The gauntlet of reaching the NCAA tournament has begun well for the Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) Men’s Lacrosse team. The squad currently rocks a 5-1 record through their non-conference portion of the schedule.
Because only 12 teams are selected for the NCAA tournament, the Maverick’s lacrosse program load up their non-conference schedule with top tier opponents due to the lack of competition in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. This year they have 10 non-conference games, all on the road.
The Mavericks opened their 2023 campaign with a 15-9 win against Colorado College, then they dismantled Lees-Mcrae College 25-2. After their first two decisive wins, the team traveled to North Carolina to take on a pair of elite lacrosse programs.
In the first game of the trip, the squad lost 12-11 to 18th ranked Belmont Abbey College. Statistically, the Mavericks led the game in almost every category, including 55-33 in total shots, and 26-18 in turnovers. Unfortunately for the Maverick offense, they were firing shots against preseason All-American goalie Thomas Sullivan, who had an incredible performance.
After the tough loss, CMU rebounded with a dominant 19-8 victory against University of Mount Olive, who were receiving votes in the national rankings at the time. The Brummett brothers led the Mavericks offensively in the game, with redshirt junior Jed Brummett scoring three goals, while sophomore JJ Brummett added 4 goals, all in a 17 minute span.
Then, the Mavericks brought their winning ways to Kansas City, where they won a pair of games against Rockhurst University (RU) and Quincy University last weekend.
Like the Mavericks, RU also came into the game receiving votes in the national poll, but CMU proved they were the much better opponent. The Mavs controlled the game, only allowing 14 shots on goal the whole game. Offensively, it was a true team effort for Coach Moyer and the Mavericks, as 11 different players scored a goal in the 16-6 win.
Against Quincy University, it was more of the same for CMU, once again blowing out the opposition 21-7. The Mavericks scored the first eight goals of the game, taking control of the game from the start. After Quincy University did their best to make the game competitive, the Mavs responded with a 9-2 scoring run to close the game.
Jed Brummett scored four times in the win, pushing his season total to 24, which is 14 more than any other Maverick. The redshirt junior has been on fire, scoring three or more goals in every game this season. While Brummett has been the lead scorer for the team thus far, redshirt juniors Drew Eikelman, James Steinke, and AJ Switzer have all recorded 17 or more points this season with a mix of scoring and assisting.
For the Mavericks, who are on the brink of being ranked, the next four road games starting March 11 are the biggest of the season. First, they take a trip to Utah to play a neutral site match against a top 10 opponent in Rollins College.
Then, they travel to Florida for three more games which will make or break their season. On the trip the Mavericks play Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida Tech, who are currently ranked 14th in the country, and Tampa University, the number one team in the country and the defending national champion.
