Sports Reporter
mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
The men’s lacrosse team hosted two WILA conference opponents at Walker Field this past weekend with hopes of tying up the race for the conference championship.
A 14-4 route of Notre Dame de Namur on Friday set up a pivotal match against the conference-leading Dominican University Penguins on Sunday.
The Mavs (5-4, 3-2 WILA) built up a 3-0 lead against Dominican after the first two quarters of play, but could not contain the Dominican offense as they put up four straight goals and eight overall, including the game-winner in double overtime, to take the victory 8-7.
“It’s hard to put into words how much this game meant to us,” assistant coach Dan Duresky said. “It was tough to lose such a close game in overtime. We had our chances to win it, but Dominican made enough plays to get the win.”
On Friday, CMU held their first home game since defeating Colorado College in early March and picked up right where they left off against the Argonauts. The two teams traded goals to open the game until the end of the period, when WILA Offensive Player of the Week Michael Beimford and Austin Pridham put in two consecutive goals to take a 4-3 lead. Beimford and Kade Robinson would each add another goal to take the three-goal lead at halftime.
CMU came out of the break fired up and outscored Notre Dame 8-1 in the second half. Beimford, Pridham and Steve Brandenburg all recorded hat tricks, and WILA Defensive Player of the Week Brad Brandenburg picked up the win with 12 saves and four goals against.
Their game against the Penguins, who held an unblemished conference record and a win over CMU earlier in the season, was the toughest of the season for the Mavericks.
The Mavs controlled the tempo of the game throughout the entire first half, holding Dominican scoreless and getting goals from Griffen Perkiel, Shane O’Neil and Brandenburg. However, the Penguins struck right back in the second half with three quick goals to tie the game. Josh Russell tied the game up with a goal late in the third and set the game up for a dramatic finish.
When Dominican rattled off two straight goals midway through the quarter to take their largest lead of the day at 6-4, the Mavs rallied behind three unanswered to take a one-goal lead late in the quarter.
The Penguins delivered the game-tying goal with just less than two minutes left in the game and had a chance to win in regulation, but an outstanding effort by defenseman John Moore that denied the winning shot forced the game into overtime.
“I saw that Brad was not going to make it back into the net,” Moore said. “Once I saw the pass go toward the near attackman, I just stepped in front and put my hands up, thinking about how important it was to make that save.”
Each team had opportunities to score in the first overtime, but solid defense and great goaltending kept the score tied at 7. The Penguins struck last in the second overtime, getting into the middle of the Maverick defense and firing a low for the win.
CMU will return to the field this weekend in St. Louis against Seton Hill and Lindenwood University.
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