BELMONT, Calif. – After a canceled game against Rockhurst last weekend due to snowy conditions in the Kansas City area the Colorado Mesa Mavericks (1-1) will travel to sunny California for games against Notre Dame De Namur and Whittier College. Both game will be hosted by Notre Dame De Namur.
The Mavs game against Notre Dame De Namur will begin at 4 pm MT on Friday Feb 22. The next day the Mavs will face Whittier College at 1 pm.
After a 1-1 start to the season the Mavericks fell out of the US Lacrosse Magazine Division II Men's Top 20 as of Feb 18. Previous to this most recent poll they were ranked No. 17.
In an interview on Tuesday afternoon head coach Vince Smith mentioned, "Overall I'm pretty proud of the way the guys played. Against Lindenwood we turned around after a win and kind of lacked some hustle, heart, and determination. I think it was the best thing that could to happen to us. We scrimmaged very well two weeks ago against some tough teams and I think our guys had an inflated idea of who we really were and to have that bubble popped by a team who has posted a solid record this season. It is not seeming to be a detriment loss in the national conversation you always hate to lose games but we would rather lose them early rather than later."
To get insight from Vince Smith on the team this far into the season and what is to be expected from this upcoming weekend in California click the link in the featured image.
A Look at the Mavericks
Jack Griffin has been the Mavericks best scorer recording five total goals all of which were recorded against Lindenwood.
Remi Reeves and Christian Cherry have both seen time in the net for the Mavericks. Reeves started in each of the Mavericks two games this season and has faced 47 total shots and recorded 14 saves while allowing 13 goals. Cherry played the majority of the game against Lindenwood facing a total of 38 shots and recording eight saves while allowing ten goals.
Austin Bullock and Michael Marino lead the team in ground balls recording ten and seven, respectively.
Scouting Notre Dame De Namur
The Argonauts of Belmont are currently 0-3. There game against Colorado Mesa will be their home opener. In their last outing they fell 27-8 against No. 9 Saint Leo. Their leading scorer Ethan Gilbert has registered nine goals this season and Garrett Netter has picked up 14 ground balls to lead the team. Both these players are a part of Notre Dame De Namur's freshmen class.
Scouting Whittier College
The Poets season opener will be against the Mavericks on the Campus of Notre Dame De Namur. Last season the Poets finished 5-8 under their first year Head Coach Nicholas Marks. Whittier led all Division III NCAA men's lacrosse programs in caused turnovers a year ago recording 205 throughout the season.
With this game being their season opener head coach Vince Smith stated, "Whittier is kind of a dark horse since this is their first game of the year. You don't really know what to expect since this is their opening game, but the benefit is this is a neutral site game so there won't be any additional energy. "
Next Up
Colorado Mesa will face Lynn University on March 2 in Salt Lake City at Dumke Field at 2pm. Following this game the Mavericks will host Rollins on March 13 for their home opener at Walker Field. This game will begin at 7 pm.
