In 2011, CMU hosted its first lacrosse game as one of the newest members of NCAA Lacrosse. The team was comprised of almost entirely freshmen that were young, inexperienced and still trying to fully understand the world of collegiate athletics. Those freshmen were given the tall task of establishing the program and creating a winning tradition that would last long after their time in Grand Junction. After three seasons, the team looks very different, but nine seniors persevered through the challenges they faced as a new team and were honored last Friday as the first graduating class of CMU lacrosse.

“It was exciting to see,” head coach A.J. Stevens said. “It seems like a lifetime ago that everyone first came here. We have come such a long way since then.”

Jesse Stone, Jeremy Best, Kade Robinson, Giuliano Sanchez, Brad Brandenburg, Johnny Nitti, John Moore, Michael Giffen, and Alex Zwinck took the field with their families before the game against conference opponent Notre Dame de Namur for one of the final home games of their careers.

“It’s an accomplishment to have built this program and make a lasting impression,” Nitti said. “It was a surreal experience.”

The Mavs (5-2, 2-0 WILA) looked to seek revenge for their previous senior-day loss to the Argonauts (1-5, 0-2 WILA), but it would not come without a fight. Both teams traded goals to begin the game with Maverick scores by Stephen Dunn and Daniel Caddoo that knotted the game at two apiece. Caddoo struck again at the end of the period with a lefty stinger that blew past the Argonaut goalkeeper to take the one-goal lead heading into the second quarter. Austin Pridham would score the only point of the quarter for CMU with a 10-yard bounce shot and sent the team into the locker room with a 4-3 lead.

After a penalty on the opening faceoff of the second half, Robinson capitalized on the man-up opportunity to give CMU its largest lead of the game. However, it would not last long. Two consecutive penalties kept the Mavericks from possessing the ball on offense and gave NDNU ample opportunity to catch up. The Mavs killed both penalties but gave up two straight goals to tie the game once again at 5-5.

With CMU in jeopardy of dropping its first conference game, Dunn broke the tie with a key goal at the start of the final quarter to regain the lead and the momentum. David Solomon took over for the rest of the game and delivered with the final two goals of the night to seal the 8-7 win. Brandenburg (5-2) picked up the win in net with 11 saves and seven goals against. With the win, CMU sets itself up for a pivotal WILA matchup with the defending champion Dominican Penguins. Pridham explained how important it was to pick up the win, but there is plenty to fix before their conference matchup this weekend.

“It was nice to get the win, especially for our seniors, but we’re not satisfied,” he said. “We’re moving on and making the adjustments that we need to make before our next big game.”

mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu