GRAND JUCTION, Colo. – Playing in the first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game in league history, the Westminster men's lacrosse team pulled the 12-7 upset of No. 15 Colorado Mesa on Saturday afternoon at Walker Field.
 
"We played with purpose and great discipline today," Westminster head coach Mason Goodhand said after the big road win. "We made great strides with our young squad.
 
Westminster (2-0, 1-0 RMAC) got off to another fast start as they scored the first five goals of the game on their way to a 5-1 lead at halftime. Josh Holland scored four of those goals, including one on the man-advantage in the second quarter.
 
Colorado Mesa (0-1, 0-1) would tice cut the Griffin lead to three during the third quarter. The first was answered with a Griffin goal from Cole Flinders. Then Flinders answered again with back-to-back man-up goals that had Westminster leading 10-5 with 10:50 to play.
 
Holland finished the game with five goals and one assist for a team-high six points. Flinders scored three goals on five shots. The Griffins got one goal apiece from Elias Fairman, Jake Berard, and Christian Pompoco.
 
"Josh showed why he is a force to be reckoned with," Goodhand said of his leading goal scorer.
 
CMU had a 41-40 edge in shots during the game, but the Griffins put 26 of their attempts on cage. Westminster also won 16 of 23 faceoffs with Berard going 14 of 21. The Griffins had 22 ground balls with Berard and Fairman leading the team with five each.
 
Philip Cannell was stellar in cage for the Griffins with 14 saves to earn his second win in as many collegiate games played.
 
Steve Brandenburg led the Mavericks with four goals on nine shots.
 
Westminster will be back in action on February 27 when they host Utah Valley in the home opener. The action from Dumke Field will begin at 1 p.m. MT, and tickets are available by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.