Sports Editor
The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks men’s soccer team (1-7-1, 1-4-1 RMAC) secured its first win of the season on Sunday in a 5-1 thrashing of Adams State College (2-4-1, 1-3 RMAC).
After a 1-0 loss against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the Mavs extended their winless drought on the season. However, momentum changed for the Mavericks in Sunday’s game.
“We finally scored some goals today,” coach Josh Pittman said. “We put ourselves in a hole early, but we played well down the stretch.”
The Mavs fell behind early when Grizzly forward Erick Henrickson scored in the second minute. After that goal, the Mavs took control of the match.
The Maverick onslaught started in the 17th minute when midlfielder Jeremy Gwerder beat the keeper to tie the match. 15 minutes later, the Mavericks scored again in the 33rd minute when Danny Molineaux scored top-shelf to take the lead.
“It was a huge goal for me,” Molineaux said. “I had been frustrated with my play this season, but I finally scored one.”
The goals continued to pile up in the second half. Molineaux netted his second goal in the 47th minute. Molineaux finished the game with two goals and a team-leading six shots.
The goals continued in the 61st minute when forward Brandon Burton sailed a picture-perfect chip over an Adams defender, landing the ball at the foot of Mouhamad Gaye. Gaye blasted the volley into the bottom corner of the net to expand the lead to 4-1. Gaye returned for an encore in the 88th minute with an empty-net goal off a rebound.
“I came on hot,” Gaye said. “My teammates needed me, and I came through with a couple of goals.”
The Mavs outshot the Grizzlies 21-4, with 10 shots on goal. Caleb Ealey only had to make one save to preserve the Maverick victory.
The Mavericks scored five goals on Sunday, after only scoring four goals in their first eight games.
“It’s a huge win,” Molineaux said. “We have the talent, but we lacked motivation. After this win, hopefully we can focus going forward and string together some wins.”
Despite having only one win on the season, Pittman is confident in his team moving forward.
“We played well today,” Pittman said. “If we score, we’re going to cause problems.”
dlmeyer@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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