COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University senior face-off specialist Mike Edwards was named as the Peach Belt Conference Rocky Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced on Monday afternoon by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference officials.

Edwards, a native of Colorado Springs and a Pine Creek High School graduate, won 20 face-offs and had a .667 winning percentage in the Mavs' two division wins last week.  He also scooped up 12 groundballs and scored a goal.

The player of the week honor is the second of his career (Apr. 17, 2023).

Edwards won seven of his eight faceoffs while claiming four grounds balls in the Mavericks' dominant 22-5 home win over Adams State.  He scooped and scored in that game as well and only took just one draw in the final three quarters as the Mavs took an 11-1 first quarter lead allowing reserves to play for much of the remainder of the game, which featured a running clock in the second half.

Cam Casados won 16 of the other 21 faceoffs.

On Sunday, Edwards won 13 of his 22 faceoffs and finished with a season and game-high eight groundballs as the Mavs defeated arch-rival Westminster University by a 13-11 margin on Sunday in Salt Lake City.

Edwards ranks second in the RMAC for both groundballs (43) and face-off percentage (.557) this season.

In other news, the Mavericks moved up from the No. 20 spot into a tie for 15^th in this week's USILA Division II Poll, which was also released on Monday.

The Mavs have an 8-2 record and are 5-0 in Rocky Mountain Division play.  They lead the standings by 1 ½ games over Concordia University Irvine (4-2) and are two games up on Westminster (3-2).

The Mavs can clinch a share of the division title with a win over winless Adams State (0-6) on Wednesday in Alamosa, Colorado and could clinch the outright title and the right to host the Apr. 24 and 26 postseason tournament with two wins this week.

CMU plays fourth place Dominican at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.