GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa is preparing to host the most consequential women’s soccer matches ever held in Grand Junction this weekend, as four of NCAA Division II’s remaining 16 teams will converge on Community Hospital Unity Field for NCAA Tournament action this Thursday and Saturday. The Mavericks, seeded third in the South Central region, defeated Texas Woman’s and Colorado School of Mines in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Golden, Colorado back on November 17-19. They will face an RMAC team once again in the NCAA Tournament third round, as fourth-seeded UCCS will travel to meet the Mavs after shocking regional top seed DBU on its home turf in the second round. Colorado Mesa will host two NCAA Third Round matchups on Thursday, starting with the West Regional championship between Point Loma and Seattle Pacific at 2 p.m. The Mavericks and UCCS will battle in the South Central regional championship following that match at 5 p.m. on Thursday, before the winners of those two matchups will play in an NCAA national quarterfinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a spot in the NCAA Final Four on the line. All games will be available to watch for free on the RMAC Network. Live stats and tickets also remain available. Looking Back The Mavericks stormed through the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, beating Texas Woman’s and Colorado School of Mines by identical 1-0 scores in the first and second rounds of the national tournament. RECAP: Texas Woman’s | Colorado School of Mines Sauvelyne Randel had the game-winning goal in each game, scoring in the 28th minute against Texas Woman’s before converting a 107th-minute overtime game-winner against Colorado School of Mines. Box Office If the regular season is any indication, Thursday’s match should be a thrilling one as the previous matchup between Colorado Mesa and UCCS went down to the wire. The matchup in Colorado Springs back on October 19 saw both programs enter the game with identical unbeaten 6-0-1 RMAC records. Both programs were also nationally ranked, with the Mavericks at No. 6 overall and the Mountain Lions at No. 24. After a scoreless first half, the teams exchanged early second-half goals from CMU’s Kylie Wells and UCCS’s Fie Steenberg. The teams were even with eight shots apiece until the 88th minute, when Sophia Beames lofted a cross from the left wing that found the head of Abby Fotheringham to give CMU a dramatic 2-1 victory. UCCS would go on to win the RMAC regular season championship after CMU lost its next three matches after the game against the Mountain Lions. The Mavericks were the only team to beat UCCS during the RMAC regular season. The two programs were scheduled to meet in the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament, but the top-seeded Mountain Lions were upset in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Westminster. The fourth-seed Mavericks went on to beat MSU Denver, Westminster and Colorado School of Mines to win the RMAC Tournament Championship, three of the wins among their current six-game winning streak. Quarter Quell Colorado Mesa will be playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, and it has been exactly a quarter-century since the Mavericks advanced this far in the NCAA Tournament. The Mavs were NCAA Tournament quarterfinalists in both 1997 and 1998. In both cases, the NCAA Tournament was a 16-team tournament, so the Mavericks began their tournament runs with regional championship game wins over Northern Colorado (1997) and MSU Denver (1998) before losing in the quarterfinals to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Sonoma State, respectively. This year’s Maverick roster is the first team in program history to win multiple NCAA Tournament games with their first and second-round wins. If the Mavs defeat UCCS on Thursday, they will win the third regional championship in program history and climb above .500 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Colorado Mesa Women’s Soccer NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances (5) All Time Record: 4-4 1997 (1-1)^ 1998 (1-1)^ 2000 (0-1) 2011 (0-1) 2023 (2-0)* *= active ^= regional champions/national quarterfinalists The 2023 roster has made a habit of matching the ’98 team throughout the season, as the Mavericks have previously broken 25-year droughts of winning the RMAC Tournament championship and winning an NCAA Tournament game that the 1998 team had previously been the latest CMU team to accomplish. Clutch Gene With her two game-winning goals this past weekend, Sauvelyne Randel now has seven game-winning goals this season out of her 15 total tallies. That makes Randel the program’s new single-season record holder in that category, breaking Lila Dere’s previous record of six set in 2021. Randel entered the NCAA tournament in a five-way tie for second place with five, alongside Tiffany Thompson (1998), Raina Fine (2001), Daniela Ramirez (2009) and Dere in 2022. Randel’s seven game-winners rank her in a three-way tie for second in Division II. Randel and Emporia State’s Mackenzie Dimarco are the only players in Division II’s top four who have an opportunity to further add to their total as the NCAA Tournament progresses. The redshirt junior from Port-au-Prince, Haiti started off on a tear with four game-winning goals in CMU’s first seven games, including an 88th-minute winner against Cal State San Bernardino on September 8. Randel stepped up again after CMU’s midseason three-game losing streak, tallying the game-winner in the regular-season finale against Westminster and then netting two goals and two assists during the RMAC Tournament before her two NCAA Tournament game-winning goals. De-Fense The Mavericks have regained their defensive form at the perfect time, as they are maintaining a 380-minute scoreless streak heading into Thursday’s match. After keeping two more clean sheets in the NCAA Tournament, the Mavs have 12 total shutouts this season and a current streak of four consecutive shutouts in the postseason. The Mavericks utilized a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy in both matchups against a talented Colorado School of Mines program, as the Orediggers recorded a combined 44 shots in the RMAC Tournament Championship game and NCAA Tournament second-round game, but only placed 11 of those on target, all saved by freshman goalkeeper Keely Wieczorek. The Mavs were more traditionally dominant defensively in the first round of the NCAAs, holding Texas Woman’s to seven shot attempts with just three on goal. Colorado Mesa has kept its opponents in single-digit shot attempts in 12 of its 22 matches thus far on the season. The tightening of the Maverick defense coincides with the full return of junior center back Kaydree Rapp, who earned Honorable Mention All-RMAC status in 2022 while playing in and starting every match. Rapp has battled nagging injuries this season, making only 16 appearances and 14 starts out of CMU’s 22 matches, but has been in the lineup for nine of CMU’s 12 shutouts. Rapp played a full 90 minutes in the RMAC Tournament win over Colorado School of Mines and added a full 90 against Texas Woman’s and a full 110 against Mines in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the past three games, Rapp hadn’t logged 90 minutes in a game since October 6 vs. Colorado Christian. All-Region Colorado Mesa placed two players on the D2CCA All-South Central Region teams, marking the third straight year the Mavs have had multiple selections. All-Region Release Sauvelyne Randel earned selection to the first team while Abby Fotheringham received a second team selection. Randel is the sixth individual player in program history to receive a first team D2CCA honor, joining Lauren Sell (2006), Daniela Ramirez (2009), Michaela Dangler (2021), Lila Dere (2021 and 2022) and Haley Klasner (2022). Thursday’s opponent, UCCS, placed two players on the 13-player first team in midfielder Makayla Merlo and defender Jade Kinsey. Colorado School of Mines led all RMAC teams with three first-team picks (forwards Bella Campos and Reese McDermott and defender Natalie Rouse) and five total selections while Dallas Baptist led the region with five first-teamers and six total picks. As a first team All-Region selection, Randel will be placed on the ballot for the D2CCA All-American Teams, which are expected to be announced sometime in early December. Tournament Update Colorado Mesa’s path from conference tournament No. 4 seed to hosting the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has taken some big wins by the Mavericks themselves, but also some upsets across the Division II landscape. After securing qualification and locking down the No. 3 regional seed by winning the RMAC Tournament Championship, Colorado Mesa knocked off No. 6 Texas Woman’s in the first round and beat No. 2 Colorado School of Mines on the Orediggers’ home field for the second consecutive week. On the opposite side of the regional, UCCS rebounded from its quarterfinal loss in the RMAC Tournament to knock off two Lone Star Conference teams. The fourth-seeded Mountain Lions knocked off fifth-seeded St. Mary’s 2-1 before stunning top-seeded DBU by a 4-2 score. The top-ranked Patriots entered the match having allowed just six goals all season but gave up four to UCCS. Led by CMU and UCCS, the RMAC went a perfect 3-0 in head-to-head battles against the Lone Star in the NCAA Tournament. The South Central region is paired with the West Region for the NCAA quarterfinal round. The South Central and West regions take turns alternating as the host site for the two regional championships and national quarterfinal. This is the South Central’s year to host, so Colorado Mesa earns hosting rights as the highest remaining seed. The West Region has gone according to form, with the higher-seeded team winning every tournament match so far. Point Loma, the West Region No. 1 seed, defeated fourth-seeded Concordia Irvine 2-0 in the second round while No. 2 seed Seattle Pacific topped third-seeded Cal State LA 1-0. Four of NCAA Division II’s eight regions have seen the regional No. 1 and 2 seeds advance to the regional championship game – the Central (No. 1 Washburn and No. 2 Emporia State), East (No. 1 Saint Rose and No. 2 Adelphi), Southeast (No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne and No. 2 Catawba) and West. The Midwest region will feature No. 1 seed Ashland vs. No. 3 seed Grand Valley State, whose seven women’s soccer national championships are comfortably the most in Division II history. By contrast, the other three regions saw their top two regional seeds each go one-and-done in the tournament. The South Central matchup between CMU and UCCS will pit the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds against one another, while the Atlantic (No. 3 West Chester vs. No. 4 Gannon) and South regions (No. 3 Florida Tech vs. No. 5 Nova Southeastern) have also seen some upsets. Because of early-round upsets and how the alternating hosting sites have fallen this year, three of the four NCAA Third Round/Quarterfinal hosting sites will be teams who are a regional No. 3 seed (CMU, West Chester, Florida Tech). Ashland is the only No. 1 seed hosting this weekend, but every site features a No. 1 seed playing a third round game at a neutral site. About UCCS The UCCS Mountain Lions, at 14-4-3 overall, have bounced back from a shocking RMAC Tournament loss to defeat a pair of Lone Star teams and advance to the South Central regional championship final against Colorado Mesa. The Mountain Lions won the RMAC regular season championship with a 10-1-1 conference record, with their only loss coming at home to CMU on October 19. But the top-seeded Mountain Lions were upset by eighth-seeded Westminster in the quarterfinals of the RMAC Tournament, dropping UCCS down to No. 4 in the regional bracket when the NCAA Tournament selections were announced. Undeterred, UCCS knocked off fifth-seeded St. Mary’s 2-1 in the first round and then pounced onto the winning side of a top-seed upset, downing previously-undefeated and No. 1 regional seed Dallas Baptist in the second round 4-2. DBU entered the match having allowed just six goals all season, but redshirt senior Kaitlin Hickle achieved half of that total on her own with a hat trick while sophomore Jessica Rockwell also found the net. After the hat trick, Hickle is now second all-time in UCCS history with 30 career goals, but hadn’t found the net all season prior to scoring three against DBU. UCCS is a veteran team with star power, as the Mountain Lions are led by a pair of First Team All-RMAC and All-South Central Region seniors in midfielder Makayla Merlo and defender Jade Kinsey. Merlo is the team’s leading scorer with seven goals and 16 points while sophomore midfielder Emily Aguilar is just behind with six goals and 13 points. Merlo and Aguilar have four game-winning goals apiece. Junior midfielder Fie Steenberg has a team-high seven assists and scored her only goal of the season in the previous match against the Mavericks. Defensively, Kinsey is a two-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week this season. Kinsey also became the UCCS all-time leader in minutes played during the NCAA Tournament and is on pace to pass 6,000 career minutes against CMU. The Mountain Lions boast the 2023 RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year in fifth-year senior Isabella Whitmore. After joining this season as a grad transfer from Southern Utah, Whitmore has started every match for UCCS and has a 0.76 goals-against average and an .803 save percentage, allowing 15 goals against 61 saves. As a team, UCCS is outscoring its opponents 42-15 and is outshooting them 296-170. The Mountain Lions have 10 shutouts in 21 matches and have yet to allow three or more goals in a game this season, having given up two goals in a game just five times. UCCS has advanced to six consecutive non-COVID-year NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the Final Four in 2017 during the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. UCCS started off the 2019 season 19-0 before losing two straight in the RMAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Lions also reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Colorado Mesa holds a slight 10-7-2 edge in the all-time series with UCCS. About Point Loma The Point Loma Nazarene University Sea Lions (13-3-1) will be trying to break free from a frustrating years-long pattern for the program during their Thursday match against Seattle Pacific. For four consecutive seasons from 2018-2022 (excluding the COVID year of 2020), Point Loma reached the NCAA Tournament and won a first-round game only to lose in the second round. The Sea Lions took the first step towards exercising those demons by securing the West Region’s No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history this year and earning a bye from the first round of tournament play. Point Loma advanced past the second round for the first time in program history in 2023 with a 2-0 win over Concordia Irvine, but the Sea Lions will now need to beat Seattle Pacific in the third round to avoid what would be a fifth consecutive 1-1 record in the NCAA tournament. Point Loma earned the Pacific West Conference regular season championship with an 8-2 conference record. The Pacific West does not hold a conference tournament. Including their NCAA Tournament win over CUI, the Sea Lions have won seven matches in a row heading into the weekend. The Sea Lions have a balanced attack, as nine players on the roster have three or more goals. Freshman Nikki Ross, a Seattle native facing SPU on Thursday, leads PLNU with seven goals and 15 points. Junior forward Alana Diaz missed the start of the season with an injury but rebounded to tally five goals and two assists and earn D2CCA Second Team All-West Region honors. Two members of the PLNU back line were All-West Region players as well. Junior defender Emma Thrapp made the first team after leading a Sea Lion defense that has allowed only 11 goals in 17 matches while contributing four goals and three assists herself on the offensive end. Junior defender Naomi Ellis (two goals, one assist) was named Second Team All-Region alongside Diaz. The five NCAA Tournament appearances since 2018 for Point Loma directly coincides with head coach Kristi Kiely’s tenure. Kiely has turned around the program since taking the job in early 2018. Prior to Point Loma, Kiely has been a head assistant coach with the University of Arkansas (DI, SEC) and a head coach at Westmont (Calif.). Colorado Mesa and Point Loma have never played one another. Point Loma did face UCCS earlier this season, with the Mountain Lions winning, 2-1. About Seattle Pacific The Seattle Pacific University Falcons (13-3-5, 9-0-5 in conference) raced to a regular season Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) title, knocking off Western Washington, the defending women’s soccer national champions, from its perch. However, the Falcons lost in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament, removing any possibility of a No. 1 regional seed. Seattle Pacific has the most NCAA Tournament pedigree of any of the four teams in Grand Junction this weekend. The Falcons won a national championship back in 2008 under former head coach Chuck Sekyra, capping their run with a 1-0 overtime victory over West Florida. SPU also reached the national championship match in 2005, losing on that occasion in overtime to Nebraska-Omaha, 2-1, and reached the Final Four in 2007. The Falcons played in 14 straight NCAA Tournaments during the early 21st century, a streak that ran through the 2016 season. Head Coach Arby Busey was an assistant coach on the 2008 national championship team and has been the head coach at SPU since the 2015 season. Busey is in the midst of his fourth NCAA Tournament Appearance as the head coach, losing in the first round in 2016 and 2018 but advancing to the Elite Eight during the 2021 season. In 2023, the Falcons are led by a trio of D2CCA First Team All-Region selections. Senior forward Jacqueline Blakeley leads the team and the GNAC with eight goals while senior forward Sophie Beadle has a team-high seven assists. Junior midfielder Lauren Snedeker has been a strong central presence for SPU, starting all 21 matches and adding two goals and two assists. Graduate student Marissa Bankey is a first-team All-GNAC and second-team All-Region player, leading the SPU defense and adding three goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen is the likely starter in net, having compiled a 0.94 goals-against average, .825 save percentage and 10-1-4 record in 16 matches. Senior forward Lauren Forster had SPU’s goal in their 1-0 NCAA win over Cal State LA, which was Forster’s third goal of the season. Colorado Mesa has never faced Seattle Pacific. UCCS and Seattle Pacific played once in 2017, with UCCS winning 2-1.