The Mavericks advance to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament Championship for the first time in program history with their 15-13 win over the Mountain Lions.
Sophomore midfielder Kiley Davis scored a game-high five points as she scored four goals and contributed one assist in the contest. Junior midfielder Ashton Whittle and freshman attacker Lauren Wick each scored three goals along with one assist against the Mountain Lions.
“I think we can we know that anybody can step up when we need it from our attack. So if they want to try and shut one or two people down, we have plenty of other scores, which I think, it’s been that way the whole year,” Head Coach Shannon McHale said.
The Mavericks finished with a 19 to 11 advantage in the draw control circle. Colorado Mesa University (CMU) caused 13 of the Mountain Lions 14 turnovers in the game.
Natalie Church scored the opening two goals of the game to jump out to an early lead in the first half. Davis scored her 29 goal of the season on a free-position opportunity with 16:50 left in the first half.
Chloe Harding and Church each scored a goal to put the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) up by three points. Wick then answered with a goal of her own on a free-position shot on a man-down opportunity.
Freshman midfielder Peyton Ivey and Whittle each scored a man-up goal to tie the game up at four. Both teams traded goals to end the first half as the game was tied at six going into the halftime break.
The Mountain Lions scored three unanswered goals to open the second half and give themselves a 9-6 lead. Davis kicked off a seven to zero run off a free position shot that allowed the Mavericks to take a 13-9 lead.
UCCS tried to tie the game up late in the second half, but the Mavericks were able to fend them off with their final two goals which proved to be the nail in the coffin.
Freshman attacker Brianna Anderson finished with a season-high three points. Anderson scored one goal and finished with two assists in the game.
CMU protected the ball as they finished the game with 12 turnovers which were their second-lowest turnover total of the season.
“We can control the pace of the game, offensively, if we’re smart and stay connected with each other. So I think, you know, today, they were just did a really good job of using the clock a bit and taking their time,” McHale said.
The Mavericks also finished the game with a 43 to 29 shot advantage in the game.
CMU’s next game is Sunday, May 9 at noon against Regis University in their first RMAC Tournament Championship appearance in program history.
