After winning the RMAC, CMU women’s soccer closed the regular season at
13-2-2 overall and 9-0-2 in conference play, securing the 2025 RMAC regular-season title and home-field advantage for the conference semifinals and final.
Mesa entered their final match against Westminster knowing they needed just one goal after Mines, and CSU Pueblo finished in a late 1–1 draw. At halftime, the game remained 0–0, and defender Sarah Dunn said the team felt the pressure shifting.
“Going into the half…we all kind of assumed that’s how it was going to end,” Dunn said. “She (Lingafeldt) saw on our faces that we needed some motivation. She told us Pueblo had tied in the 80th minute, so, at halftime, we were strategizing if we should play for the tie or go for the win.”
The Mavericks chose the latter. Early in the second half, forward Kylie Wells blasted in what Dunn called “a banger—probably her best goal of the season,” confirming CMU’s regular-season championship. Goalkeeper Keely Wieczorek said the moment was the payoff for months of work.
“It was really rewarding for us,” Wieczorek said. “To finally see it manifest into something was so nice for all of us. In those last five seconds it was like, oh yeah, we did it!”
Second-year head coach and newly named RMAC Coach of the Year Jody Lingafeldt guided a squad that battled adversity and produced multiple all-conference selections, including Dunn (Second Team) and Wieczorek (Goalkeeper of the Year).
Both players said success this season also came from finding balance off the field. Dunn relies on structure.
“I’m a very habitual person, to a tee, so I just think being organized is a big part of that,” Dunn said. “I do a lot of stress baking, a lot of banana and pumpkin bread.”
Wieczorek leans on time management and a good cup of matcha. “[With morning practices] you have the rest of the day to focus on school. I’m a big coffee shop person, so finding a good place to focus like that has been really helpful.”
Heading into the semifinal, Wieczorek said opponents still view this team as an underdog. “My dad always says, ‘play with a chip on your shoulder’ […] it’s not proving everybody else wrong, but proving us right.”
CMU did just that. After a tense, defensive and scoreless semifinal against Westminster, Olivia Bariao-Arce broke through in the 87th minute off an assist from Peyton Bundy, sending the Mavericks to Saturday’s RMAC final against Colorado School of Mines.
Wieczorek’s mindset was focused on the future.
“We want to win the RMAC title, the next step is the [RMAC] tournament, and the next step is the NCAA [tournament]. Because if you do take that one game at a time, and reach your goal each day, you can go as far as you want to.”
