SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 20 Westminster men's lacrosse team returns to action this week with a pair of games away from home. The Griffins open the week on Wednesday when they play at in-state rival Utah at 6:30 p.m. (MT) at McCarthey Field on the Utah Campus. They will then travel to Grand Junction, Colo. to play NCAA D-II Colorado State-Pueblo in a neutral site game at Walker Field on the Colorado Mesa campus starting at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
Live Coverage
There will not be any live video or stats of the game at Utah on Wednesday. Updates of the game will be available on Twitter by following @wc_griffins and @griffinlax. Saturday's game will have both live video and stats available courtesy of Colorado Mesa. The live video is a pay-per-view service with a fee of $8. Links for the live features can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
Griffins Notebook
Westminster has been off since March 16 when they fell to then-No. 19 Minnesota Duluth, 12-11, in overtime at Dumke Field. The Griffins are 3-3 on the season and they have gone 2-2 in road games and 1-1 at a neutral site. The game at Utah is the first Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference game of the year for the Griffins and their only game on a Wednesday this season. Westminster is ranked No. 19 in this week's MCLA Under Armour Coaches' Poll, the same position they were in last week.
 
About the Offense
The Griffins are averaging 10.8 goals per game on the season and they have scored in double figures in all but one game so far. They are taking 38.5 shots per outing with 58.4 percent of those attempts on goal while recording 41 assists and assisting on 63.1 percent of their goals scored. Westminster is 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) in man-up opportunities and they commit 17.3 turnovers per game. They also have clear percentage at 83.2 percent.
 
About the Defense
Griffin opponents are scoring 9.5 goals per game while they attempt 32.3 shots per game. Westminster has held three opponents to eight goals or less. The opposition puts 55.7 percent of their shots on goal and they have tallied 24 assists for a 42.1 assist percentage. The six opponents have gone 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) in man-up opportunities with a 67.8 clearing percentage. The Griffins force with 19.3 turnovers per game with 46 caused turnovers. Opponents are winning 50.7 percent of faceoffs this season.
 
About Utah
Utah enters the week at 5-4 on the season and 0-1 in the RMLC. The Utes are coming off a 13-5 home win over Washington State on March 29. Joseph Redd leads the team with 10 goals and 18 faceoff wins. Sean Sloan has a team-best 14 points with eight goals and six assists. Cameron Redmond had five goals and a team-high eight assists. Patrick Griffin has made 75 saves with a .551 save percentage.
 
About Colorado State-Pueblo
Colorado State-Pueblo is a NCAA D-II member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The ThunderWolves are 0-8 on the season after suffering a 16-14 loss at Lincoln Memorial on March 25. Jamil Modaffari leads the team with 15 goals and 20 points. Hunter Thompson has tallied eight goals and nine assists for 17 points with Chas Welch scoring 10 goals. Nick Richards has played the majority of minutes in cage with 75 saves and .357 save percentage.
 
Against the Opposition
Westminster has gone 5-4 all-time against Utah and 1-1 in road games with the Utes. The Griffins have won four-straight in the series, including wins last season in the regular season (29-8) and the RMLC Tournament (23-7). Saturday is the first-ever meeting between the Griffins and CSU-Pueblo.
 
Atop the Scoring Charts
Kyle Postler leads the team with 14 goals this season and he has added seven assists for 21 points. He now has 217 points in his Westminster career and he became the school's all-time leader in that category with two points at Cal Poly on March 9. Postler is the Westminster career leader with 112 assists and he ranks fifth in team history with 105 career goals. The senior has scored multiple goals in every game this season with at least one assist in all but one game. He leads the Griffins with 43 shots and three man-up goals.
 
Sarj in Charge
Freshman Thomas Sarjeant s having a stellar start to his collegiate career as he currently leads the Griffins with 26 points and 15 assists. He currently ranks second in the RMLC in total assists while leading the league with an average of 2.5 assists per game. Sarjeant is also second in the conference by posting 4.33 points per contest. He has tallied at least one goals and one assist in every game this season and has five points in a game four times. Sarjeant has scored two man-up goals and attempts 26 shots with 17 on goal.
 
Balanced Scoring Attack
While Postler leads the team with 14 goals, Westminster has four players with at least 10 goals on the year. Josh Holland is second on the team with 13 goals and Elias Fairman has posted 12 goals. Eric Crosby has tallied eight goals to give five players 89.2 percent of the team's total goals this season. Fairman has added six assists for 18 points while Holland has four assists and 17 points.
 
Gronseth in Cage
Erik Gronseth has been the primary goalie for the Griffins this season having played 316 minutes in cage. The junior is 3-3 with a 9.69 goals-against-average and 47 saves and .480 save percentage. Gronseth made 17 stops in the win at Boise State on March 1 and he has three games this season with at least eight saves. He has also recorded three ground balls.
 
Looking Ahead
The Griffins are home for two RMLC game next week to begin span of three-straight home games. They welcome Colorado to Dumke Field at 4 p.m. (MT) on March 9 and they face Colorado State on March 12 at noon. Tickets for the two games are available now by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.