In 26 years of NCAA play, the Women’s Soccer Team has finished with a 50% winning percentage or above in 16 of them. Additionally, they amounted double-digit wins 10 times in the same time span.
The program has only had five coaches in their brief but storied history.
The Mavericks were almost immediately a powerhouse after their program was created. Jim Buchan coached for 12 years starting from CMU’s inaugural season in 1996 to 2007. Buchan tallied a 56% winning percentage along with three regular-season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championships.
Buchan was at the helm for both of CMU’s only National Quarterfinal Tournament appearances in 1997 and 1998. Buchan received two RMAC Coach of the Year Awards and two NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year Awards.
Many of the best athletes in CMU’s Women’s Soccer history played during this early era. There were five NSCAA All-Americans and seven All-Region players under Buchan’s guidance.
Forward Tiffany Thompson and defender Cheryl Bates led the Mavericks to arguably their most dominant time as a program. Thompson is the all-time leading goal-scorer in Mavericks history. Thompson and Bates were named as first and second team All-Americans respectively in 1997. Thompson was also the 1997 RMAC Player of the Year.
Not to be outdone, Bates won back-to-back RMAC Player of the Year honors in 1999 and 2000. Bates would go on to notch first team All-American honors during the same campaigns. Most notably, Bates was added to the RMAC Women’s Soccer All-Time team in 2009. Bates is the only Maverick to be featured on the team and was inducted into the Maverick Hall of Honor in 2013.
Forward Raina Fine would earn third-team All-American recognition and be named as the 2000 RMAC Freshman of the Year. Goalkeeper Lindsey Blose was named to the first team in 2002. Blose is the program leader in save percentage (0.838%). The Mavericks have not had a player qualify for an All-American team since.
Erin Sharp took over head coaching duties in 2008 and remained at CMU until 2013, the second longest stint in the program’s history. The Mavericks would capture 3 winning seasons and their most recent NCAA National Tournament appearance which came in 2011.
Sharp, much like Buchan, excelled at developing players. The 2008 team featured third team All-Regional defender Deborah Vigil (Benson) and third team All-Regional forward Daniela Ramierez along with four total All-RMAC players. Ramirez would repeat the same feat in the 2009 season and is fourth all-time in CMU’s point leaders.
Two years later in 2011, the Mavericks finished 10-8-4 and placed fourth in the RMAC. The team went 2-1 in the RMAC post-season tournament, good enough to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
They featured three All-Regional players that year in Midfielder Sarah Isles, defender Samantha Burneo and midfielder Kelci Crispe. Crispe is third all-time in Maverick assists.
Jason Clare replaced Sharp in 2014 but had difficulty finding consistent wins in his five year tenure as head coach, recording just one winning season. Nonetheless, the Mavericks produced three All-RMAC players and 11 honorable mentions during this time.
Daniella Thurman stepped in as head coach before the 2019 campaign after spending the previous three years as an assistant. Thurman pushed the Mavericks back to their winning ways and led the team to just their second winning season since 2012 (8-7-2).
Forward Zoe Peterson became the first All-Regional selectee in 8 seasons. Midfielder Alexis Allard made second team All-RMAC and the Mavericks racked up 6 honorable mentions as well that season.
Thurman left CMU after 2019 to pursue a dental hygienist career. The coaching reins were then handed to current Head Coach Megan Remec, a former assistant coach for CMU rival Metro State University-Denver.
Remec built upon Thurman’s early success and guided the Mavericks to another winning season and their first RMAC Tournament Appearance since 2017 during the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season.
Forward Lila Dere burst onto the scene that year and became the first Maverick to win RMAC Freshman of the Year in 20 seasons. Dere, defender Michaela Danger and midfielder Lexi Newton garnered All-RMAC honors along with 2 other honorable mentions.
This past season Remec and company solidified their position atop the RMAC hierarchy. The Mavericks finished 14-4 and won their first RMAC Championship in over two decades, the program’s fourth overall.
The dynamic duo of Danger and Dere was deadly. Danger became the first CMU player to win RMAC Defensive Player of the Year while Dere was the RMAC Player of the Year. Both received first-team All-Region selections. Danger, Dere, and Newton repeated their All-RMAC selections from the season before.
The future is bright with this young iteration of Mavericks and one of the best coaches the RMAC has to offer. The Mavericks head into this upcoming season looking for their fourth consecutive winning season and third straight RMAC Tournament Appearance. Most importantly, they hope to find postseason success and qualify for their first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 11 years.
