The Mavericks had four different scorers with three or more points in an 18-7 win over Northern Michigan University (NMU).
Junior attacker Kenzie Blackwell led all scorers with four goals and five assists.
“This is by far the best team game that we’ve put together so far, and I hope it gets better cause certainly there is a lot of room for improvement, but you could see some of the discipline in the length of our possessions, we haven’t done that before,” CMU Head Coach Shanta Loecker said.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) big first half allowed them to lead all 60 minutes and get their first win of the season in front of their home crowd.
The Mavericks came out on fire scoring three goals within five minutes of the opening draw. Junior midfielder Nici Boutwell scored the first goal for the Mavericks getting her first goal of the season.
CMU’s defense and junior goaltender Lula Mitchell held the Wildcats off the scoreboard until there was 10:22 left in the half. Mitchell had seven saves in the first half as she was seeing the ball clearly allowing her to make some big-time stops on the doorstep.
The Mavericks took a 12-2 halftime lead behind with seven free-position goals. Blackwell scored all four of her goals in the first half on free-position plays.
Freshman midfielder Lauren Wick scored three of her four goals in the first half, with two coming off passes from Blackwell.
NMU came out firing in the second half scoring two goals in two minutes, and they kept it up scoring five goals in the second half. It was too little too late for the Wildcats with the Mavericks keeping their distance with a double-digit lead.
The Wildcats were running a zone against the Mavericks causing Blackwell to be more patient with the ball. Most possessions she took it to behind the goal on the right side, waiting for the right pass with her cutters going nonstop on the crease.
Blackwell picked up three assists in the second half waiting for the right look, and she found it delivery perfect passes each time.
“We learned a lot tonight and I think on both ends of the field we connected, and a lot of chemistry was made, and we can only grow from this,” Blackwell said.
Freshman midfielder Lauren Wick was the second-leading scorer for the Mavericks with four goals and one assist.
CMU’s next game with be Wednesday, Mar. 11 at 7 P.M. against Rockhurst University at Walker Field.
