The much anticipated debut of the Mesa State men’s lacrosse team finally arrives Monday against Pace University (NY) in Phoenix, Arizona. Expectations are very high for the mavericks in their first year of competition. Head Coach AJ Stevens, a former coach for division-1 Dartmouth College, University of Illinois, and the Chicago Machine of Major League Lacrosse, has high expectations for his team this year, setting a goal of winning 10 of the team’s 13 games. There is no Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for lacrosse, so instead the team will be competing in the newly formed Western Collegiate Lacrosse Association, with familiar foes like Adams State, who is also starting their first year of competition, and Fort Lewis who will compete on the women’s side only.
The Men’s team this year has a lot to look forward to, with the sponsorship of Maverick Lacrosse, giving the team all brand new gear, and 27 commits playing this year, with 13 more already committing to Mesa State for next season, five of which are ranked in the top 25 seniors by West Side Lacrosse. Stevens has put together quite the roster, with players from all over the nation and even a few from out of the states. Some names to look for this season are; Bud Reschke, who was a four-time Southern Nevada Lacrosse Association All-Star in high school, and also played for Team Las Vegas. Jesse Stone, who was chosen for the Australia under-21 team, Johnny Nitti, who was named Nevada Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year by Westside Lacrosse, and Trevor Ecton, who was a two time all-American and westsidelax.com named him Kansas Player of the Year.
With a star studded roster and a coach who is a proven winner at all levels of the game, its easy to see why hopes are so high for the Mavericks not just this year, but for the program in general. Mesa State will make their home debut against Adams State on March 26th. Mesa State will also take on Adams State April 23rd at Invesco Field.
u
dnarde@mesastate.edu