GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's lacrosse team will look to continue its successful post-season run and lock up a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament for just the second time in program history when the nation's 17
th-ranked Mavericks will take on No. 9 the Flagler College Saints in Friday night's Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship game in St. Augustine, Florida.
The Saints are 14-2 this season while the Mavs are 12-3.
Friday's game will begin at 7 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. Mountain) at the Flagler Lacrosse Field.
It can be seen live on a
pay-per-view basis through the PBC Sports Network.
Live statistics can be found here.
What's at Stake
Friday's contest, a first of its' kind match-up, will pit the Rocky Mountain Division champion Mavericks against the Peach Belt Division Champion Saints. The winner will receive the Peach Belt Conference's automatic qualification spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament, which begins next Wednesday (May 7).
Eight teams from the South Region will ultimately be selected with the champions of five conferences receiving automatic spots. Three other teams will be selected at-large based on the final regional rankings. A third overall set of those rankings were released on Wednesday by the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Committee.
The Mavericks have not been included in any of the three sets of rankings, which rank the top ten squads for the region. Flagler has been included in all three rankings and is ranked fourth this week, which means they could still potentially receive an at-large bid even if the Mavericks were to win this week.
CMU must win to receive an NCAA Tournament bid, something they last did in 2018.
Last Times Out
The Mavericks earned their trip to Florida but winning last week's Rocky Mountain Division Tournament title at the Mavs' Community Hospital Unity Field.
The Mavericks matched a season-high by scoring 22 goals in last Thursday's 22-7 semifinal round win over Dominican. The Mavs then rode a fast start and an 8-goal run at the end to defeat Concordia, 15-6 in the tournament championship game.
JJ Brummett led the Maverick offensive attack with six goals and five assists (11 points) while
Deuce Kirschke also added six goals while recording his first two hat tricks of his career.
Brummett had four goals and an assist in the championship game after recording six points (2G, 4A) in the semifinal win.
Defensively, Maverick goalkeeper
Shaden Shields made 32 saves throughout the tournament, matching his season-high with 20 in the championship game win. He also posted a .711 save percentage and 6.58 goals against average throughout the tournament.
Full recaps of both victories can be read below.
Student Discount
Although fans will have to pay to view Friday's broadcast on the PBC Network, the conference is offering a 50 percent discount to CMU students. Any student signing in with a @coloradomesa.edu email address can get 50% off with the code
PBC@AFF$26
Post-Season Success
The Mavericks won their fourth straight and seventh overall Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference/Rocky Mountain Division Tournament title last week.
They have played in the championship game of the tournament all nine times and have posted a cumulative 16-2 conference tournament record since the RMAC first sponsored the sport in 2016.
The Mavs have hosted the tournament seven times and have won six titles while going 13-1 on home turf.
All-Division
The Mavericks had eight player selected to the All-Rocky Mountain Division teams, following a vote of the division's head coaches.
Five of the honored Mavs were first team picks in in senior attackman
JJ Brummett, junior midfielder
Dillon Pless, senior defender
Caden Hathaway, redshirt sophomore defender
Brady Porter and junior short stick defensive midfielder
Deuce Kirschke. Sophomore goalie
Shaden Shields, redshirt sophomore attack
Connor Jensen and redshirt sophomore long stick midfielder
Ryan Pless were all selected to the second team.
All-Tournament
Because the Rocky Mountain Division Tournament is part of the larger overall Peach Belt Conference Tournament, no all-tournament team was announced last weekend. Instead, the to players will be announced following Friday's game as part of a larger overall All-PBC Tournament Team including players from both the Rocky Mountain Division and Peach Belt Division Tournaments.
3 From 2 for No. 1
Maverick senior
JJ Brummett, who wears uniform No. 1, is just three goals away from matching Jack Griffin for the No. 2 spot in CMU history for goal scoring. Brummett scored six goals in the Rocky Mountain Division Tournament, including four in the championship game win over CUI, raising his career total to 132.
Griffin scored 135 times in his 2016-19 career. Steve Brandenburg set the Maverick record of 145 in 2017.
Six for Six
Maverick redshirt sophomore attackman
Connor Jensen, who wears uniform No. 6, recorded a career-high six points in last Saturday's Rocky Mountain Division Championship game CUI. He had three goals and three assists after tallying three other assists in the semifinal win over Dominican.
He has now recorded at least two offensive points in all 14 of the games that he has played this season and ranks second on the team with 46 points this year. Jensen had scored a goal in each of his first 12 appearances this year before that streak was ended in the Dominican game.
Clipping the Golden Eagles
Maverick goalie
Shaden Shields made 20 saves in the most recent and title-winning victory over CUI, matching his season-high that he had set in the Mavs' season opener, which was also played against the Golden Eagles.
Shields also made 13 saves in the second regular season game against the Golden Eagles, equal to his third highest total of the season.
The sophomore out of Naples, Florida has now made 144 saves in his 2025 season at CMU, which is the third highest single-season total in program history. With another gigantic game against Flagler or a CMU run into the NCAA Tournament, Shields could certainly set the new Maverick record, currently held by Remi Reeves, who made 161 saves in 2018.
Home Sweet Home
While winning the Rocky Mountain Division Tournament on home turf, the Mavericks were able to continue some impressive success on home turf.
The Mavs had won 19 straight home games over nearly four years prior to dropping their regular season finale but have now won 21 of their last 22 and 27 of their last 29 home games since 2020.
They now have a 71-9 all-time record at home, good for a .888 winning percentage.
They are 15-1 at home (.944) with head coach
Troy Moyer at the helm of the program.
CMU was 5-1 at home this season.
In the Polls
After winning the Rocky Mountain Division title, the Mavericks moved up three spots
to 17th in this week's USILA NCAA Division II Poll (Week No. 12), which was released on Monday. They had been ranked 20
th in last week's poll.
CMU has been between No. 13 and 20 in all 13 editions of the poll this season, including the preseason.
CMU is the only team in the Rocky Mountain Division currently in or receiving votes in the poll.
Flagler from the Peach Belt Division, also moved up a spot to ninth in this week's poll.
Top O and Top D
As one would somewhat expect considering their record, the Mavs lead the Rocky Mountain Division in both team offense and defense.
The Mavs have put up 229 goals in their 15 games, and pace the division with a 15.27 goal per game average.
CMU has conceded just 125 goals, an average of 8.62 per game. CUI ranks second in the division with an 8.33 per game mark.
On a national scale, the Mavs have moved into top 10 in both categories and rank eighth in scoring offense and ninth in scoring defense. They also rank eighth in scoring margin at +6.93.
The Award-Winning Bench Boss
Troy Moyer is in his third season in charge of the Maverick program and was named as the Rocky Mountain Division Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers last week.
He was promoted to the head coach role in the fall of 2022 after a brief stint as the interim head coach. Moyer took over for former CMU Head Coach Vince Smith, who left the position for other opportunities outside of coaching.
Moyer had originally been hired as an assistant on Smith's staff for the 2018-19 season.
In his three seasons as a head coach, including 2025, Moyer has guided the Mavericks to a combined 41-9 (.820) record, including a 20-2 mark in RMAC regular season games and a perfect 6-0 mark in the post-season.
The Mavs are also a nearly flawless 17-1 record at home. The Mavs have won both the RMAC/RMD Regular Season and Tournament titles in all three seasons in charge.
In his overall time with the Mavericks, Moyer has helped the program win four RMAC regular season titles and four tournament crowns. The Mavs have gone a combined 81-23 (.779) in his now seven seasons with Moyer on the sidelines.
Know Your Foe
The Flagler Collee Saints won their first Peach Belt Division Tournament title with an 11-10 road win over Lander on Saturday in Greenwood, South Carolina. The win avenged a 14-9 regular season loss to the Bearcats just a week earlier on Apr. 19.
The Saints were seeded second in the divisional tournament after going 2-1 in Peach Belt Division play.
They have a 14-2 overall record and have the nation's sixth best winning percentage.
They also rank third in the country for caused turnovers per game (12.25) as Ty Schekenbach leads the Peach Belt Division with 32 and his 2.00 per game average.
The Saints had five selections to the First Team All-Peach Belt Division squad and had two others selected to second team.
Tyler Douglass was tabbed as the Midfielder of the Year while Brandon Grusholt was named as the Co-Defenseman of the Year. Trace McDonald was named to the first team attack while Jack Pilla joined Doulgas on the first team midfield unit. Gordon Odgen III was selected as the division's top long stick defensive midfielder.
Douglass leads the Saints with 30 goals while McDonald is right behind with 29 goals. He also has an impressive 34 assists and 63 total points, marks that put him second and fourth in the Peach Belt Division.
Ben Nyberg has also scored 28 times for the Saints.
Grusholt has 23 caused turnovers and 36 groundballs while Odgen III has 50 groundballs to pace the team.
Matt Mitrega takes a lion's share of the Saints' faceoffs and has won 134 of his 315 draws, good for a .425 winning percentage, which is slightly higher than the Saints' .408 team mark.
Josh Stevens and Wade Lamon have split time most of the time in goal. Lamon has an 8.71 goals against average and .482 save percentage in 15 appearances while Stevens, a more regular starter, has a .486 save percentage and 9.38 goals against average.
The Saints only started their varsity program in 2022, but have a veteran roster that includes 16 seniors and another 15 juniors under the direction of Brian Duncan, the varsity program's only head coach.
Series Histories
Friday's game will mark the third time that the Mavs and Saints have met. CMU has won both previous games, both of which have been played in St. Augustine, Florida.
The Mavs won a tight 12-11 decision on Mar. 21 of last season and claimed a dominant 25-9 win on Mar. 25, 2022 in what was the Saints' first season at the varsity level.
Up Next
If the Mavericks win Friday's game, they will hear their name called during the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Selection Show, which will air on Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. EDT (5:30 p.m. Mountain)
on NCAA.com.
Sixteen teams from the country will be selected for the tournament, including eight from the South Region. The tournament will then begin with first round match-ups next Wednesday (May 7).
The quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, May 11 while the semifinals will take place a week later on May 18. The national championship game will be played on Sunday, May 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the NFL's New England Patriots.
