The Mavericks know the meaning of the word success.
In the last two years, the Colorado Mesa University men’s lacrosse team has won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championship in both years. The Mavericks have had three consecutive seasons with 10+ wins and are looked at as one of the top 25 programs in NCAA Division II.
Every day during the week, the men of the lacrosse team are required to be in the locker room by 5:45 am and normally practice till around 9:00 a.m.
Currently, the team is standing at 8-2 for the 2018 season and 2-0 in the RMAC conference. Yet this year, there stands the question of is there a presence of doubt for CMU?
Head coach Vince Smith is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mavericks and has built up the strong tradition of winning in which it is now a normality for CMU.
“The team is doing well,” Smith said. “They started off really strong, and then I kind of think we hit a little bit of a season slump, lost a little bit of focus when we were down in Florida and didn’t execute to our best ability,” Smith said.
In Florida two weeks ago, the Mavericks lost two out of three games against the likes of Rollins College and Florida Southern College. CMU has defeated Rollins College two out the three previous years and has beaten Florida Southern two years in a row.
This is the first time the Mavericks have lost to both teams in the same season.
“We have set expectations so high, I don’t feel like we’ve really reached them,” Vince Smith said. “I think we are a little deflated right now but with the RMAC season coming up, I think the guys are excited to get a third ring,” Smith said.
In the last two years, after the annual Florida road trip, the Mavericks tend to perform significantly well as they have never lost a regular season game after returning home from Florida.
“I think it is important to finish the season strong if we are able to win the rest of the games we put ourselves in a great position to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.” Defender Ryder Clark said.
Many players on the team have leading statistics like goals and shots including Reece Callies, Calen Ketcham, and Jack Griffin.
Jack Griffin leads the team in both goals and points but expresses how that accolade puts a target on his back.
“Every time we play another team, I know they are coming for me,” Griffin said. “Which means I must do my best to move the ball to my teammates and trust them to do the right thing with the ball.”
Calen Ketcham leads the team with 11 assists and has the best shot on goal percentage with .729.
“You know it feels really good, it’s a team effort,” Calen Ketcham said. “It’s not really like all me, my teammates help me a lot in everything I do and that’s a big part of it…Going hard in practice, and everyone just working together to be successful on offense.”
So are the Mavericks really struggling? Two key losses in Florida and a too close for comfort 13-12 win against Westminster College on March 24 has shown a substantial lack of team confidence that could use some tune-up heading into the closing half of the season.
“I think the most difficult part is trying to get the team to realize that they are all great,” Vince Smith said. “You know, obviously we are human so we have our flaws but they are so great, and when you are on the field just live up to that greatness.
This time of the season is crucial for the Mavericks. They are more than capable of winning the RMAC, however, they need to perform the same way they have in years past to make the NCAA Tournament in May.
“I think about one game at a time,” Jack Griffin said. “I know there are rumors about us going to the NCAA playoffs and having super ambitious goals, there is nothing wrong with that. We should have ambitious goals because we are a great team but the only thing on my mind right now is dominating the RMAC.”
One game at a time. That’s all the Mavericks need to focus on. The mind can go in many places if you don’t focus on that specific goal. This keeps the team stronger than ever.
CMU will now enter the main portion of RMAC play for the duration of the rest of the season. The Mavericks will start off the month of April facing off against CSU-Pueblo, who they have never lost a game against, on April 6. The Mavericks will take on the Thunderwolves twice before the RMAC’s as well as taking on Adams State twice in the next month. CMU will also play one more game each against Rockhurst and Westminster to close out the regular season.
Before those conference games, the Mavericks will test their luck against Johnson and Wales University on Friday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats have not won a game all season and currently sit a 0-5 while CMU still sits atop the RMAC and currently rank 16th in the country.
