GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's lacrosse team will look to continue their unbeaten start when they head to Florida for playoff rematches as part of their 3-game swing through the Sunshine State.
 
The 3-0 Mavericks, ranked tenth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division II Coaches' Poll, will begin the trip on Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock EDT (1 p.m. Mountain) with a neutral-site match-up against the Palm Beach Atlantic Saifish (4-3)  in Tampa.

The Mavs will then take on the host and nation's fourth-ranked Tampa Spartans, currently 7-1, at their Naimoli Family Athletic Complex on Sunday at Noon EDT (10 a.m. Mountain).
 
The Mavs will then head to St. Augustine to wrap up the trip at Flagler, currently 5-3, next Tuesday.
 
Follow the Mavs

The Mavs' road games at Tampa and Flagler will be streamed live, accessible at the links to the Sunshine State Digital Network and Peach Belt Conference Sports Network above.
 
Tampa is also working on details to be able to provide a live stream for Saturday's neutral-site game but has not yet provided any specific links as of yet.
 
Live statistics for both of the road games will also be available through the links above.

Tampa is also working out details to provide live statistics for Saturday's neutral-site game against PBA.
 
Check the CMU schedule page or Tampa's website for links closer to game time.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavs played the first of four straight Florida opponents last week, coming from behind to defeat Florida Southern by an 11-10 overtime margin in their home-opener.
 
Jack Cooper scored five goals, including the equalizer with 20.7 seconds remaining in regulation before transfer Camden Moody scored the game-winner 1:55 into overtime as the Mavs completed their come back from as many as four goals down (5-1).

The Mavericks trailed 9-7 early in the fourth quarter and tied the game at nine with 3:25 to go on a goal by Dillon Pless.
 
The Moccasins then went up 10-9 just 1:11 later before Cooper was able to equalize.
 
The Mavs then fought off a late regulation penalty that carried over to overtime before Pless caused a turnover that Shawn Ferguson scooped up before dishing to Moody for the game-winner.
 
To see the full recap, game highlights and stats, please click here.

In the Polls
 
The Mavericks currently moved up a spot and sit 10^th in this week's (Week No. 5) United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division II Poll, released on Monday.  They were ranked also ranked tenth last in Week No.3 and were 11^th last week.
 
They have been ranked in all six polls, including the preseason.
 
Tampa is ranked fourth this week after suffering a 14-13 loss for the first time this season last week to fifth-ranked Anderson.  The Spartans had been No. 2.
 
Flagler is the currently just outside the top 20 as the first team in the "also receiving votes" category.  The Saints were ranked 15^th last week but also suffered a 17-7 loss to No. 18 Saint Leo.
 
A new poll will be due out on this coming Monday before the Mavs take on Flagler.
 
The Mavs also sit 13^th in this week's USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, compiled by writers with input from coaches around the country.  They were also ranked 14^th a week ago.
 
Tampa is ranked fourth in that poll while Flagler is 19^th.
 
Playoff Re-Matches
 
Two of the Mavs' three games on the Florida trip will be re-matches of playoff games from a year ago.
 
The Mavericks won an 18-14 decision over Flagler in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament title game on May 2, which allowed the Mavs to claim the conference's automatic qualification spot for the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Mavs were then seeded eighth in the South Region portion of the tournament and took on top-seeded Tampa, which won a 12-7 game on May 7. 
 
Sheilds made 64 saves in his five games in Florida last year, an average of 12.80 per game.
 
He was named as the Peach Belt Conference Tournament MVP a year ago after making 16 saves in the title game win over Flagler.
 
Florida Man
 
Maverick junior goalkeeper Shaden Shields, a native of Naples, Florida, enjoyed his time in his returns to his home state last year. 
 
He made 64 saves in five games in the state of Florida last year.  Averaging 12.80 per game, he was named as the Peach Belt Conference's Tournament MVP after making 16 saves in the title-game win over Flagler.
 
He then had 18 in the NCAA Tournament game against Tampa.
 
Manny is the Man
 
Maverick redshirt junior Manny Flores was named as the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after he set new career-highs for both caused turnovers (4) and ground balls (2) in the overtime win over Florida Southern.
 
The awards is the first of the Snohomish, Washington native's career.
 
Clear It
 
The Mavericks lead the NCAA Division II statistics with their .941 clearing percentage. 
 
The Mavs have been able to break the opponents' ride on 64 of 68 attempts in their first three games this year.
 
Coaching Corner
 
Troy Moyer, the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, is early in his fourth season in charge of the Maverick program.
 
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 four seasons as a head coach, including the 2026 start, Moyer has guided the Mavericks to a combined 45-10 (.819) record, including a 20-2 mark (.909) in RMAC games and a nearly flawless 18-1 (.947) record at home.  The Mavs have won both the RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles in all three seasons with Moyer in charge and secured a NCAA Tournament bid last season.
 
In his overall time with the Mavericks, Moyer has helped the program win each of the last five RMAC regular season titles and four straight tournament crowns.  The Mavs have gone a combined 85-24 (.780) in his now eight seasons with Moyer on the sidelines.
 
Moyer is a combined 3-3 against this group of Florida opponents as the Mavs' head coach.  He is 2-0 against Flagler, 1-0 against PBA and 0-3 against Tampa.
 
Know Your Foes
 
Palm Beach Atlantic
 
The Sailfish are currently 4-3 on the year and are coming off a 13-6 home loss to Rollins last week.  They had won their previous two away from home, winning 10-7 at Alabama Huntsville before winning a 13-10 decision over Lander at a neutral site in Marietta, Georgia.
 
Braylon Baker leads the team with in goals (13), assists (15) and total points while Noah Zimmerman has 12 goals and 16 points.  Gabe Eckhart also scores regularly had has 11 goals.
 
William Santella paces the Sailfish with 28 ground balls and has an impressive 23 caused turnovers.
 
Tyler Edgriolamo is the team's main face-off man had has won 43 of 82 draws for a .524 winning percentage.  He also has 22 ground balls.
 
Jack Bryant is the team's main goalkeeper and has posted a 10.35 goals against averaged and a .535 save percentage while making 77 total saves while appearing in all seven games to date.
 
Tampa
 
The Spartans are currently 7-1 on the season and will host Montevallo on Saturday before facing the Mavs.
 
They advanced to the national championship game a year ago, losing by just one goal and have won 28 of their last 30 games over the past two seasons after going 18-2 while reaching the NCAA semifinals in 2024.
 
However, they were just defeated 14-13 in overtime by fifth-ranked Anderson on the road.

The Spartans, ranked fourth in the current USILA Poll, are 5-0 at home this season and have won 19 straight home games since suffering the 2024 NCAA Tournament semifinal loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
Jackson Bashaw leads a balanced scoring attack with 18 goals and 20 points.  Rex Kesselring (13G, 6A) and Tommy Ortega (12G, 7A) both have 19 points while Grant Green is second behind Bashaw with 14 goals.
 
Conley Stone has 28 ground balls and a team-leading 13 caused turnovers while MP Thomas has won 88 of 158 face-offs (.557) while scooping 34 ground balls.
 
Westin Schimdt leads the goalkeeping stable and has posted a strong 7.80 goals against average and .53 save percentage.  He has made 76 saves while finishing in double figures in four of his starts.
 
Flagler
 
The Saints are currently 5-3 and will play at No. 19 Florida Tech in Melbourne before returning home to prepare for the Mavericks' Tuesday visit. 
 
They had won four in a row before suffering a 17-7 road loss to No. 18 Saint Leo last Saturday.
 
Defensively, Brendan Watson and Ty Scheckbach both have ten caused turnovers and hae combined for 30 ground balls.
 
Goalkeeper Wade Lamon leads the team with 18 ground balls and has an 8.32 goals against average and .550 save percentage while playing in seven games.  Three other goalkeepers have also played.
 
The Saints have struggled at the face-off mark, winning just 33.3 percent (62-186) of the time.  However, Tag DeLuca has a respectable .482 winning percentage (40-83) and has 17 ground balls.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavs are 3-0 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic, defeating the Salifish in 2018, 2022 and 2023. All of those games were true away games in West Palm Beach.
 
The Mavs won the last meeting by a 15-8 margin on Mar. 22, 2023.
 
The Mavs are 4-8 all-time against Tampa but have lost the last five games, all of which ave been played in Tampa.
 
The Mavs were victorious over the Spartants on Mar. 10, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah and also defeated them at home in 2013.
 
CMU also won two of the first three times they played the Spartans in Tampa but have lost the last seven road games.
 
The Mavs are a perfect 3-0 against and at Flagler, including the 18-14 post-season win last season.  They also squeaked out a 12-11 win on Mar. 21, 2024 over the Saints and claimed a dominant 25-9 win in 2022, when they made their first visit to St. Augustine.
 
Colorado Mesa turns 100
 
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
 
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will return home to resume Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.  They will host Dominican University of California next Friday (Mar. 20) at 7 p.m. and then take on Concordia University Irvine on Sunday, Mar. 22 at 1 p.m.