GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa (8-1, 5-0 RMAC) claimed the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title Friday night, posting a 16-7 win over the Westminster Griffins. The game also served as senior day, which the Mavericks honored seven seniors for their careers in maroon and gold.
The win makes it eight straight for the Mavericks and also earns them hosting rights to next weekend's conference tournament. Under head coach
Vince Smith, the team has won four RMAC regular season titles in five opportunities and have six overall conference crowns.
Collectively, the team was 4-of-7 on man-up opportunities, and were disciplined committing minimal penalties. They also held a commanding 47-24 edge in ground balls.
Jed Brummett tallied five goals, while
Sergio Pelayo put together seven points with two goals and five assists. Brummett and Pelayo were in sync tonight, getting together on three goals throughout the night.
Net-minder
Nolan Hoffman made eight saves to earn the win, improving to 6-0. He also had a game-high six ground balls and caused a couple of turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Westminster struck first in the 12
th minute, and would hold the slight lead up until the 8-minute mark when Pelayo put his first goal into the net, with help from
AJ Switzer. It was a back and for the affair until the final minute of the first quarter, when
Jed Brummett teamed up with
Trent Pernell to give the Mavericks their first lead.
From then on, the Mavericks held momentum, scoring the final seven goals in the first half to take an 8-2 lead at the break.
The scoring continued in the third quarter, when CMU strung together seven more goals to the Griffins two building to a 15-4 edge.
Westminster outscored the Mavericks in the final frame 3-1, which included a last second goal, but was not enough to close the gap.
UP NEXT
With the regular season title secured, the team will await the seeding for next weekend's RMAC tournament. Games start with a doubleheader Friday, followed by the Championship on Saturday.
