GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Winners of three straight overall and off to a 2-0 start in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, the Colorado Mesa University men's lacrosse team will take an extended break from conference play as they head to Florida for their next four contests.
 
The Mavericks will play the four games over a 10-day span, beginning Wednesday at Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm Beach.  They then head to Tampa to face the nation's second-ranked University of Tampa Spartans on Saturday.
 
Wednesday's game at the PBA Lacrosse Stadium is set for 4 p.m. EDT (2 p.m. Mountain).  Saturday's contest at the Spartans' Naimoli Family Athletic Complex will begin at 1 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. Mountain).
 
Next week, the Mavericks are at current No. 13 Florida Tech in Melbourne on Wednesday, Mar. 23 before wrapping up the trip next Friday (Mar. 25) at Flagler in St. Augustine.
 
Live streams and live statistics for this week's games can be found on the links above.  Links for next week's game can also be found on the team schedule page and will be included in next week's preview as well.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks were last in action on Saturday, Mar. 5, when they cruised to a 21-4 conference win at Adams State University.
 
Hunter Holcomb, Ethan Points and AJ Switzer all tallied four goals to lead 12 different goal scorers in the victory. 
 
CMU is now 25-0 all-time against the Grizzlies.
 
The Mavericks out-shot the Grizzlies, 63-39 and won three quarters (21) of the 28 total faceoffs.
 
Holcomb and Points both had an assist as well and finished with five offensive points.  Carson Schwark scored two goals and James Steinke tallied three points with a goal and two helpers.
 
Jake Brummett won 15 of his 17 face-offs and finished with a game-high eight ground balls.  The Mavs also recorded 21 caused turnovers while freshman net-minder Reece Sullivan made five saves in the first three quarters to pick up the win before giving way to back-up Calvin Doucette with the game well in hand.

Points in the Fourth
 
Freshman Ethan Points recorded his first career hat-trick and then some in the Mavs' last win at Adams State.  The Pearland, Texas native had a career-high five points and four goals in the game.  All four of those goals and his assist came in the final eight minutes of the Mavs' 21-4 win.
 
The freshman midfielder and attack man has seen time in all five games this year and also scored a goal in the Feb. 14 win over Coker.
 
Sweep, Sweep
 
The Mavericks swept last week's (Mar. 7) RMAC Player of the Week honors with AJ Switzer picking up the offensive honor while Jake Brummett claimed the defensive plaudit.  The Mavericks had also swept the initial awards of the season on Mar. 2 when James Steinke (Offensive) and Dylan Checketts (Defensive) won the awards.
 
Extra possessions
 
The Mavericks currently lead the NCAA Division II statistics with their impressive .758 face-off winning percentage as a team.  They have won 113 of their total 149 draws.
 
Anderson (S.C.) ranks second nationally at .755.
 
On an individual level, Dylan Checketts ranks second nationally with his personal winning percentage of .800.  He has won 64 of his 80 attempts.  Jake Brummett is also an impressive 37 of 50 (.740) at the X, but is not eligible for the NCAA statistical rankings as he has not taken 40 percent of the Mavs' face-offs.  If he had, he would be as high as third just behind Checketts.
 
Joey Grzetic is also an impressive 9-for-11 (.818) in his limited face-off battles.
 
High Octane Offense
 
The Mavericks have scored 86 goals in their first five games reaching double figures in four of the five while netting 21 on two separate occasions.  In the process, the Mavericks have climbed to third in the NCAA Division II statistics for goals per game (17.20).  They also rank fifth for scoring margin, having out-scored their opponents by an average of 7.60 goals per game.
 
CMU also ranks 18^th in scoring defense (9.60) and is sixth in points per game at 26.60.  Nearly half of their goals (47) have been assisted, which put the Mavericks 11^th in the country for assists per game.
 
Balanced Attack
 
An impressive 22 different players have already scored for the Mavericks this season.  AJ Switzer leads the group with a dozen.  Hunter Holcomb has added nine goals and leads the team in assists (11) and points (22).
 
Trent Pernell (8), Carson Schwark (8), James Steinke (6), JJ Brummett (6) and Ethan Points (5) all have five or more goals to their credit.
 
Moving up the scoring ladder
 
Fifth-year Maverick redshirt senior Carson Schwark has steadily moved up the Mavericks' career goal scoring charts this season.  He has had four 2-goal games this year and has now scored 57 in his 45 career games.
 
That total the Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota native in a tie with Joe Wulforst (2017-20), for eighth on the Mavericks' all-time scoring charts.  The next man up for Schwark to catch on the list is Kade Robinson, who had 61 during his 2011-14, seventh most in CMU history.
 
Schwark has put up double-figure tallies in each of the past three seasons, including the last two, which have been significantly shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.  He scored a career-high 17 goals in just nine games played last season earning Second Team All-RMAC honors as the team's third leading scorer.  He also ranked sixth in the RMAC for goals last season.
 
He has scored eight goals in five games this season, third for third most on the team and in the conference.
 
In the poll
 
For the first time this season the Mavericks are now ranked in the USILA/Dynamic Coaches' Division II Poll.  The Mavericks who had been hanging around in the "others receiving votes" portion of the poll throughout the year are now tied for the 20^th and final spot with Mount Olive after both received 28 points in the polling of 23 head coaches from around the country.
The latest poll was released on Monday (Mar. 14).
 
Le Moyne (4-0) continues to hold down the top spot while Tampa, Wingate, Indianapolis and Adelphi round out the top five.
 
Rollins, the only team to have defeated the Mavericks this season, is now ranked 11th, up tow more spots from the previous.  The Tars are now 6-0 and were in the others receiving votes portion of the poll when they played the Mavericks a month ago.
 
The Mavs are due to play two teams in the top 20 on this trip to Florida, facing No. 2 Tampa on Saturday before facing off against current No. 13 Florida Tech next Wednesday (Mar. 23).  The Panthers are 4-3 and had been ranked 16^th in the Mar. 7 edition of the poll.
 
Stretching the Scoring Streaks
 
Hunter Holcomb and James Steinke both scored in the Mavs' last outing against Adams State and have extended their respective goal scoring streaks.  They have both scored in all five of the Mavericks' games this season. 
 
Holcomb, a true sophomore out of Carver, Minnesota, has now scored in 13 straight games dating back to the 2021 season, when he earned RMAC Attacker of the Year honors.   He has scored 27 career goals in just 16 games, finding the back of the net at least once in all but one of the Mavs' games since joining the program.  He has had at least one offensive point in all 16.
 
He is second on this year's team with nine goals and leads the squad in assists (11) and total points (20).
 
Meanwhile, Steinke, the 2021 RMAC Midfielder of the Year, has scored in the last six and eight of the Mavs' eight nine games dating back to last season.  The redshirt sophomore  out of Castle Rock, Colorado has scored 23 goals in 22 games over the past three seasons.
 
He has six goals and seven assists this year.
 
Schedule Change
 
The Mavericks have changed the date of their upcoming non-conference home game against Colorado College.  That game will now be played on Saturday, Apr. 2 instead of Sunday, Apr. 3.  It will still begin at Noon.
 
A look back
 
The Mavericks went 9-2 in 2021, winning nine straight games after dropping their season-opener in overtime at Mount Olive.  They played each of their first seven on the road and were not home until Apr. 25 and saw two of their four regular season home games thwarted by COVID issues within the opposing programs.
 
Despite the pandemic challenges, the Mavericks won all five of the RMAC contests they played to win the conference title for the fourth time in five completed seasons.  They then won their RMAC Tournament semifinal over Adams State, a team they beat three times, but were downed by RMAC rival Westminster in the RMAC Tournament Championship game, ending any potential hope for an NCAA Tournament bid.
 
On an individual basis, the Mavericks had 17 players earn All-RMAC honors, including RMAC Freshman of the Year Dylan Checketts, Attacker of the Year Hunter Holcomb and Midfielder of the Year James Steinke.  Vince Smith was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year.
 
Jed Brummett, Sergio Pelayo, Tanner Stopkoski, Brian Buckner, Cole Emmanuel, Jake Eickelman and Drew Eickelman joined Holcomb and Steinke on the First Team All-RMAC unit.    All but Buckner and Emmanuel, now at Division I Marquette, return to the Maverick roster in 2022.
 
On a statistical basis, the Mavericks ranked amongst the nation's top 10 in 11 different statistical categories and won the national statistical title in ground balls per game, racking up 44.36 per game.
 
The Mavs also ranked second in the country for assists per game (11.27) and clearing percentage (.901) and led the RMAC in all but three of the NCAA tracked statistical categories.
 
Long time success
 
The Mavericks' 2021 success was certainly not a "one-hit wonder".  The Mavericks went a perfect 7-0 in 2020 when that season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Including, this year's start, CMU has now won 20 of their last 23 games and have posted a winning record in each of the last ten seasons after going 6-8 in their inaugural 2011 season.
 
As a program, the Mavs are 116-44 all-time, good for a .725 winning percentage that is fifth best amongst active Division II programs.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
After claiming a win over Westminster in their last and so far, only home game of 2022, the Mavericks have now posted a 49-8 all-time record at home since beginning their program in 2011, good for an .860 home field winning percentage.  The Mavericks had a 20-game home field winning streak from 2016-18 and have now won 29 of their last 32 games at Community Hospital Unity Field.
 
Best in the West
 
The Mavericks have proven to be the best Division II program in the western half of the United States, winning four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles in the last five opportunities after claiming two Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association crowns in the program's earliest years. 
 
The Mavericks are an impressive 37-4 (.902) in RMAC play since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2016.
 
CMU is the only RMAC team to have ever qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament doing so in 2018 after posting a school-record 17 wins (17-3) while going a perfect 8-0 in conference play that year.
 
It starts at the top
 
Maverick Head Coach Vince Smith, in his eighth season at the helm of the program, has a 85-23 career record.  His .787 career winning percentage ranks him seventh amongst active NCAA coaches (all three divisions) with a minimum of five years as a head coach at the NCAA level.
 
J.B. Clarke is just behind Smith with a career winning-percentage of .780 (327-92) to rank fourth amongst active Division II coaches.
 
Smith has been named as the RMAC Coach of the Year on two occasions, including in 2021 (2016), and was named as the WILA Coach of the Year in that organization's final year (2015).
 
His players have earned a combined 38 First Team All-RMAC honors since 2016 and have received a conference-high 15 "Of the Year" major awards since then.
 
Smith is 1-0 in his career against Palm Beach Atlantic and is 2-3 against Tampa.  He is 0-1 in coaching battles against Clarke, who had spent 11 seasons at Limestone before moving to Tampa last summer. 
 
Smith has never matched up against PBA interim coach Jesse Vanatta.  However, Vanatta was an assistant for the 2018 Sailfish squad that the Mavericks defeated.
 
About the Sailfish
 
The Sailfish are 4-2 and have won three straight games with wins coming over Assumption at home before getting road wins Lincoln Memorial and North Greenville last week.  After being held to 21 total goals while claiming just one win in their first three, which came 9-8 in overtime against Flagler, the Sailfish's offense has clicked as of late putting up 41 goals in their winning streak while reaching double figures in all three.
 
Hunter Hopman and Henry Sloyan are already both in double figures for goals.  Hopman has scored 11 and also leads the team with 15 offensive points.  Sloyan has ten goals and 14 total points.  He has scored in all six games thus far while Hopman has scored at least once in four straight and five of the six goals so far.
 
Caleb Southard leads the team with five assists and has 13 total points.

Defensively, Gunner Gebelein paces the team in both ground balls (28) and caused turnovers (21).  He is a 2-time first team all-conference selection and lead all of Division II lacrosse with his 4.40 caused turnover per game average going into the North Greenville game, which is not yet included in the national statistical rankings.
 
Noah McKoeun has been interim head coach Jesse Vanatta's primary face-off man and has won 55.6 percent (45-81) of his draws.   He was named as the Sunshine State Conference's Specialist of the Week on Tuesday.
 
Ben Lightsey has started all six games in net and has posted a 9.38 goals against average and .550 save percentage.
 
The Sailfish were only picked seventh out of eight teams in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 1-8 in 2021.
 
About the Spartans
 
The Spartans are off to a 6-0 start and continue to sit second in the USILA/Dynamic NCAA Division II Top 20 Coaches' Poll.  They went 10-1 last year advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament after a perfect 9-0 regular season.
 
They have been to the NCAA Tournament seven straight times since 2014 reaching the semifinals three times.
 
In 2022, Head Coach J.B. Clarke's squad has out-scored their six nationally-ranked opponents by an 82-40 combined margin this year.  They rank fourth in the country for scoring defense and seventh for scoring margin and are one of just seven teams with an unblemished record.
 
Clarke is in his first season with the Spartans after winning three national titles in 11 years at Division II powerhouse Limestone.
 
Colin White leads the squad with 12 goals and 19 points and is also amongst the team leaders for ground balls with 15.   Owen Miller (11) and Luke McAnaney (10) are in in double-figures for goals while they and three others have already reached double figures for points.
 
Harry Kilkowski paces the team with eight assists and is tied with McAnaney for second on the team with 16 points.
 
Defensively, Matthew Beddow has caused 17 turnovers while he and Hunter Turner both had 29 ground balls.  Turner is 66-for-114 at the face-off X, good for a .579 percentage.
 
Blake Ulmer has started all six games in net and has posted a stellar 6.39 goals against average while making 114 saves and allowing just 38 goals, good for an impressive .750 percentage.  He leads Division II lacrosse in both save percentage and saves per game and ranks fourth in goals against average.
 
Beddow is ranked sixth nationally for caused turnovers per game.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks have played Palm Beach Atlantic only once before.  They claimed an 11-10 win on Mar. 14, 2018 in West Palm Beach.  Brandon Wilson had a hat-trick in that victory.
 
The rivalry with Tampa has been more regularly played.  They met each year from 2012-19.  Each team has won four times.   The Mavs are 2-4 in Tampa having last won there in 2015.
 
CMU's last win in the series with the Spartans was by a 10-9 margin on Mar. 10, 2018 in a neutral site game in Salt Lake City.
 
Up Next
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks continue their swing through Florida next week playing at Florida Tech next Wednesday (Mar. 23) and at Flagler on Friday, Mar. 25.  They then return home to place in-state NCAA Division III Colorado College on Apr. 2.