Against the formidable Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champions, the Colorado College men's lacrosse team fell short against Division II Colorado Mesa 17-13 in Grand Junction, CO. 
 
The Tigers led 10-6 at the half and exploded for seven goals in the second quarter to steal the momentum heading into the halftime break. However, a solid third quarter by the Mavericks pushed CMU in front and the ultimate win. CC was held to just three goals in the second half. 
 
Englewood, CO, native Thomas Power stood out with five points, four goals and an assist. Power became the 15th player in program history and the sixth since 2000 to score 40 goals in a season. He also finished the year with the 20th most points (58) in a season in program history, a feat not achieved since Robert Stern in 2018.
 
The Tigers and Mavericks traded goals for the first 13 minutes of the game until Power closed out the first quarter with a goal to tie it up 3-3 heading into the second. CC started the second streaking to a 9-3 lead after scoring six unanswered goals. Matt Hudson scored back-to-back, including a man-up goal to make it 5-3. Michael Ruffenach and Karsten Nyrady followed suit on unassisted goals two minutes within each other.
 
Power and Noah Beecher capped the run with seven minutes to go in the half. CMU responded with three unanswered goals of its own to deflate the lead to three goals, but Power racked up his fourth goal of the half with 10 seconds remaining to give CC the momentum at the break. 
 
In the third, CC's electric offense was grounded for a few minutes as CMU's picked back up, scoring six straight goals to take a 12-10 lead. Braydon Ellis ended the run with an unassisted goal with 4:11 left in the quarter, and the Mavericks took a one-goal lead heading into the fourth. 
 
Two minutes and 14 seconds into the final quarter, Matt Hudson tied the game 12-12 after finding the back of the net with an assist from Charlie Faldi. The Mavericks retook the advantage with three straight goals, but Michael Ruffenach cut the lead down to two with a solo goal with 6:17 left. Ruffenach nearly went coast to coast, and it appeared the Tigers could go on a final run, but the Mavericks remained steadfast and closed the game out with two final goals over the final five minutes to seal the 17-13 win. 
 
Hudson finished the game with four goals, and a caused turnover. Michael Ruffenach was the other Tiger besides Hudson and Power to finish with multiple goals. Roman Tacelli finished with a career-high five ground balls, surpassing his previous high of three. 
 
Goalkeeper Ben Anastos racked up 14 saves after playing all 60 minutes in net. 
 
CC dropped to 8-6 on the season and will await the NCAA DIII selection show on Sunday night to see if their season continues.