Three different Mavericks registered three or more points in their 15-4 win over the Skyhawks.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) caused 15 of the Skyhawks‘ 24 turnovers in the game as the Mavericks put a lot of pressure on the Skyhawk’s ball handlers. The Mavericks outshot Fort Lewis College (FLC) 32 to 11 in the game.
“It was a good win. It’s always great to get a conference win but started slow and turned the ball over quite a bit in the first half. That is something that we need to continue to improve on,” Head Coach Shannon McHale said.
Redshirt sophomore attacker Regan Wentz led CMU in scoring with four goals in the game. She went two for three on free-position shots contributing to the Maverick’s five goals on free-position opportunities.
The Mavericks got off to a quick start in the first quarter scoring two goals in the opening two minutes of the game.
FLC answered with a pair of goals of their own both coming off an assist from Liv Crawford with 8:40 left in the first quarter. Wentz answered with her first goal of the game on a free position shot to put CMU up 3-2 with 6:23 left in the first quarter.
Haley Dostie received a yellow card which gave the Mavericks an extra-man opportunity. Redshirt junior midfielder Ashton Whittle took advantage as she cut through the defense to finish on the doorstep off an assist from redshirt sophomore attacker Brianna Anderson.
“I thought Ashton came back really well. She’s been injured, so fitness was going to be a question, but she pushed through. Her energy is great as far as keeping people moving forward,” McHale said.
Dostie got back on track as she answered with a goal of her own to bring FLC within one goal with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Redshirt sophomore midfielder Taylor Jakeman got the Mavericks on the board quickly in the second quarter as well scoring 54 seconds into the quarter.
After Jakeman’s goal, Averi Basso kept CMU off the board in the second quarter until there was 1:50 left in the first half. Wentz scored her second goal of the game to put CMU up 6-3 off an assist from redshirt sophomore midfielder Kiley Davis.
Anderson put the Mavericks up by four points with four seconds left in the half on a free position shot for her second goal of the season.
Both defenses held strong in the opening five minutes of the second quarter before Jakeman put CMU up 8-3 with 9:39 left in the third quarter. Mikki Brown scored the final goal for the Skyhawks with 4:27 left in the third quarter as she rounded the crease and finished through the five-hole.
Redshirt sophomore defender Kelsey Viger scored her first career goal on a free position shot with 1:26 left in the third quarter. Whittle scored her third and final goal of the game with 20 seconds left in the quarter to put CMU up 10-4.
Sophomore attacker Elizabeth Renken scored off an assist from Davis with 12:23 left in the third quarter as the Mavericks continued to dominate offensively. The Mavericks scored four more goals in the fourth quarter to win 15-4 and improve to 2-0 on the season.
Jakeman scored three goals and recorded one assist in the game. She caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls in the Mavericks win.
Whittle scored three goals in her first game of the season. She also recorded eight draw controls to help CMU win 14 of the 23 draw controls in the game.
“I took Adams as my last first game, but this was my actual last first game. So, it just felt good to know that I still had it, my team was still behind me, and just driving that pace like our goal was at the beginning of the game. Being able to start that off was really good,” Whittle said.
CMU’s next game is Wednesday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m. against McKendree University in Community Hospital Unity Field in the final game of CMU’s three-game homestand.
