Saturday marked senior night for the first graduating class of CMU lacrosse as Allie Henderson, Tayler Lansdown and Lauren Wells suited up one final time against Adams State, a program that also began playing lacrosse during the 2010-2011 season.

The Mavs won 12-9 and secured a spot in the RMAC tournament. Head coach Abby Simpson explained the significance of the win for the program and for the student-athletes that helped establish it.

“It is a very rewarding experience, and I’m really excited for our seniors,” Simpson said. “Without them we wouldn’t have the leadership we do on this team. They are the ones who bring the pieces of the puzzle together.”

While both programs have progressed since their arrival into NCAA Division II, the Mavericks (8-6, 2-3 RMAC) proved their dominance over the Grizzlies (2-11, 1-7 RMAC) yet again. The Mavs hadn’t lost a game to Adams State in the team’s four-year history, but the final game was arguably the closest with the Grizzlies.

Lansdown began her final home game by scoring the opening goal just one minute into the contest off of a feed from Ashley Eickhoff to give CMU the early lead, but ASU responded by scoring four straight to go ahead 4-1. Eickhoff tallied her first goal of the game off of a free position shot to cut the deficit to two. Both teams struggled offensively until the 13-minute mark when Chavez broke the scoring drought and began a run for the Mavs. Eickhoff and Henderson scored two straight off of free position shots to bring them to a 5-5 tie at halftime.

In the second half, CMU wasted no time taking over the momentum of the game, and Chavez led the charge. Chavez scored immediately after controlling the opening draw to retake the lead. She then assisted Kayla Lyall on her only goal of the night and put away another goal at the 22-minute mark to complete her hat trick and give CMU an 8-5 lead.

The two squads traded goals for the remainder of the game, with Haley Kroll scoring all three of her goals in the second half. Rachael Sutton scored to seal the 12-9 win for the Mavs. Senior goaltender Lauren Wells played all 60 minutes and recorded nine saves. The Mavs cemented its first winning season in program history, which, according to Henderson, was the best way to finish her career as a Maverick.

“Better late than never,” Henderson said. “It was a good way to finish out my four years here. This is definitely the best team that we have had so far.”

CMU will play Fort Lewis in the first round of the RMAC tournament at noon on Friday.

mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu