COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University sophomore goalkeeper Shaden Shields has been named as the initial Peach Belt Conference/Rocky Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Week for the young 2025 season as announced by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference officials on Tuesday afternoon.
 
In his Maverick debut after transferring from American International College, Shields made 18 saves in CMU's Saturday afternoon's 13-8 neutral-site win over Concordia University Irvine, a re-match of last year's RMAC Tournament Championship game that CMU won in overtime.
 
Shields' save total was highest for any Maverick since 2018 and is the fifth highest in program history.  He also recorded two groundballs and registered a .692 save percentage while allowing just eight goals in the complete game effort.
 
Sheilds also made 12 saves and allowed just four goals in Monday's 16-5 road win over Dominican in San Rafael, California, a game that was not factored into this week's Player of the Week selections but will be considered for next week's award.

The Naples, Florida native was named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team in 2024 after finishing his freshman season at AIC with a .552 save percentage, the second best mark in the conference and 15^th in Division II.  He made 153 saves in 13 games for the Yellow Jackets a year ago.
 
The Mavericks, who are 2-0 overall in PBC/Rocky Mountain Division play, are ranked 15^th in this week's United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll.  They will be in the Kansas City, Missouri area for games at William Jewell and Rockhurst on Friday (Feb. 21) and Monday (Feb. 24), respectively.  Rockhurst is receiving votes in the national poll.