GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After playing each of their last five games outside of the conference, the 18^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University men's lacrosse team will resume Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Sunday when they host CSU Pueblo.
 
Face-off is slated for noon at the Community Hospital Unity Field.
 
A Live stream can be found on the RMAC Network and live statistics for the contest can be accessed here.  Tickets can also be purchased online at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.
 
The Mavericks will enter Sunday's contest with a 7-3 overall record.  They lead the RMAC at 2-0 and have won two straight games overall.
 
The ThunderWolves are also coming off a 13-goal win over Adams State and have a 2-5 overall record.  They are 1-1 in the RMAC and could move into a tie for the conference lead with a victory over the Mavs.
 
Last Time Out
 
Trent Pernell matched a career-high with four goals and assisted on the game-winner as the Mavericks rallied to score the final four goals in a 15-12 win over visiting Colorado College last Saturday (Apr. 2) at Community Hospital Field.
 
The Mavs had trailed 12-11 with ten minutes to go before coming back to claim the victory after holding the Tigers to just three fourth-quarter shots.
 
Duncan Cross leveled the score with 9:43 to go before AJ Switzer put the Mavericks ahead for good, 13-12 with 6:31 left.  James Steinke and Levi McCoy then scored late goals as the Mavericks put the game away.
 
Pernell, who had five points, was one of ten different Mavericks who scored in the game.  Steinke and Alex Blatt both had two goals games.  Hunter Holcomb also scored and had two assists to finish with three points.  He also added four ground balls to lead the Mavs.
 
Calvin Doucette picked up his first career win in goal after coming on in relief of starter Reece Sullivan just before the mid-way point of the third quarter.
 
Winning the Face-off battle
 
The Mavericks have won more face-offs than their opponents in all ten games this season and have an impressive 216-93 face-off mark throughout the season.  That .699 team winning percentage is the fifth best in Division II.
 
On an individual scale, Dylan Checketts also ranks fifth in the country with what is now a .701 individual winning percentage and has won 143 out of his 204 total draws, including 10 out of 16 in last week's win over Colorado College.  Jake Brummett has an even better .730 winning percentage (54-20) but is not eligible for the NCAA statistical rankings as he has not taken more than 40 percent of the team's total draws.  If he were eligible, he would rank as high as fourth nationally.
 
Joey Grzetic IV also has an .682 (15-7) percentage in his limited opportunities at the face-off mark.
 
Scooping them up
 
Dylan Checketts also ranks amongst the nation's top players for ground balls per game.  He has already scooped up 77, good for an average of 8.56 per game, the ninth best average in the country.  The Mavs also second fourth nationally as a team with their 42.00 per game average.  They have won the ground ball battle in nine of their ten games so far this season, claiming a season-high 65 ground balls in the game against Florida Tech.
 
High Octane Offense
 
The Mavericks have scored 167 goals in their first ten games reaching double figures in nine of them.  They have surpassed the 20-goal mark on three occasions.  Their 16.70 per game average is fourth best in Division II.
 
The Mavs also rank third in the country with their 9.44 assist per game average having recorded assists on 85 (55.9 percent) of their goals thus far.
 
Hat-tricks
 
With four goals in last week's win over Colorado College, Trent Pernell recorded his third hat-track (3 or more goals in a game) of the season.  Pernell is one of eight different Mavericks who have combined for 13 hat-tricks this season.  AJ Switzer leads the group with four while James Steinke has two.
 
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 scored one more last week against Colorado College and has now recorded 15 this season raising his career total to 64 in just 49 games.
 
The Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota native is now in seventh place on the Mavs' all-time goal scoring charts.  He now has his eyes set on Austin Pridham, who is in sixth place with 66 career goals.
 
Schwark is third on the Maverick squad and tied for fourth in the RMAC with his 15 goals this season and has now been in double figures during each of the last four seasons, including the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, which were 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.
 
Schwark's goal last week was also good for his 87^th career offensive point, putting him ninth place on the Mavericks' career points chart.  Daniel Caddoo (2012-16) is eighth in CMU history for career points with 88.  Schwark could become just the sixth Maverick to reach 100 career points if he maintains his offensive pace.  He will need 12 points in CMU's six remaining regular season games plus any post-season games the Mavs happen to play.
 
Streaking Steinke
 
Maverick James Steinke has been on a scoring tear this season having scored in all ten games this year and each of the last 11 dating back to last year.  He has scored two or more goals in each of the Mavs' last six contests, netting two hat-tricks as well.  Earning three RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season, Steinke is second in the conference for goals (tied with 18), assists (16) and points.
 
His 16 assists this year has also lifted Steinke into a tie for No. 9 spot in CMU history for career assists with 33.
 
Speaking of Streaks
 
AJ Switzer has also been on quite a goal scoring tear as of late having scored two or more goas in six straight games before being held to one in last week's win over Colorado College.  He has scored 18 in that stretch alone and leads the team and the RMAC with 22 this season.  Switzer has scored in all but three of his 28 career games as a Maverick and has now recorded 26 or more total points in each of his three years as a Mav.
 
Good GB Getter
 
Just a sophomore, Dylan Checketts has already moved into fifth place on the Mavericks' all-time charts for career ground balls.  He has scooped up 126 in just 20 career appearances, having claimed 77 this year alone, which is already the third best single-season mark in Maverick history.
 
Checketts could easily move into the No. 2 spot of the Mavericks' career charts during the Mavs' upcoming games.  Johnny Nitti had 142 in his 2011-14 career to rank second, ahead of Shane O'Neill (136) and Brad Brandenburg (134).  Former Maverick face-off standout Michael Marino holds the CMU record of 387 by a wide margin.
 
Marino set the single-season record of 149 as a senior in 2019 after claiming 127 in 2018, when the Mavs' made their NCAA Tournament run.
 
In the poll
 
The Mavericks remained 18^th in this week's USILA/Dynamic Coaches' Division II Poll, released on Monday afternoon.  The No. 18 ranking is the Mavs' highest of the season.   The Mavs are now receiving a season-high 61 points in the poll.  Their only three losses this season have come against teams ranked above them in the poll.  Limestone is third while 7-0 Adelphi, the only other undefeated team is fourth.  Mercy rounds out the top five.
 
CMU's only other losses have come to Rollins, which remained in the No. 11 spot of the poll, and to Florida Tech, up a spot to 13^th in this week's poll.
 
RMAC rival Westminster, a team the Mavericks defeated, has two points and is in the also receiving votes portion of the poll.  Rockhurst, a team the Mavericks will play at next Saturday (Apr. 16), is also receiving votes and has five points 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 23 of their last 28 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 119-46 all-time, good for a .721 winning percentage that is fifth best amongst active Division II programs.
 
50^th Home Win
 
Last Saturday's win over Colorado College was the Mavericks' 50^th at home.  They now have a 50-8 all-time record at home since beginning their program in 2011, good for an .862 home field winning percentage.  The Mavericks had a 20-game home field winning streak from 2016-18 and have now won 30 of their last 33 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.  They have won nine straight RMAC regular-season games.
 
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 88-25 career record.  His .779 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 and the Mavs are 14-0 against CSU Pueblo and ThunderWolf coach Sean Blair, also in his eighth season.
 
About the ThunderWolves
 
CSU Pueblo thumped Adams State, 18-5 in their last game on Saturday (Apr. 2) to pick up their second overall and first RMAC win of the season.
 
Sophomore Aryan Krause scored six goals and assisted on seven others in the victory while Logan Neves scored the first and four total goals in the victory.
 
Krause was named as the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week for his effort while junior goalie Ethan Ferrie made 13 saves while allowing just three goals.  He faced 33 Grizzly shots and was named as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Krause has scored 18 goals and tallied 23 assists in the Pack's first seven games this year and leads the RMAC with his goal (2.57), assist (3.29) and point (5.86) per game averages.  His 23 assists and 41 total points lead the RMAC.  He is second for total goals.
 
Naves and Cameron Hancock are also in double figures for goals with 15 and 12, respectively.  They both have 18 total points.  Dylan Johnson, who has ten points, is just one goal shy of double-figures with nine.
 
Turner Dirk has 19 ground balls and seven caused turnovers while Garrett Breeling has 14 ground balls and eight caused turnovers to rank third in the RMAC with his 1.14 per game average.
 
Tyler Gardner has taken nearly 90 percent of the ThunderWolves face-offs and is 50-for-148 (.338) at the spot.  He also leads the team with 26 ground balls.
 
Ferrie has made 106 saves, an average of 15.14 per game, and has a RMAC-leading .579 save percentage.  He sports a 13.64 goals against average.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks are a perfect 14-0 all-time against the ThunderWolves, who began their program in 2015, four years after the Mavs.  Seven of those wins have come at Community Hospital Unity Field.  The Mavs have averaged more than 20 goal per game in the series history scoring 291 in total, including a series record 32 back in 2018.
 
CSU Pueblo has reached double-figures in three of the last four meetings, including on Feb. 23, 2020 in their last visit to Grand Junction.  CMU won that game 22-11 before the COVID cancelation thwarted the return trip to Pueblo.
 
CSU Pueblo also canceled last year's trip to Grand Junction due to COVID issues.  The Mavericks had won 19-2 on Apr. 11, 2021 in Pueblo.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will head back out on the road for a trip to the midwestern part of the country.  They will take on Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois on Thursday (Apr. 14) at 4 p.m. CDT (3 p.m. Mountain) before heading to Kansas City, Missouri to take on Rockhurst on Saturday (Apr. 16) at Noon CDT (11 a.m. Mountain) in what will be their final non-conference game of the regular season.
 
The Mavs will then wrap up the regular season with three conference games, a stretch that begins on Friday, Apr. 22 at CSU Pueblo.