With back-to-back RMAC Championships under their belts, the Mavericks are staring down an extra period against the underdog Concordia University -Irvine (CUI) Golden Eagles.
Starting Faceoff Specialist Dylan Checketts was sidelined with an injury suffered during the RMAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship game, so Midfielder Mike Edwards steps up to the X. Edwards is able to win the faceoff, and flicks it back to tournament MVP, midfielder James Steinke. Steinke is able to make it down the left sideline, shoot and score in just seven seconds to win Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) third consecutive conference title.
“Exciting win, and I thought I might have a heart attack at some point in that game, but I’m just glad that we could pull it out, and it might have helped that we’ve been in that situation before. As soon as it hit overtime we knew exactly what we had to do,” said Maverick Head Coach Troy Moyer.
The Mavericks were dominant during the entirety of their RMAC schedule, dropping just one game to nationally ranked Westminster University in Utah two weeks before their eventual title.
The conference semifinal match for CMU was against the tournament’s 4-seed, the Adams State University (ASU) Grizzlies. The Mavericks were a perfect 32-0 against the Grizzlies, averaging over 15 goals per contest. They were able to steamroll ASU, 22-2, the second largest margin of victory for the Mavs against the Grizzlies ever.
“Defensively, I was just proud of everybody. When you can run any of the guys in your lineup, from top to bottom, and only give up two, it feels awesome. Especially with me being an older guy, knowing that I’ve passed down some wisdom, it feels great,” said Defender Riley Fisher after the victory.
CUI making it to the tournament championship is an impressive story itself. The 3-seed Golden Eagles lacrosse program are in just their first season of NCAA competition at any level. In the semifinal, they were able to shock everyone with a 15-9 win against Westminster after dropping their two regular season matchups to them by an average of 8.5 goals. The Cinderella run for CUI nearly continued into the championship against Mesa.
The Mavericks went up early, with midfielder JJ Brummett hitting the back of the net 12 seconds into the game. Headed into the half, the Mavs were holding a 7-2 lead and seemed to be in the driver’s seat.
“That was obviously huge. It definitely helped that we got out to a lead early, and made sure that we were filling ourselves with confidence,” said Coach Moyer.
A unsportsmanlike conduct penalty late in the third quarter allowed CUI to close the gap on the Mavericks early in the fourth, tying things up at nine a piece with 13 minutes left in regulation.
“They’re a solid squad, but we just work so hard, and we were able to rise to the occasion on our own home field,” said Defender Trey Corkin III.
The fourth quarter was punch for punch all 15 minutes. Neither team was able to take a lead larger than one goal after CUI tied it up. The Mavs were able to go up 12-11 with just 3:08 left in regulation, but a cross-check penalty gave the Golden Eagles a golden opportunity to tie it up, which they did.
The rest, of course, is history. Since the RMAC formally sponsored a Men’s Lacrosse tournament in 2016, this is the Mavs’ second three-peat, which saw a three-year pause as the Griffins were able to nab the 2019 and 2021 titles, with no 2020 season due to COVID-19.
Steinke contributed more to Saturday’s victory than just three goals, including the game winner in OT. He was able to pick up one assist, a pair of ground balls and he caused a turnover.
The Mavericks are a powerhouse in the RMAC, taking home the last six out of eight tournament wins.
“I’m super blessed, because I have good teammates. They find me when I’m open, and I try to do the same for them. At the end of the day, I love our team and I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else,” said Steinke.
The Mavericks are projected to be one of the teams to just miss the cut for the NCAA Tournament slot. The tournament only consists of six teams from two regions, so they finish the 2024 campaign with a 14-4 record and another piece of hardware in the trophy case.