The Mavericks win their home opener 18-11 over the Griffins as seven different players scored two or more points.
Sophomore attacker Melanie Evans led all scorers with five points as she scored three goals to go with two assists.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) finished the game with eight assists as a team.
“I think we got outworked today truthfully, I didn’t expect that with that last two games that we had, but we got outworked. I just think mentally we weren’t ready,” Head Coach Shannon McHale.
Sophomore midfielder Kiley Davis took went coast-to-coast on a clear, and she carved her way through the Griffins defense to score the first goal of the game. Westminster College (WC) scored two unanswered goals to take the lead with 26:04 left in the first half.
Both teams traded punches early in this game as there were four ties and five lead changes in the first half.
Senior midfielder Nici Boutwell tied the game up at four as she cut through the teeth of the defense and junior attacker Ashton Whittle found Boutwell for the goal. Davis broke the tie for CMU as she scored her eighth goal of the season to put the Mavericks up 5-4.
Whittle put the Mavericks up by two on a free position shot as she rushed the cage to pull Hannah Bargeron off her spot, threw two fakes and buried the shot. Melissa Reeves scored on a free position shot of her own to bring the Griffins back within one.
Wick picked up a yellow card with 3:21 remaining in the first half, and the Mavericks had to play man-down for a minute and a half. CMU’s offense didn’t seem to slow down despite being down a teammate.
Sophomore midfielder Regan Wentz attacked her defender and beat her defender going under to give herself an angle to finish over the head of Bargeron.
Whittle followed it up with a man-down free position goal that was similar to the way she scored her first free position goal.
CMU scored two goals in the final 20 seconds of the first half to give themselves a 10-6 lead.
“One of the players said it at halftime, we were playing individually and for ourselves on both sides of the field. The reason why we played so well against the number one and two teams in the nation, is because we were playing together as a unit because we knew we had to, to have any chance to beat either of those teams. We didn’t come with that mindset today,”
Both teams traded two goals to open the second half and CMU kept a four-point lead. Evans scored two straight goals for the Mavericks to give them a 14-8 lead.
Each time WC scored a goal in the final 20 minutes of the game, the Mavericks quickly answered with two goals of their own.
Whittle finished the game with two goals and two assists along with eight draw controls. Davis scored four goals against the Griffins.
WC’s goaltenders ended the game with 12 saves with Bargeron and Mikala Davis each ending the game with six saves.
“We didn’t learn from each other and the shots we took. We kept taking the same type of shots, didn’t learn from each other, and I think when we discussed it at halftime, our team made the adjustment to get it by her,” McHale said.
The Maverick’s next game is Thursday, April 1 at 5 p.m. against Adams State University at Maverick Field.
