Following last year’s 11-6 season, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) women’s team lost only seven seniors, along with the loss of freshman Madi Kruis, who scored 10 goals for the team before injuring her leg late in the season. To refresh the roster, head coach Ashley Delaney picked up 14 new players, including 12 freshmen and two players out of the transfer portal.
“The team looks good […] We spent a lot of the preseason working on fastball movement and just kind of working out the kinks and getting chemistry together. I think we got everybody in. You know, it’s no stranger. If you look at our roster, we have about 12 freshmen and two transfers, so definitely coming in with a new team, but a lot of good energy,” said Delaney.
One of the seniors primed for a big season is senior midfielder Ali Bryant. Last season, Bryant netted 11 goals and dished out six assists. She also had a great defensive season, racking up 13 caused turnovers and picking up 26 ground balls. From the draw circle, she controlled 45 draws, behind only senior draw specialist Emme Rezoski, who grabbed 82 in last year’s campaign.
“I think last season, I came off a finger injury that kind of limited what I could do in the field. This year, [my goals are] just being fresh and hungry. I’m just excited to prove myself out there and be back in the mix,” said Bryant.
Bryant won’t be the only midfielder who has to step up this year, as the Mavericks lost two midfielders to graduation last year, along with a third stepping away from the sport. A massive loss for the team’s midfield unit was then-senior Peyton Ivey. Ivey was named to the all-RMAC second team last season, starting 14 games. Junior Ella Freemon is a top candidate to see more minutes on the field this year. She’s coming off her best season in her NCAA career, which included 20 draw controls and 12 ground balls.
The arguably biggest loss for CMU might be last year’s graduation of Kelsey Viger. Viger has a laundry list of honors, including being the only Maverick to be named an all-american twice in her career, being named to the first team in 2023 and third team in 2024. She also holds the Mesa record in career-caused turnovers, tallying 147 in her five-year stint with the program. Viger will still be on the field for CMU, however, as she’s joined as a Volunteer assistant coach. Two new defenders trying to fill the big shoes she left for them come from her hometown of Savage, Minnesota, a town 15 miles south of Minneapolis. True freshmen defenders Sadie Chappuis and Piper Green both hail from Savage and were members of a state championship team in 2021.
In the attacking sphere, all three leading goal scorers are coming back for another season in the Maverick uniform. Junior attacker Justine Anderson led the team in goals scored last season, finding the back of the net 54 times, and was named a preseason third-team all-American for her efforts. Junior attacker Carson Dickey and senior attacker Caroline Ohgenmach combined for 57 goals, and placed second and third on the team in goals scored respectively.
“…since it’s my last year, I just want to focus on having fun. And every year I always want to do better than the last,” said Ohgenmach.
In NCAA Division II, lacrosse is spread across four regions, and traditionally, the top four from each of those regions would go on to the championship tournament. This year, however, the field has been expanded to take the top six teams from each region, expanding the playoffs from 16 teams to 24. Despite the expanded field, there are still no auto bids for conference champions, so each team is working for a postseason spot from the start of the season.
“We don’t really ever shy away from the big games. I would say the regional games are really important in our goals and making it to the NCAA tournament, they opened up […] We’ve always been, you know, one of the first teams out. This year, we kind of have the mentality of leave no doubt, like we’re meant to be here, we’re going to be there. So these games are really important,” said Delaney.
The Mavericks season won’t start easy, as they open play with a four-game road trip, including a game in Florida against a Saint Leo team that narrowly missed last year’s postseason tournament. Their season opener is Feb. 14th against Rockhurst, and they’ll begin home play against Grand Valley State on March 6.
