GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After returning home from their 3-game swing through Florida on Wednesday afternoon, the nation's tenth-ranked Mavericks will continue their season in rapid succession as they resume Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at Community Hospital Unity Field with a pair of weekend games.
 
The Mavericks, who are 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference standings, will host the two California-based associate members of the conference, taking on the Dominican University of California Penguins on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets for both games can be purchased here.
 
The games will also be streamed live on the RMAC Network (more information below).
 
Live statistics can be accessed here.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavs played their last three games in Florida, going 1-2.
 
They started the trip last Saturday on a high note, defeating Palm Beach Atlantic, 16-12 in a neutral site match-up in Tampa. 
 
The Mavs then dropped a 12-6 decision to then fourth-ranked and 2025 NCAA Tournament finalist Tampa in a rematch of the Mavs' 2025 NCAA Tournament game against the Spartans on Sunday.
 
After a day off on Monday to travel to the Atlantic Coast, the Mavs fell short, 10-9 to Flagler on Tuesday.  The Mavs trailed 10-4 after three quarters of that game before running out of time in their fourth quarter comeback.
 
Awards Sweep + National Recognition
 
The Mavericks swept the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Offensive & Defensive Player of the Week awards on Monday.
 
Redshirt junior Connor Jensen claimed the offensive award after scoring three goals while adding two assists in the win over Palm Beach Atlantic.  He also had a goal and an assist against Tampa finishing the weekend's portion of the Florida trip with seven points.
 
Meanwhile, junior goalkeeper Shaden Shields was named as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 26 saves in the first two games of the Florida trip.  He tallied a season-high 15 in Sunday's game against Tampa after recording 11 in the win over PBA.
 
Shields was also named to the USILA's NCAA Division II Team of the Week for his efforts.
 
In the Polls
 
After the weekend split with Palm Beach Atlantic and Tampa, the Mavericks remained tenth in the latest (Week No. 6) United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division II Poll, released on Monday.
 
They have been ranked in all seven editions of the top 20 poll, including the preseason, and have been just inside the top ten on three occasions but are likely to slip a bit next week after falling to Flagler, who was receiving votes in Monday's poll, next week.
 
The Mavs also sit 18^h in this week's USA Lacrosse Magazine poll, compiled by writers with input from coaches around the country.  They were ranked 13^th prior to the weekend split with PBA and Tampa.
 
Tampa is now ranked fourth in that poll and is third in the USILA poll.
 
Consistency Pays
 
The Mavericks' top two goal scorers this season are Jack Cooper and Dillon Pless, who have combined for 23  goals thus far.  Cooper leads the team with 13 and has scored at least one in each of the Mavs' last five games, including three and five goal efforts at the start of that string.
 
Pless has ten goals to his credit and has scored at least once in all six of the Mavs' games this season.  Pless also scored in 15 of the Mavs' 17 games a year ago and has scored in eight straight and 19 of his last 20 overall.
 
Meanwhile, Connor Jensen has the longest scoring streak for any current Mav at eight.  He has scored in all five of the games he has played this season after tallying eight goals in the Mavs' last three playoff games a year ago.
 
Top Rated D
 
The Mavericks have allowed just 55 goals in their first six games, an average of 9.17 per game, a mark that puts the Mavs atop the RMAC.
 
Conference Poll
 
The Mavs were favored in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving four of five possible first place votes.  One other coach picked the Mavs fourth as CMU topped the poll with 22 points.
 
Concordia University Irvine was second in the poll with 18 points, receiving one first place vote and three second place votes.   Westminster was third with 17 while Dominican picked up a first place vote and 14 total points to finish fourth in the poll.  Adams State was fifth with ten points while Northwest Nazarene, new to the conference, was sixth with nine.
 
In the poll, coaches were asked to rank their opposition 1-5 with five points being awarded for a first place vote, four for a second place vote and so on.  They were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
 
Preseason Honors
 
The Mavericks also had a league co-leading five picks to the Preseason All-RMAC team, which was announced in conjunction with the coaches' poll.  The team is made up of the top returning players at each position from last season's All-RMAC voting process.
 
The Mavericks picks were attack Connor Jensen, midfielder Dillon Pless, defender Brady Porter, short stick defensive middie Deuce Kirschke and junior net-minder Shaden Shields.  Kirschke, Pless and Porter were First Team All-RMAC honorees while Jensen and Shields were second team honorees in 2025.
 
Concordia also had five selections while Westminster had three selections.
 
Coaching Corner
 
Troy Moyer, the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, is 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 46-12 (.793) 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 86-26 (.768) in his now eight seasons with Moyer on the sidelines.
 
Moyer is a combined 10-0 against this week's opponents, including his and the Mavs' 4-0 record against Dominican and Penguin counterpart Bobby Grove.
 
He and the Mavs are 6-0 against the CUI Golden Eagles and Head Coach Jesse Foss.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
Entering this weekend, the Mavericks have won 22 of their last 23 home games since the start of the 2022 season and had won 19 straight before Westminster snapped the streak with a 10-9 overtime win on Apr. 19 of last season in the regular season finale.
 
However, the Mavs then bounced back to win the Rocky Mountain Division Tournament with two home wins in the following week to end last year's season with a 5-1 home mark.
 
They went 7-0 at home in 2024, winning all five of their regular season games plus winning the RMAC Tournament Championship with a 13-12 overtime win over CUI.
 
The Mavs also won the 2023 RMAC Tournament title at home after going 3-0 at home during the regular season.  The Mavs were 5-0 at home that year and went 4-0 at home in 2022 but did not host that year's RMAC Tournament after being edged on tie-breaking procedures.
 
Throughout their history, the Mavs have a 72-9 all-time record at home, good for a .888 winning percentage.
 
They are 18-1 (.947) at home with head coach Troy Moyer at the helm of the program and have a 1-0 home record thus far.
 
Know Your Foes
 
Dominican
 
The Penguins have been cold this year and will enter Friday's game with an 0-5 record but looking to move northward in the conference standings against the Mavs.  They are 0-2 in the RMAC standings after falling in their last game by an 11-9 score to RMAC newcomer Northwest Nazarene on Mar. 6.
 
The Penguins were picked fourth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll and received one first place vote.
 
Much of their offense comes from Will Elfline, who has 15 goals and 17 points, more than doubling their next highest point producer in Tanner Ennis, who has eight points, all of which are from goals.
 
Elfline leads the RMAC in goals per game, averaging a hat trick and is second in total goals with 15.  He also has taken 10.20 shots per game to pace the conference.
 
He was named as the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Weke on Mar. 9 after scoring five goals in two back-to-back games against Dominican and Northwest Nazarene.
 
Cole Soper and Calvin Welsh have scored four times a piece.
 
Hunter Smith had done a solid job at the faceoff mark, winning 58 of his 100 draws while scooping up 38 groundballs.
 
Wyatt Holtman leads the defense with 15 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
 
Cole Rutz has been in net for 75 percent of the Penguins' season, posting a 17.60 goals against average and .436 save percentage in his four starts.  Logan Henry got the start in the last game and has a 12.00 goals against average and .348 save percentage in 1 ¼ games.
 
CUI
 
The Golden Eagles will enter a Friday game at Adams State with a 3-4 overall record and are currently 1-1 in the RMAC standings after defeating Northwest Nazarene by a 19-6 margin in their last outing a week ago on Mar. 12.
 
They were soundly defeated 22-10 at home by Westminster in their season opener and then went 2-3 in trips to Tennessee and Florida in the February.
 
Jeremy Barnes, one of five Golden Eagles named to the Preseason All-RMAC team after earning RMAC Attacker of the Year honors in 2025, has continued to fly high.  He leads the RMAC in both goal scoring (20) and total points with 31.  Matt Carresi, who played for the Mavs as a freshman in 2023, leads the conference with 12 assists and is second in the RMAC for total points with 21.
 
Erik Hollis, who has nine goals, and Noah Pillow, who has eight, both sit on 11 total points and will be looking to reach double-figures for goal scoring this weekend.
 
Dawson Loudermilk, a freshman from Covington, Washington, has been exquisite at the faceoff mark, winning 68.5 percent (85-124) of his attempts, while claiming 55 ground balls.  Cade Poe, a First Team All-RMAC pick last year, is also 23-for-41 with 15 groundballs but only played the first three games of the season.
 
Max Texter, the 2025 RMAC Midfielder of the Year, has come off the bench in six games and has three goals and four assists to his credit while reigning RMAC Defender of the Year Jake Cloutier has 14 ground balls and six caused turnovers, just one shy of team leader Jackson Crocker's total of seven.
 
Zane Coda and Brody Woods have split time in goal and have put up similar numbers.  They have a combined 12.85 goals against average and .392 save percentage.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavs have defeated the Dominican Penguins four straight times since renewing their rivalry in 2024, when the Penguins brought back their varsity program.
 
The Mavs now hold a 7-5 lead in the all-time series, which included an intense rivalry when both programs were a part of the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
 
Four of those eight games were decided by a single goal.  Many of those games decided the WILA titles, which CMU won in 2012 and 2015.  Dominican won the WILA crowns in 2013 and 2014 before dropping out of the league and NCAA Division II lacrosse prior to the 2015 campaign.
 
The Mavs are 5-1 at home against the Penguins, winning two home games last season, including a 22-7 win in the semifinal round of the Rocky Mountain Division Tournament just 12 days after the 22-10 regular season home win on Apr. 12.

Related Item: WILA Wikipedia Page
 
The Mavericks are 6-0 all-time against the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles, who added a varsity program in 2024.  Four of those wins have come in Grand Junction, including the 2024 RMAC Tournament and 2025 Rocky Mountain Division Tournament title games.

Two of the games have been decided by a single goal with the Mavs winning the 2024 conference tournament title in overtime.
 
RMAC Network News
 
All of the Mavs' home and RMAC road games this season including Thursday's game, will be streamed on the RMAC Network, which has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 season.  This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
 
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 be on the road next week playing arch-rival Westminster in Salt Lake City next Thursday night (Mar. 26) before heading to Nampa, Idaho near the state capital of Boise to face RMAC newcomer Northwest Nazarene next Saturday (Mar. 28).
 
The Mavs will then return home for three straight.