New Head Coach Andrew Coniff’s debut was stifled on Thursday night by Eastern New Mexico University in their home and season opener as the Colorado Mesa University men’s soccer team lost 0-2. The Mavericks came out slow and never seemed to gain the edge over the Greyhounds.
“It was a wakeup call for sure,” Coniff said. “We can’t always rely on skill and ability, and I think our guys were counting on being the more skillful team, and that when that wasn’t the case it was our own sloppiness.” “Credit to them for working hard but we created most of our own problems tonight.”
Greyhound forward Julian Trapp scored the first goal of the night of a prestige opportunity that was initially saved by CMU goaltender Brendan Brown but then trickled into the goal. The first half was fast-paced, but the Mavericks were their own worst enemy in the first half as they were unable to convert and had too many turnovers.
“Credit to them for working hard but we created most of our own problems tonight,” Coniff said.
The Mavericks started the second half with a lot of pressure defensively and caused some turnovers, but they failed to convert on some opportunities on fast breaks. The initial pressure threw the Greyhounds off but not for long as they adjusted to the pressure to add another goal in the 63rd minute.
CMU kept the pressure on despite the two-goal difference and got some incredible chances, but unfortunately, they were unable to bury one in the net.
Senior forward Lawan Abary led the Mavericks in shots with three and had one shot on goal.
The next game for the Mavericks is Sunday at 11 am against Newman University.
