SALT LAKE CITY – Colorado Mesa came up short in a topsy-turvy game against RMAC rivals Westminster, but a late goal made things very interesting for tiebreaker purposes.

With a 13-12 win, Westminster defeated the Mavericks for the first time in the last six meetings between the two schools, but Deuce Kirschke's goal with 17 seconds left cut the CMU deficit from two goals to just one. With Westminster's one-goal margin of victory matching CMU's one-goal win from March, the two teams are now tied on head-to-head goal differential.

JJ Brummett scored a team-high three goals for CMU, his seventh game this season with a hat trick or better. Dillon Pless and Micah Payton scored twice, with Payton and Hunter Holcomb both adding two assists. Holcomb, Dylan Checketts, Braden Lowe, Carson Points and Kirschke all found the net a single time for the Mavs.

Both goalies showed out for their respective squads. Luke Parrish made 16 saves, five over his career high, while reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week and Westminster goalie Christain Jones made 17 saves to stymie the Maverick attack.  

The stats were mostly dead-even. Westminster had a narrow 53-50 shots advantage with both teams putting 29 shots on goal. Both teams had 18 turnovers apiece while Colorado Mesa scooped three more ground balls, 24-21. The Mavericks also enjoyed an 18-12 faceoff advantage, led by a 13-for-20 performance from Dylan Checketts, while going a perfect 25-for-25 in defensive clears.

This lacrosse contest was a game of runs. Colorado Mesa scored three of the game's first four goals, with Brummett scoring unassisted and Dillon Pless scoring twice to give CMU a 3-1 lead. From 9:00 to 3:37 in the first quarter, however, Westminster ripped up a 6-0 scoring run with Merritt McMahon punctuating the run by completing a hat trick to make it 7-3, Griffins.

Colorado Mesa counterpunched over the next 15 minutes. Micah Payton and Braden Lowe scored to pull CMU within two at the end of the first quarter before the Mavericks scored four straight to open the second quarter. JJ Brummett completed his hat trick to give CMU an 8-7 lead, and 20 seconds later, Dylan Checketts scored unassisted off a faceoff win to put the Mavericks up by two. Westminster's Skyler Weathers scored with 1:25 left in the first half to make it a one-goal Maverick lead at the half.

Westminster owned the third quarter, outscoring the Mavs 4-1 in the third period. The Griffins received two more goals from Merritt McMahon, who finished the game with a game-high six goals and seven points.

After relative offensive fireworks with 22 goals being scored in the game's first three quarters, that trend seemed poised to continue after Hunter Holcomb and McMahon traded goals within the opening minute of the fourth quarter to give Westminster a 13-11 lead.

Instead, the defenses took control, with both schools being held scoreless from 14:22 in the fourth quarter until Kirschke's goal with just 0:17 left to play. Each goalie, Luke Parrish for CMU and Christain Jones for Westminster, made four saves apiece in the final frame.

Colorado Mesa closes the RMAC regular season next weekend on the road against Adams State on Friday, April 19 at 3 p.m. and CSU Pueblo on Sunday, April 21 at noon. Westminster will play the same two teams in reverse order. The Mavericks can clinch at least a share of the RMAC regular season title with wins in both matches.