The Mavericks travelled to Los Angeles, Calif, to take on Cal State L.A. in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
In a hard fought game, the Golden Eagles were able to secure the victory with a goal in the 92 minute of the game.
Getting to the NCAA tournament meant a lot for the Colorado Mesa University Men’s Soccer team, it meant that all of their hard work paid off throughout the season.
“It meant everything because of the work that we have been putting in pretty much since last spring season. We didn’t get to where we would have liked but the whole squad had an incredible season and we learned and grew a lot as a team,” Redshirt junior goalkeeper Connor Durant said.
CMU was aggressive with the ball throughout the whole match. Redshirt junior midfielder Daisuke Takanaka was able to get the Mavericks on the board right before the first half was over.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of a huge opportunity when Gonzalo Talavera scored on a penalty kick against Durant.
The Mavericks and Golden Eagles went into the half tied at one apiece.
“Going into half we just talked about playing our game still and realizing it was a brand new game and we needed to stay focused and locked in,”Durant said.
Durant was solid in the goal for the rest of the game as he had three saves in the second half.
Going into the second half, the Mavericks had strong possession as they were able to take eight shots. Redshirt senior midfielder Gabriel Peres led the Mavericks in shots by taking six and four of them being on the goal.
Almost three minutes into overtime is when the Golden Eagles were able to secure their fate against CMU as Gerard Hernando shot on Durant and was able to make it past him in the top left corner of the net.
The Mavericks finish their season 16-4-2 while making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2018. Redshirt sophomore forward Alec Fronapfel led the Mavericks in goals with nine and in points with 19. Redshirt freshmen midfielder Leo Mireles led the team in assists with seven. Durant finished the season with 68 saves at the net.
