ARCATA, Calif. – On the strength of a late goal by Myriah Epino at the 75:38 mark, Humboldt State women's soccer team claimed a 2-1 victory against Colorado Mesa in its regular season opener Thursday at the Lumberjack Classic.

HSU struck early, as Sabine Postma scored at 6:39 off an assist from Alex Jenkins on a strong strike from inside the goalie box. The Lumberjacks outshot the Mavericks 12-6 in the first half, but still found themselves tied at halftime as Colorado Mesa's Amanda Wenzel was able to sneak a ball past advancing HSU keeper Katelin Talbert at 34:14. That was Talbert's only blemish of the evening, however, as she stopped the four other Mesa shot attempts while playing the 90-minute duration in goal.

"At halftime, we talked to the girls about some things tactically," said HSU Head Coach Paul Karver, "We knew we had to make some adjustments especially in how we were defending the midfield towards the end of the first half. We were just really clear with them that the game wasn't going to be given to them. They had to go and get it, and we had to go and get it with pressing, and our girls responded to that very well."

Postma was active on the day, registering five shots, including four shots on goal. She also assisted Epino on the winning tally. Jenkins had three shots, two shots on goal, and her assist to Postma.

"You see the resilience of these young girls and how much they believe in each other and that second goal was an affirmation of belief," said Karver. "That really made it special for them, special for the group, and you could really feel the belief growing with that affirmation that the [second] goal provided."

Karver also mentioned how significant it was that Epino, a newcomer to the HSU program, notched the game-winning goal in the second straight contest. "We've always known that Myriah is a special player, and we're expecting big things from her, she's expecting a lot from herself," said Karver. "For her, two games in row now, two game-winners, to get on the scoresheet like that, was fantastic. It's a great moment for her, and you could really see the girls rally around that moment with her. There's so much love in this group, and they believe in each other so much."

Next the Lumberjacks will take on Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the concluding game of the Lumberjack Classic.