GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's lacrosse team will make their longest and probably toughest trip of the season, heading to Florida this week for a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents.
 
The Mavericks, who went 1-1 in their mid-February trip to Missouri, will play at No. 20 Florida Tech (2-3) in Melbourne on Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST (5 p.m. Mountain) before taking on ninth-ranked Saint Leo (4-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m. EST (9 a.m. Mountain) in Saint Leo.  This is a new start time for the Saint Leo game.
 
The two games are the only ones on the Mavs' 15-game regular season schedule that are outside of the Midwest Region.
 
Follow the Mavs
 
Both of the Mavs' games in Florida will be streamed for free on the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network.  Live statistics for both games will also be available at the links above.
 
Full game recaps will be posted on www.cmumavericks.com each evening.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks split a pair or regional games on their opening road trip, dropping a 16-14 decision to Rockhurst on Feb. 14 in Kansas City before bouncing back for a 15-12 indoor win over Missouri Western State two days later in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
Caroline Ohngemach led the Maverick attack with eight goals on the trip.  She scored a career-high five in the win over the Griffons after recording a hat-trick with three goals against Rockhurst.  She also had two assists over the weekend leads the Mavs with ten total points.  The senior out of Wayne, New Jersey was named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts and also added seven draw controls and five caused turnovers.
 
Courtney Havel also finished the weekend with seven goals, recording a career-high five against the Rockhurst Hawks.  She and Justine Anderson (4G, 4A) both finished the weekend with eight offensive points.
 
Meanwhile, Ali Bryant had a strong all-around weekend, finishing with two goals while matching Anderson for the early team lead in assists.  Bryant also had ten draw controls and led the team with seven groundballs while causing five turnovers.  She was named as the RMAC's initial Defensive Player of the Week.
 
POW Sweep
 
The aforementioned duo of Caroline Ohngemach and Ali Bryant swept the RMAC Player of the Week awards for the initial week of the season.  Those awards were announced last Tuesday (Feb. 18) and are the first of each's career.  Both players are seniors.
 
The Mavs also claimed an awards sweep once last season with Justine Anderson and Kelsey Viger claiming the offensive and defensive awards, respectively, for Week 7 on Apr. 15.
 
An early look around the RMAC
 
The Mavericks are one of just three RMAC teams that have claimed a win as the league has struggled a bit in the early days of the season.  CMU and Westminster are both 1-1 while CSU Pueblo, Fort Lewis and Regis are all 0-2 thus far.  UCCS defeated Davenport in its Tuesday night season-opener and is 1-0.
 
Regis is still ranked 11^th in the nation, after sitting sixth in the previous poll.  They lost games to No. 7 Indianapolis and No. 5 Maryville and will play No. 2 Pace (N.Y.) in their next game.
 
Four RMAC teams, including the Mavs are in action on Thursday.
 
The Mavs currently lead the RMAC in a lot of the early season RMAC statistics, having scored 29 goals while taking a league-high 73 shots.  They also have recorded a league-leading 16 assists and are tied for the conference lead with 34 draw controls.
 
Caroline Ohngemach leads the league with ten offensive points and is tied for the conference lead with eight goals.  Justine Anderson and Ali Bryant are tied with each other for the RMAC lead in assists with four as they and Ohngemach all sit in the top three of the RMAC for points.
 
Bryant and Ohngemach are also tied for third in the conference with five caused turnovers while Monroe McClimans is tied for fifth with four.
 
Emme Rezoski is second in the league for draw controls with 11, one spot ahead of Bryant who has ten.  Bryant and Maverick goalkeeper Shannon Murphy are also tied for fourth with seven groundballs.
 
Tough Stretch
 
The Mavs' next four games, including both of this week's, are against teams currently ranked in the IWLCA Division II Coaches' Poll.
 
After facing the No. 20 Panthers and No. 9 Lions, the Mavs will take on No. 13 Grand Valley State in their home-opener next Thursday (Mar. 6) before beginning RMAC play at currently 11^th-ranked Regis on Mar. 14.
 
Starting Young
 
The Mavericks have 14 true freshman on this year's roster, including Savage, Minnesota native Sadie Chappuis, who has been included in the Mavs' starting lineup in both of the first two games so far.  Chappuis recorded three groundballs and a caused turnover in the Mavs' trip to Missouri and also took two shots at the offensive end.
 
Fellow Minnesotans Avery Irlbeck and Cassidy Keykal have also played in both of the Mavs' first two games.

Mac Cryne, Heather Hawkins, Maeve Miller, Aubrey Olson and Jillian Rodrigues all saw their first collegiate action on the trip as well, playing in one game apiece.
 
The Coach
 
The 2025 season is the second with Head Coach Ashley Delaney running the Maverick program. 
 
Delaney is no stranger to the squad and will be in her sixth year overall after serving as an assistant for the previous four seasons from 2020-23.
 
The Mavs went 11-6 last season with Delaney in charge and posted a 33-19 combined record in her four years as an assistant under two previous head coaches. 
 
The Mavs also won a share of the program's only RMAC Regular Season title in 2023 and have been in the RMAC Tournament Championship game in each of the last four years.

Including this season, Delaney has a winning 12-7 record as a head coach.  The Mavericks are a combined 34-20 with her on the coaching staff.
 
Know Your Foes
 
Florida Tech
 
The Panthers are currently 2-3 on the season but have played a tough schedule with four of their games coming against teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the IWLCA Poll.   They are 1-3 in those games but defeated then No. 17 and now 21^st ranked Rollins in their last outing this past Friday (Feb. 21).
 
The win came by a 14-12 margin.  One of their losses to now No. 19 Wingate was in overtime.
 
They have a balanced offensive attack, with Sophia Scichilone and Gillian Graig leading the way.  Scichilone has scored 13 goals and has 24 offensive points with a team-leading 11 assists.  Craig has scored a team-high 16 goals but has recorded just one assist.
 
Sofie Bender has also shined, registering 12 goals and five assists in the Panthers' first five games.
 
Clare McGuire has recorded 30 draw controls while Charlotte Hardie has ten groundballs and seven caused turnovers to lead the team in both of those categories.
 
Bridget Robinson has started all five games in net but has been relieved in four of them by Cailey Canessa.  Robinson had made 25 saves and is 1-2 with a 15.30 goals against average and .342 save percentage.  Canessa has slightly better numbers, posting a 11.41 goals against average and .353 save percentage.
 
Saint Leo
 
The Lions are off to a strong 4-1 start and are ranked ninth in this week's IWLCA Division II Coaches' Poll.  Their lone loss came by a 17-12 margin to then No. 4 and now third-ranked Florida Southern by a 17-12 margin on Feb. 18.
 
They defeated Alabama-Huntsville, now ranked 25^th, by a 12-10 margin last Friday in their most recent game.  The Lions also hold wins over Flagler and Limestone, ranked 14^th and 22^nd in the most recent national poll, respectively, this season.
 
Holly Hill leads the team with 15 goals and 21 points while Jana Nuss is right behind with 20 points with ten goals and a team-leading ten assists.    Sophia Wood (7G, 5A) and Natalie Jones, who has scored nine goals, have also contributed significantly to the Lions' early success.
 
Maria Palomba has 23 draw controls to lead the team while Jessica Harclerode has 16 groundballs while posting a solid 10.43 goals against average with 43 saves and a .463 save percentage in net.

The Lions are coming off their best finish in program history, having gone 12-5 last year.  They were picked third in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll behind defending national champion Tampa and defending conference champion Florida Southern.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavs have not previously faced Florida Tech and are 2-2 all-time against Saint Leo in what has been a competitive rivalry.  All four previous games have been played in Saint Leo and have two have been decided in overtime.
 
The Lions won the last meeting on Mar. 21, 2023 by a 13-7 score after the Mavs won a 13-12 overtime decision in 2022.  The Mavs also won there in 2017 after falling 12-11 in the first meeting between the teams back in 2013.
 
Up Next
 
After returning from Florida, the Mavericks will return home to host No. 13 Grand Valley State in their home-opener next Thursday (Mar. 6).  That contest will also be CMU's final non-conference game of the season.
 
CMU then begins RMAC play at Regis on Mar. 14.