GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After clinching at least a share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title last Sunday, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick men's lacrosse team will attempt to win it outright when they take on rival Westminster College in both team's regular season finale on Saturday at the Griffins' Dumke Field in Salt Lake City.
 
The nation's 17^th-ranked Mavericks (12-3, 5-0 RMAC) have a 1-game advantage over the Griffins (8-3, 4-1 RMAC) in the RMAC Standings entering the contest, which begins at 11 a.m.  It can be seen via a live stream on the RMAC Network or followed through live statistics.
 
Scenarios
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks clinched at least a share of the RMAC title, their fifth in the last six completed seasons, with last Sunday's 18-5 victory over Adams State.  Westminster can grab a share as well with a victory over the Mavs on Saturday, which would put both teams' conference records at 5-1.
 
The RMAC title has never been shared before.
 
Westminster's lone RMAC crown was in 2019.
 
Additionally, this Saturday's contest, will determine the location and hosting rights for next week's RMAC Tournament.  The Mavs currently have the advantage thanks to their 16-13 home win over the Griffins to begin conference play back on Feb. 27.  CMU would earn the right to host the RMAC Tournament with a victory or even a 1 or 2-goal defeat.
 
The Griffins would earn that right if they win Saturday's game by three or more goals.
 
Regardless of Saturday's result, the Mavericks and Griffins will both be either the No. 1 or 2 seeds.  CSU Pueblo is likely to be the No. 3 seed while Adams State is likely to be the No. 4 seed.  Those two teams square off for the second time this season on Saturday in Alamosa.  CSU Pueblo (2-8, 1-4 RMAC) won the first meeting 18-5 and has a big advantage in potential tie-breaker scenarios even if they were to fall to the Grizzlies (1-7, 0-5 RMAC).
 
The No. 1 and 4 seeds will face off in one RMAC Tournament semifinal while the No. 2 and 3 seeds will play against each other in the other semifinal contest.
 
The semifinals will be played on Friday, May 6 while the championship game will be played on Saturday, May 7.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavericks claimed two RMAC wins last week, claiming a 10-6 road win at CSU Pueblo last Friday (Apr. 22) before returning home to defeat Adams State, 18-5 in Sunday's (Apr. 24) Senior Day contest.
 
Against, CSU Pueblo, freshman Logan Smith recorded his first career hat-trick as the Mavericks dominated the possession game winning 16 of the 20 face-offs while forcing the ThunderWolves into 29 turnovers.
 
Smith, a product of Highlands Ranch High School, had all three of his goals during the middle quarters as the Mavs extended a 4-3 lead to 5-3 with his second goal of the game with just 39 seconds to go in the half.
 
The Mavericks then scored all four of the third-quarter goals to extend their lead to 9-3 before cruising to the victory and season-sweep of the ThunderWolves, a team the Mavs have now defeated all 16 they have faced.

Eight different Mavericks scored in the victory.
 
Against Adams State, Jed Brummett, Sergio Pelayo and James Steinke all registered hat-tricks while Pelayo and Steinke finished with five offensive points.  Pelayo recorded his first career hat-trick.
 
The Mavericks led the Grizzlies, 11-1 at the half and then scored all six goals of the fourth quarter to run away with the victory, their seventh straight overall.
 
The Mavericks out-shot the Grizzlies 23-2 in the first quarter and 40-6 in the first half as they build a commanding 11-1 lead.  The Grizzlies then won the third-quarter, 3-1 and scored four of the first five second half goals before the Mavericks rattled off the final six to cruise to the victory.
 
The Mavs finished with a 65-20 advantage in total shots and won 17 of the game's 26 face-offs, including each of the first nine.
 
Prior to the game, nine CMU players and assistant coach Flynn Ernst were recognized in Senior Day festivities.  All nine of the players then got the start along with freshman Calvin Doucette in net as 44 Mavericks, including four goalies, saw action in the 13-goal victory.
 
Blame Amiatu was one of the Mavericks recognized and finished the game with a career-high two goals.   Fifth-year senior Anthony Boutwell also scored his first career goal to cap the scoring with 36 seconds to go while Trent Pernell had two goals and an assist in his final regular season home game.  Carson Schwark also had a goal and three assists in his Senior Day contest moving to within just three of becoming the sixth Maverick in program history to reach 100 career points.
 
Meanwhile, graduate student Jake Brummett was 13-for-17 on face-offs and scooped up eight ground balls to lead the Mavericks to a 49-26 advantage in that category.  Tanner Stopkoski also had five ground balls and four caused turnovers in his Senior Day game.
 
Duncan Cross, Jake Keyes and Shane Starbuck were also recognized before the game.  Cross had two shots, a ground ball and caused turnover while Keyes registered an assist and ground ball.  Starbuck also had a ground ball.
 
Caden Hathaway also had a solid defensive game with four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
Streaking Mavs
 
The Mavericks enter Saturday's game riding a 7-game winning streak.  They have now put together a streak of at least that length in each of the past three seasons.
 
The Mavs won nine straight games between Mar. 12 and May 7, 2021 during a 9-2 season that started and finished with losses.
 
In 2020, the Mavericks won all seven of their games before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID.
 
The Mavs had a 10-game winning streak to close out the 2018 regular season before seeing that streak, the longest single-season streak in program history, snapped in their only NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
The Mavs also finished the 2017 season on an 8-game winning streak and started the 2018 campaign off with six straight wins to register a 14-game multiple-season streak.
 
X Marks the Spot

The Mavericks continued to win the face-off battles in both games last week, winning 33 of their combined 46 face-offs against CSU Pueblo (16-20) and Adams State (17-26).  Their weekly face-off percentage was .717, just ahead of their season-long percentage of .716, which leads the NCAA Division II statistics.
 
The Mavericks  have won the face-off battle in all but one of their 15 games this season (Quincy), often by very lopsided margins, a big part of their success this year.
 
In total, the Mavericks have won 300 of their 419 total draws.  Mercyhurst (.705) and Seton Hill (.703) are the only other Division II teams to have won more than 70 percent of their face-offs.
 
Individually, Dylan Checketts ranks third in Division II with his .716 winning percentage (184-257).  He won 12 of 15 against CSU Pueblo and 2 of 4 against Adams State. 
 
Jake Brummett has an even higher individual winning percentage of .752 (88-117) but is not eligible for the NCAA statistical rankings as he has not taken more than 40 percent of the team's total draws.
 
Joey Grzetic IV (15-22; .682) and Mike Edwards (13-23; .565) also have winning face-off marks in their more limited opportunities this season.
 
CMU's program-record for face-off winning percentage is .759, set in the shortened 2020 campaign.  The Mavs also had a .707 mark in last year's somewhat abbreviated season.
 
Cole Emmanuel holds the Mavs' single-season individual face-off winning percentage record (minimum 100 attempts) of .759, set in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, a mark that Brummett is threatening.
 
Double Honoree
 
Drew Eickelman was named as the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.
 
The Littleton, Colorado native and Dakota Ridge High School graduate recorded 12 ground balls and five caused turnovers during the Mavericks' 4-0 stretch over the past two weeks.  He also had a goal and assist at the offensive end.
 
As a pillar of that defense, Eickelman and the Mavericks conceded just 20 goals (5.00/game) during the stretch, giving up no more than six goals in any of their wins over Quincy, Rockhurst, CSU Pueblo and Adams State.

Because there was no RMAC Player of the Week honors bestowed in the previous week, all four of those victories were considered in the selection for this award.
 
Eickelman had also been selected as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 21.   The Mavs have now received six of the seven RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors they have been eligible for and have had five of the seven offensive awards that they were eligible for.
 
Next Man-Up
 
James Stieinke and AJ Switzer have both scored seven man-up goals for the Mavericks, who have been on a respectable .380 (27-71) scoring rate on extra-man opportunities this season.
 
Both men are now tied for second on CMU's single-season charts for man-up goals and just one shy of the school record of eight, set by Brandon Wilson in 2018.
 
The 27 man-up goals as a team are also tied for second most in program history with the 2018 squad. 
 
The 2019 edition of the Mavericks scored a school-record 30 man-up goals.
 
Almost there
 
Fifth-year Maverick redshirt senior Carson Schwark has steadily moved up the Mavericks' career goal and point scoring charts this season and will enter Saturday's game at Westminster with 97 career points, just three shy of becoming the sixth Maverick to ever reach triple digits.  He also ranks sixth for career goals with 70.
 
The Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota native has scored a career-high 21 goals this season and has been in double digits in each of the last four seasons after scoring seven as a true freshman in 2018.  He is taking advantage of the NCAA's blanket eligibility waiver granted due to the cancelation of a majority of the 2020 season this year.
 
Current teammate AJ Switzer, a third-year redshirt sophomore, is also approaching 100 career points and enters the regular-season finale with 94 career points, including 60 goals and 34 assists.  He leads the RMAC with 30 goals this season, the tenth highest single-season total in CMU history.
 
Helper-Helper
 
James Steinke and Hunter Holcomb both have a shot at setting the new CMU record for assists in a season.  Steinke has recorded 22 through the first 15 games while Holcomb has helped on 20 Maverick goals this campaign.
 
James Booth (2020) and Calen Ketcham (2018) co-hold the Maverick record of 26.  Steinke currently sits seventh on the Mavs' single-season charts while Holcomb is tied for ninth with his assist total.

As a team, the Mavericks have recorded 141 assists this year, already the third highest total in program history behind only the 2018 and 2019 squads, which tallied 168 and 165 assists, respectively. 
 
The Mavericks rank sixth in Division II for total assists and eighth for assists per game (9.40) this season.
 
Showing off their tricks
 
The Mavericks combined for four more hat-tricks in their two wins last week, raising their team total to 24 this season.

Freshman Logan Smith became the tenth Maverick to record a hat-trick (3 or more goals in a single game) this season, doing so against CSU Pueblo.  Jed Brummett, Sergio Pelayo and James Steinke then all scored three goals against Adams State.
 
Pelayo's was also the first of his career making him the 11th member of the Maverick hat-trick club this season.
 
The effort was Brummett's third hat trick of the season and ninth of his career.  Steinke, second on the team with 26 total goals, now has four hat-tricks this season and in his career.
 
In the poll
 
The Mavericks remained in the No. 17 spot in this week's USILA/Dynamic Coaches' Division II Poll, released on Monday afternoon.  The No. 17 ranking is the Mavs' highest of the season.   The Mavs received 85 points in the poll.  Their only three losses this season have come against teams ranked above them in the poll. 
 
Tampa, a team that edged the Mavs by just three goals, continues to hold down the No. 1 spot and is now the only undefeated teams in the country at 16-0.
 
CMU's only other losses have come to Florida Tech and Rollins, who now sit 10^th and 13^th in the poll. 
 
Westminster is receiving two votes in the poll.
 
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 28 of their last 33 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 124-46 all-time, good for a .729 winning percentage that is fifth best amongst active Division II programs.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
With their Senior Day win over Adams State on Sunday, the Mavericks raised their all-time home record to 52-8 since beginning their program in 2011, good for an .867 home field winning percentage.  The Mavericks had a 20-game home field winning streak from 2016-18 and have now won 32 of their last 35 games at Community Hospital Unity Field.
 
The Mavs are 4-0 at home this season and will also hope to host the RMAC Tournament on May 6-7, a right they would earn if they are the top seed.
 
Best in the West
 
The Mavericks have proven to be the best Division II program in the western half of the United States, winning five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles in the last six opportunities, including this year's after claiming two Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association crowns in the program's earliest years. 
 
The Mavericks are an impressive 40-4 (.909) in RMAC play since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2016.  They have won 12 straight RMAC regular-season games over the last three seasons.
 
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 93-25 career record.  His .788 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.  He ranks fourth amongst 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 11-5 against the Griffins and 3-1 against his Griffin counterpart, Joe Kerwin.
 
About the Griffins
 
The Griffins have won their last three games by a combined 65-18 margin, dominating the lower half of the RMAC while scoring at least 20 goals against Adams State (twice) and CSU Pueblo in the stretch.
 
Those victories have raised their overall record to 8-3 and their conference mark to 4-1 after they had split two tight non-conference games in North Carolina to begin the month of April.
 
Spencer Whinery leads the team with 20 goals while Easton Albert is right behind with 19.  Merrit McMahon has also contributed 16.  Whinery also paces the Griffins with 20 assists and 40 points to rank amongst the RMAC's top four players in both categories.
 
Face-off man Hagan Buchanan leads the team with 31 ground balls and has won 67 of his 131 draws (.511).  Marselus Seguin also has a solid .588 winning percentage at the "X", having given his team possession on 30 of 51 attempts.
 
Carson Capps leads the Griffins with nine caused turnovers.
 
Gavin Beilman is the Griffins' main net-minder.  He pasted made 113 saves and has a .577 save percentage along with a 10.78 goals against average.  Jacob Miller (.741, 5.21 GAA) and Kade Oswin (.769, 6.60 GAA) have made nine combined appearances in relief.
 
Biggest rivalry
 
Sunday's game will be a renewal of the RMAC's biggest rivalry.  The Mavericks and Griffins and have combined to win all five previous RMAC regular season and all five RMAC Tournaments played to date.  They have met in all five of the RMAC Tournament Championship games.
 
The Mavericks swept both the regular season and tournament titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018 defeating the Griffins eight straight times during that stretch after the Griffins won the first of three 2016 meetings in Grand Junction.  The last three and five of those eight games during that stretch were decided by a single goal.
 
In 2019, the tables turned as the Griffins won the regular season and tournament titles, winning the latter in overtime in Salt Lake City.
 
Due to COVID, the teams did not square off in 2020. 
 
The rivalry then resumed last spring as the Mavericks won both regular season meetings en-route to claiming the conference's regular season crown for the fourth time and the right to host the conference tournament.  However, the Griffins went on to win the RMAC Tournament becoming the first away team to ever win the tournament championship game, which ended all of CMU's hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Mavericks lead the all-time series between the teams 11-5, including a 2011 game when Westminster was not a member of the NCAA, instead playing lacrosse in the MCLA (Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association).  The Mavericks are 4-2 against the Griffins in Salt Lake City, winning last year's regular season contest by a 16-6 margin on Apr. 1 in what was by far the most lop-sided contest there.  Four of the previous five meetings in Salt Lake City were decided by a single goal, including two in overtime.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will enter next week's RMAC Tournament as the No. 1 or 2 seed, depending on the results of this Saturday's game against the Griffins.  The RMAC Tournament begins with semifinals on Friday, May 6 and the Mavericks will face either Adams State or CSU Pueblo in that round. 
 
Westminster will face the other opponent.
 
The championship game between the two semifinal winners will be played on Saturday, May 7.
 
The Mavericks have won three RMAC Tournaments (2016, 2017, 2018).  Westminster won the 2019 and 2021 crowns.  There was no RMAC Tournament in 2020.