THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

• For the third time this season and the second time in a week, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's lacrosse team will take on Colorado Mesa University Friday afternoon when the two teams meet up in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference semifinals.  The Mountain Lions are the No. 3 seed and will match up against No. 2 seed CMU at 4 p.m. from the Regis Lacrosse Field in Denver, Colo.

 
GAME COVERAGE

• Live Stats: https://regisrangers.com/sidearmstats/wlax/summary
• Live Stream: https://rmacnetwork.com/  

 
LAST TIME OUT

• UCCS split their final games of the regular season on the road this past weekend.  The Mountain Lions fell to Colorado Mesa Thursday afternoon 16-13, before ending the regular season in a convincing 21-7 win at Westminster on Saturday.
• Against CMU on Thursday, Natalie Church tied the Mavs' Natalie Evans for a game high six points.  Church scored four goals and assisted on two while attempting a game high 10 shots and six shots on goal.  Hannah Mill finished with a hat trick, six shots and five shots on goal.  Goalie Madison McGriff recorded seven saves, five of which came in the second quarter, as she moves to 8-6 on the season.
• Mill and the Mountain Lions dominated Westminster Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.  Mill set a program record for most goals (eight), points (11), shots (20) and shots on goal (18) in a game while posting her third straight hat trick.  The goals and points are also season highs by any player in the RMAC this season.

 
RMAC RECORD/STANDINGS

• Regis University went undefeated during the regular season to win the conference championship (17-0, 12-0 RMAC).  Colorado Mesa's only two RMAC losses of the season came from Regis as the Mavs posted a 12-5 overall record (10-2 RMAC).
• UCCS claimed an 11-6 regular season record and an 8-4 mark in league matches, with their only setbacks coming from the two teams ahead of UCCS in the standings.
• Earning the fourth seed after winning their final game of the season to get into the tournament is Fort Lewis College with a 5-11 overall record and a 5-7 mark in conference matches.
• Rounding out the final two teams in the league standings are Westminster (4-11, 4-8 RMAC) and CSU Pueblo (3-13, 3-9 RMAC).

 
THE SERIES

• Vs. CMU: Friday's match will be the seventh time the Mountain Lions and Mavericks will square off against each other.  The Mavericks have claimed all six previous matches since the series started in 2017.

 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS

• The Mavericks continue to receive votes in this week's IWLCA Division II poll.  Their seven-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday with a 15-8 setback to No. 3 Regis.  CMU finished the regular season owning a 12-5 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the RMAC.
• Redshirt-sophomore midfielder Kiley Davis is the offensive leader behind 42 goals, 13 assists, three game-winning goals and 89 shots.  She is joined by redshirt-sophomore midfielder Taylor Jakeman as a threat to the Mavs high offensive output, netting 32 goals and assisting on 16 while taking 76 shots and picking up 20 ground balls.  A trio of three goalkeepers are in rotation between the posts, with Shannon Murphy playing the most minutes (502) while earning a .326 save percentage and an 11.13 goals against average (93 goals allowed).
• CMU is second in the league in draw controls per game (15.6), goals against average (9.61) and caused turnovers per game (10.5), and they are third in goals per game (14.4), assists per game (6.94), points per game (21.3), and shots per game (32.6).

 
HOT TAKES

• The 29 combined goals scored on Thursday at CMU are the most goals scored in a game by two teams since UCCS and CMU last faced off on April 3 that featured 34 goals (CMU 19, UCCS 15).
• The score difference between UCCS and CMU in the last four meetings since 2019 has been within four goals in each game.
• Saturday's 21 goals scored at Westminster ties a season high, while the 54 shot attempts are the second most in program history.
• Against WC on Saturday, Mill set several program records for most goals (eight), points (11), shots (20) and shots on goal (18) recorded in a game.  Her eight goals and 11 points are the most by any RMAC player this season, and it matches the most recorded by anyone in the RMAC since 2019. 
• UCCS is making their third straight appearance in the RMAC Tournament.
• The Mountain Lions rank fifth in Division II and first in the RMAC in ground balls per game, averaging 22.3 per contest.  The Mountain Lions lead the league and are 12^th in Division II with 8.1 assists per game, while ranking second in the league in shots on goal per game (24.2), points per game (22.3) and saves percentage (.450).
• Church's 30 assists and 2.14 assists per game this season are the most in the league.  She ranks sixth in goals per game (2.3), and second in points (62) and points per game (4.43).
• McGriff is tops in the RMAC in goals against average (10.8), save percentage (.462), and second in saves (115).
• Mills' 6.5 shots and 4.6 shots on goal per game are the most by any individual player in the RMAC.

 
AWARD WINNERS

• Madison McGriff was named the RMAC Women's Lacrosse Academic Player of the Year, becoming the first Mountain Lion in program history to earn the individual award.  Natalie Church and Holly Sodomka joined McGriff on the First Team while 11 Mountain Lions were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll:  Antonia Batuello, Avery Beck-Davis, Kyer Frederick, Hannah Koopal, Kathryn Kossack, Sydney Malcolm, Anna Markham, Grace Martinez, Hannah Mill, Morgan Miller and Julia Patrick.
• Four Mountain Lions have garnered nine RMAC Player of the Week accolades.  McGriff is a four-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, having earned the award on March 14, April 11, April 18 and May 2.  Church was tabbed the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on March 14 as the duo swept the weekly awards.
• Patrick (Offensive) and Morgan Miller (Defensive) swept the awards on April 4, one week after Hannah Mill earned her first career RMAC Offensive Player of the Week accolade on March 28, before earning the weekly award at the end of the season on May 2.

 
UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH MELISSA RAUSCH

• Melissa Rausch is in her third year with the UCCS Mountain Lions women's lacrosse program, and her first season as the head coach in 2022.  As an assistant coach the past two years, she served as the recruiting coordinator, handling the recruiting efforts, hosting clinics and working with the scholarship budget.
• On the field, Rausch works with both offensive and defensive units.  Her primary focus is on the defensive end of the field.  After installing a new defense in 2021, the Mountain Lions decreased their opponents' efforts in goals against, shots, shot percentage, and shots on goal.

• Rausch, who joined UCCS from Nichols College, a Division III institution in Dudley, Mass., held the roles as Assistant Athletic Director, Head Women's Lacrosse Coach, and Assistant Men's Lacrosse Coach at Nichols College.

 
WEATHER

• Friday will warm up nicely in Denver and reach the low 80's under partly cloudy skies.  Winds will be coming out of the West at 10-15 mph.

 
UPCOMING GAMES

• The winner of Friday's first semifinal game will take on the winner of the second semifinal game featuring No. 1 seed Regis University and No. 4 seed Fort Lewis College on Sunday, May 8 at 12 p.m.

 
SOCIAL

• Twitter - @GoMountainLions
• Instagram - @gomountainlions
• Facebook – Go Mountain Lions

 
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics