GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The trio of
Easton Albert,
Skyler Weathers and
Spencer Whinery combined for 10 goals but
Westminster men's lacrosse (0-1, 0-1 RMAC) fell, 16-13, on the road at Colorado Mesa Mavericks (3-1, 1-0 RMAC) in the Griffins' 2022 regular-season opener at CH Unity Field.
Whinery finished with a team-leading six ground balls and
Hagan Buchanan finished with seven face-off wins and three ground balls. Albert also had one assist to go along with his four-goal performance while
Andoni Odencrantz and
Mike Spaeth each tallied two assists on the afternoon.
Westminster struck the first two goals of its new season as Weathers grabbed both goals of the game to give the Griffins an early 2-0 lead. The Mavericks weren't fazed by the two-goal deficit and ended the first quarter with three-straight goals of their own to take their first lead of the contest.
During the second quarter, both teams had some great looks around the net with was back-and-forth offense leading to a 7-7 halftime score. Westminster finished the first half with 11 shots on goal and Albert scored three of his four goals to keep the Griffins close.
Joseph Celentano and
Mike Spaeth also picked up their first goals of the season in the opening half of the campaign.
Both teams continued the back-and-forth struggle into the third period as the sides combined for another nine goals and 17 shots on goal in the quarter. Whinery had two of his three goals in the third and Weathers added another goal for Westminster but after scoring the first three goals of the second half, CMU carried a three-goal lead into the fourth.
Easton Albert scored the first goal of the fourth to shrink the Mavericks' lead to two, but that was as close as the Griffins would get as the Mavericks controlled enough clock down the final minutes to ice the conference-opening win.
Westminster will continue a four-game road trip to begin the 2022 season as they will travel south to Boca Raton, Florida to play Lynn University on Mon., March 7, beginning at 5 P.M. (MDT).
Follow us on social media (@WCGriffins) or visit westminstergriffins.com for all the latest Westminster Athletics scores, news and updates.
