night felt cold once Colorado Mesa University’s loss to Fort Lewis College was sealed in double overtime. The Skyhawks handed the Mavericks their second home loss on the season in a 1-0 victory in the 108th minute. Both teams battled in a seesaw affair until FLC secured the game-winner.
CMU goalie Briley Guarneri leapt up and to his left for a spectacular save in the 107th minute. It was the type of save that seemed to give the Mavericks momentum. Even after the save, Guarneri was alerting his fellow teammates to keep the focus up, but everything after that happened so quickly.
The Skyhawks’ Raul Pescador sent a corner kick inches away from the goal and all it took was a slight push by Marshall Metzger to sneak the ball into the back of the net. It seemed the Mavericks were caught off guard, and with so many players around the goal, it was tough for Guarneri to corral the ball and register the save. The fans went silent, and the Maverick players frozen in place, shocked at the quick outcome.
There were so many shots from both sides it felt like a 5-5 game even though the game went into overtime. The Mavericks kicked 17 shots to the Skyhawk’s 18, but the latter was more accurate with eight shots on goal. There were multiple opportunities in both halves but the defense was on another level, especially from both goalies.
Guarneri had his best game of the season. The senior secured 10 saves, a season-high, and good for a .909 save percentage. His counterpart, Ventura Salcido, had just four saves but matched Guarneri save for save to keep both teams chipping away.
The Mavericks tried to feature Lawan Abary early, and the junior kicked five shots in the contest, a team-high, but was unable to score his 12th goal on the season as Skyhawk defenders flocked towards the 6’4 dynamo every time he went for the ball. Abary nearly scored in the 17th minute off a header but Salcido made quick work off the attempt.
The Skyhawks put some pressure on Guarneri in the 21st minute but he had no problem making plays. Ethan Anderson tried to put the Mavericks ahead later in the half but his shot fell short after some trickery from CMU on a free kick.
An action-packed first half was followed by a more steady second half. CMU looked to attack from the center of the field more while FLC worked side-to-side most of the contest. The Mavericks had trouble with their ball control at times which limited their ability to sustain momentum towards the goal.
Both teams combined for just 11 shots in the latter half but the biggest shot of all came in the 88th minute when Nicholas Perez sent a screamer towards Guarneri that ran out of juice.
The Mavericks had their best look of the night in the first overtime. Kevin Del Mazo sent a great pass right into the pocket of Matthew Miller, but Miller couldn’t quite get a grip on the ball and his shot went wide right.
CMU falls to 10-2-4 and an 8-2-3 RMAC conference record. The loss dropped the Mavericks to fourth after sitting in second place for a large portion of the season. Either way, CMU secured a spot in the RMAC tournament, and with one game left in the regular season, it remains to be seen where they are seeded in the tournament.
CMU finishes their regular season on the road on Saturday against Adams State University at 11 am.
