SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The road trips continue for No. 18 Colorado Mesa men's lacrosse, this week taking them west to Salt Lake City, Utah to open conference play against rival Westminster Friday under the lights.
QUICK RECAP
After finding out that unfavorable weather was expected for their original date and time, the Mavericks quickly switched into game day mode on Monday and made their way over to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College.
A late run by the Tigers gave them a 10-8 edge, but sparked a 3-0 run by the Mavericks on their way to their first lead at 11-10.
Colorado College's Conrad Song evened the score at 12 nearing the end of regulation, forcing the first set of overtime minutes.
Both teams had opportunities to score, but also came up with big defensive plays to extend play into a second overtime. It was a fight from the faceoff, with
Jake Eickelman coming up with the ground ball in the Tigers half of the field, charging towards the goal and passing it off to
Carson Schwark. Schwark who had four goals already at that point, shared the wealth and passed it inside to
Blake Amiatu who sent it pass the goalkeeper for the golden goal and final 13-12 score.
Schwark and
Trent Pernell combined for eight of the team's goals, leading the offensive efforts.
Nolan Hoffman picked up the win, recording 11 crucial saves that allowed his team to transition on the opposite end.
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa leads the all-time series between the two teams, 9-4. The last three meetings however have gone to the Griffins, the last being a 9-8 overtime thriller in Salt Lake City on May 4, 2019.
The last time the Mavericks defeated the team in purple, was on May 5, 2018, by a 10-9 decision. Six of the 13 meetings have been decided by a single point, with the largest margin of victory being 20-7 by CMU in 2017.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS
Posting two wins to start the season, the Griffins have stumbled a bit dropping their last three contests.
Friday's conference contest, follows Westminster's roadtrip that saw them take on Lake Erie College and No. 3 Mercyhurst. Although they outscored the Lake Erie Storm in the final frame, it wasn't enough to take the win, falling 9-10.
Looking to close out the trip on a high note, their scoring run came too late in the game to close in on the 18-points scored by Lakers.
Gabe Mein is one of two players who are already with double-digit goals thanks to an eight-goal performance in the season opener. He went on to score in the next two games, but did not record stats in the team's last two contests.
Merritt McMahon has played in all five contests, and leads the team with 12-goals. He also adds a pair of assists, give ground balls and a caused turnover.
Gavin Bellman has been the go-to at goalkeeper, and has 51 saves to his name on the season.
