GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Kensli Pounds delivered the game winner to lift Midwestern State to a 1-0 victory over homestanding Colorado Mesa Friday night at Walker Field.
 
The Mansfield Legacy High product swooped around CMU goalkeeper Sarah Schnetzler and tucked a shot inside the far post for her first collegiate game winner.
 
"We played a ball in over the top then Kensli pressured the keeper and the ball graze off of her," MSU coach Jeff Trimble said. "She ran it down, stayed composed and made a really nice goal. Give her credit for her hustle. A lot of things could have gone wrong and she stayed with it."
 
The teams battled in a tightly contested match as MSU managed to outshoot the Mavericks 12-11 placing seven shots on frame to Colorado Mesa's five.
 
Junior Katy Catney led an aggressive midfield by putting three of her five shots on frame.
 
"Katy created some really good chances for us," Trimble said. "She made a great shot from just inside the 18 that the keeper made a great save on."
 
Senior goalkeeper Kallie Essary made a career-high five saves to notch her first collegiate shutout in just her third start between the posts. Essary was one of three players Trimble singled out for outstanding play along with senior defender Anna Molen and sophomore midfielder Morgan Hannon.
 
"Kallie was brave coming off of her line and played in the air," he said. "Anna made some really good, experienced decisions while Morgan won a log of balls in the air and showed a great work rate. They played some really good soccer for us tonight."
 
Colorado Mesa pressured in the late going but couldn't muster any dangerous opportunities.
 
"We started off playing really well and had some good chances and did some good things. We hit a wall 25 minutes and didn't have our intensity and didn't play well," Trimble said. "Mesa had some really good chances in the first half. They hit the cross bar and Kallie made some big saves. The game could have gone either way at that point."
 
Midwestern State closes the weekend with a 1 p.m. showdown with Fort Lewis (Colo.) Sunday afternoon at Walker Field.