Matt Friesen ended a 404 minute scoreless drought with a goal in the 7th minute of the game. Jaron Stewart picked up the assist for UCCS.

Reese Kegans evened the score for the Mavericks in the 31st minute with his shot off a rebound of a Sam Dixon attempt.

“We got a point and we stopped our skid,” head coach Henry Ellis said. “It’s a big confidence booster right now for us just mentally as a team.”

Goalie Adam Liszewski finished with five saves for UCCS (1-6-1, 0-3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference). Chris Raines stopped eight shots for Mesa State (4-3-1, 0-3-1 RMAC).

 The Mountain Lions face Fort Lewis at noon on Sunday at Mountain Lion Stadium.

The Mavericks improved to 3-4-1 overall, 1-3-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Grizzlies fell to 3-5-0, 2-2-0 RMAC.

Mesa State’s Sara Isles opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Her penalty kick goal was her first score of the season.

The goal came about two minutes after Adams State’s Jessica Hellweg clanked a shot off the Mesa State crossbar.

The game remained 1-0 until a quick spate of goals in the second half. Those goals in the 54th and 56th minutes sealed the win for the Mavericks.

Kelci Crispe assisted on both goals as she served balls into the box off corners. Kaselyn Butters latched on to the first one for her first goal of the season. Barely 90 seconds later, Leilani Wiernicki drove a header into the net past Hannah Kohlts picking up her first score of the season and providing the final margin.

Adams State continues its western road trip with a visit to Durango to meet No. 12-ranked Fort Lewis College at 1 p.m. Sunday. Mesa State hosts UC-Colorado Springs at noon Sunday.

“Mesa’s good — much better than their record (2-4-1 overall, 0-3-0 in the RMAC),” said head coach Damian Clarke.  ”They had the run of the game for long periods of the first half.”

Still, the opportunistic Skyhawks (6-1-0, 2-1-0) turned a pretty passing play into a goal in the 15th minute when Benavides found the back of the net off a pass from Erika Shisler. Sara Egbom set up the play and was also credited with an assist.

“The first goal was fantastic,” said Clarke. “We only had one, maybe two good movements in the first half.”

Cannis added insurance in the 76th minute on a goal that was assisted by Shisler — her fourth helper in as many games. Benavides also factored into the play, dummying Shisler’s pass.

Christine Schmelzle made four saves to notch her fourth shutout of the season and received help throughout the match from a strong defense.

Goalkeeper Alicia Kahler stopped four shots for Mesa State.

After five straight road games, the Skyhawks return to the friendly confines of Dirks Field for home contests against UC-Colorado Springs at 3:30 p.m. Friday and Adams State at 1 p.m. Sunday. Mesa State hosts Adams State in Grand Junction on Friday and UCCS on Sunday.

The Skyhawks improved to 3-3-0, 2-0-0 in the RMAC with the win. The Mavericks dropped to 4-3-0, 0-3-0 RMAC with the loss.

“We played very well tonight,” head coach Oige Kennedy said after the win.

Joe Barnd and Jordan Alexander scored early goals as the Skyhawks raced out to a 2-0 halftime lead en route to the victory.

Barnd converted a free kick just 12:32 into the game to give the Skyhawks the lead.

“He bent a kick around the wall and into the net,” said Kennedy. “We’ve been working on that lately.”

The second goal wasn’t nearly as pretty. Mesa State goalkeeper Chris Raines kicked the ball, but it ricochetted off Alexander into the net at 35:56 — just 2:20 after Alexander had entered the game as a substitute.

“Jordan’s done very well,” said Kennedy. “He’s been limited in the minutes he’s had because he’s a freshman, but he has a knack for putting it in the goal.”

Thomas Hoange finished the scoring in the 79th minute with a goal that was set up by the passing of Abdel Becerra and Byron Cephers.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Nate Bell made two saves to notch his first collegiate shutout.

Fort Lewis continues its three-game road trip at Adams State (0-5-0, 0-2-0) at 3 p.m. Friday and at UC-Colorado Springs (1-6-0, 0-3-0) at noon Sunday. The Mavericks travel to UCCS at 7 p.m. on Friday and visit Alamosa to play Adams State on Sunday.

Metro State's Steve Emory battles for control during Friday's match against UCCS at Auraria Field. (Photography by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com.)

Chris Yoder’s 10th minute goal past ‘keeper Chris Baines proved to be enough on Saturday afternoon for the Roadrunners. The hot afternoon was reflected in the low score, as the two teams combined for only six shots on goal.

With the win, Metro State improved to 5-1-0, 2-0-0 RMAC, while Mesa State dropped to 4-2-0, 0-2-0 RMAC. Roadrunners goalkeeper Issa Bissau picked up shutout wins in both games.

The sluggish Sunday was a far cry from Friday afternoon when the ‘Runners hosted the Mountain Lions.

The Roadrunners dominated play throughout the game, but could not find the net until Steven Emory scored in the 36th minute.  Emory took the ball away from Jaron Stewart at the top of the box and fired it past UCCS goalkeeper Adam Liszewski.  The shot bounced off the right post, then off Liszewski and spun into the net.

Kevin Pocalyko netted the next goal in the 68th minute, scoring on a volley from a Jack Belanger free kick on the right side.  It was the first goal of Pocalyko’s career.

Just three minutes later, Scott Grode found the net at 70:59, scoring on a breakaway after a through ball from Marc Herschberger.

Emory scored again in the 82nd minute, and Grode added the final goal of the game in the 86th minute.  After receiving a pass from Chris Yoder on the right side, he dribbled to the top of the box and chipped the ball over Liszewski.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated to reflect the correct scorer in Sunday’s game. ColoradoSoccerNow apologizes for the earlier error.

The Skyhawks, ranked No. 23 in Division II, improved to 11-2-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with their 10th shutout of the season. Fort Lewis has outscored its opponents 32-9 this season.

Mesa State dropped to 8-7-0 overall, 5-6-0 in RMAC play.

Fort Lewis got on the board first as a deflected ball fell to MacArthur, who bent it into the left side of the net in the 26th minute.

Reinhardt, from Pagosa Springs, added the insurance goal in the 31st minute.

Christine Schmelzle registered four saves for the shutout. Alicia Kahler made 11 saves for the Mavs.