DENVER – The name Lile Dere reverberates throughout the world of NCAA Division II women's soccer.
Colorado Mesa's forward leads the country with 17 goals. She put at least two shots on goal and took at least three shots in each of the Mavericks' first 14 games this season.
Sunday, on Senior Day against MSU Denver at the Assembly Athletic Complex, Dere played all 90 minutes and had zero … shots. None.
And MSU Denver earned a 1-0 victory that increases the Roadrunners' chances of earning a first-round home game in the league tournament.
Give the credit for the lockdown defense to sophomore back
Emily Sirois.
"I love denying shots and keeping forwards down," Sirois said.
No definitive word yet if Sirois got on the bus back to Grand Junction with Dere, but needless to say she was everywhere Dere looked during the game.
"Emily reads the game really well," MSU Denver coach
Kat Mertz said. "She anticipates the ball, anticipates the service. She has a really good soccer IQ. And (Dere) is tricky. She sits on the back-side shoulder. She climbs and finds the shape. But Emily is athletic enough to deal with her, and she's a smart soccer player."
Dere, the 2021 RMAC Player of the Year, was prevented from having a shot on goal for just the third time in 43 career games and was unable to shoot for the first time in her career. Dere had been averaging 6.2 shots and 3.4 shots on goal per game this season.
While Sirois did her job, in foul-free fashion to boot, MSU Denver improved to 9-2-4 overall and 5-1-3 in the RMAC.
The goal came as senior
Jaimy Sawaged slipped behind the defense to run onto a perfect pass from
Luna Garcia and then scored at 58:57.
"Luna gave me a beautiful ball, and I just had to stay composed and slip it past the goalkeeper," Sawaged said.
The early second-half score came after an evenly-played first half and a pre-game ceremony that sent off a successful group of 10 seniors playing their final regular-season home game.
"It was an emotional roller-coaster this morning," Sawaged said. "But in the locker room I said, 'OK, we're done crying.' When we first came out, we were kind of anxious, but the second half we calmed down and played our game."
MSU Denver strengthened its hold on fifth place in the RMAC with 18 standings points, stayed on the heels of fourth-place Westminster (19) and kept Mesa in sixth with 15. The top four teams at season's end earn first-round home games in the league tournament.
In posting their ninth shutout of the season, the Roadrunners also completed a second straight undefeated home season – MSU Denver is 5-0-4 at the Assembly Athletic Complex this season and has gone unbeaten in 19 straight at home (14-0-5) dating to last season.
"I'm incredibly proud of the players," Mertz said. "That's something we talk about. We take a lot of pride in defending our home turf."
Mertz is also thrilled with what the seniors have done in her two seasons at the helm.
"Winning is hard, and when you get that mindset … there are teams that just know how to win," Mertz said. "Our seniors have laid the groundwork for us."
