Colorado State did not hold a lead until well into the third period. With the game tied 4-4 late in the third, junior defenseman Adam Schnirel (Mt. Lebanon HS; Pittsburgh, PA) made a pivotal hit on Buffalo attackman Jason Anderson that seemed to finally turn the tide CSU's way. Campbell Diebolt (Central Bucks East HS; Doylestown, PA) got his only goal of the game shortly thereafter to give CSU their first lead and the Rams never trailed again. Schnirel's hit ignited the crowd and momentum seemed to be on CSU's side for the rest of the game.

Despite being outscored 9-3 over the last 47 minutes of the game, Colorado jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and controlled most of the first quarter action. Brian Morgan, Patrick Janson and Andrew Upah all tallied for the Buffaloes throughout the first frame and the Buffaloes looked primed to end their five year losing streak against the Rams. CSU finally got on the board with 1:41 left in the first when Tyler Treece (Upper Arlington HS; Columbus, OH) snuck a shot past former CSU goaltender Tyson Ehinger to cut the Buffs lead to 3-1 after one.

Treece was a menace on the offensive end, scoring five goals and adding one assist to be named the game's MVP. He had a hand in all three of CSU's goals in the first half as the Rams battled back to a 3-3 halftime tie. Danny Stevens (Suffern HS; Suffern, NY) was also solid for CSU's attack, racking up four assists in another workmanlike effort.

Colorado had tremendous success at the face-off 'x,' winning 13 of 18 draws. Tyler Wood and Zachary Hartman had their way with CSU's midfielders and controlled seemingly every possession early on. Luckily for Colorado State, the defense was up to the task of containing Colorado's dangerous offense.

Senior defenseman Kellin Bershinsky (Poudre HS; Fort Collins, CO) had perhaps his best game of the season. Matched up with one of the best attackmen in the MDIA, Bershinsky held Jason Anderson to only two assists on the night. In addition to his huge hit in the third quarter, Adam Schnirel was stellar as well. Jon Atwood finished the game with two goals and one assist, but the Buffaloes did not have a tremendous amount of success in six on six situations for most of the game.

In many ways, this game was also a match-up of two top flight goaltenders. Senior Pete Jokisch (Rockhurst Jesuit; Overland Park, KS) and CU's Tyson Ehinger matched each other save for save for most of the game. Jokisch made some very key stops in the second and third quarter as CSU clawed their way back into the game. Jokisch finished the game with 11 saves while Ehinger stopped 10 against his former team.

CSU led 5-4 after three quarters, but the Buffs scored quickly into the fourth to tie the game. However, the rest of the fourth belonged to the Rams as CSU scored three goals in a row to jump out to an 8-5 lead. Atwood tallied again for CU to narrow the lead to two, but CSU scored an empty net goal while Ehinger was out double teaming the ball to end the drama.

CSU (12-3 overall; 3-1 RMLC) has secured the #1 seed for the RMLC playoffs and will play Utah in the first round next weekend. Colorado will play BYU in the other semifinal at Utah State University. CSU beat Utah 13-3 two weeks ago while the Buffs beat BYU 9-7 last weekend. The Rams finish the regular season with an 11-1 record against MDIA opponents.

Game Notes:
- The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown is put on by the Colorado State Lacrosse Alumni Association. This year, Denver East HS defeated Cherry Creek HS 7-6 just before the CSU/CU game.
- The RMLC's tie-breakers are first decided by common out of conference opponents. All three teams are 3-1 in conference play and have played UC-Santa Barbara of the WCLL earlier in the year. Only CSU was able to beat the Gauchos and therefore end up as the #1 seed in the tournament.
- Danny Stevens continues to lead the Rams in scoring with an even 70 points on the season. Tyler Treece is second with 56 points.
- Joel Tromburg (Heritage HS; Littleton, CO) leads the team with 62 groundballs. Long stick midfielder Matt Reiss (Sycamore HS; Cincinnati, OH) trails closely with 57 while Stevens has 50.

                           Lacrosse Box Score (Final)
           Colorado vs Colorado State (Apr 22, 2006 at Invesco Field)

SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colorado............  3  0  1  2 -  6
Colorado State......  1  2  2  4 -  9

Colorado SCORING: 
GOALS: Jon Atwood 2; Andrew Upah 1; Brian Morgan 1; Patrick Janson 1; 
Ryan Dunn 1.
ASSISTS: Jason Anderson 2; Jon Atwood 1; Scott Cadiz 1.

Colorado State SCORING: 
GOALS: Tyler Treece 5; Pat Bird 1; Steven Lundberg 1; 
Campbell Diebolt 1; Brian Vickery 1.
ASSISTS: Danny Stevens 4; Ryan MacDonald 1; John Tomlinson 1; 
Tyler Treece 1.


GOALTENDER SUMMARY
Colorado                  Minutes   GA   W/L   1   2   3   4 Saves
------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Tyson Ehinger.......     60:00    9    W    1   3   4   2    10


Colorado State            Minutes   GA   W/L   1   2   3   4 Saves
------------------------------------------------------------------
3  Pete Jokisch........     60:00    6    W    2   4   4   1    11


SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot             
-------------------------------------             
Colorado............  8  9  7  6 - 30             
Colorado State......  8  8 10  9 - 35             


SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colorado............  1  3  4  2 - 10
Colorado State......  2  4  4  1 - 11


GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot             
-------------------------------------             
Colorado............ 11  9  5  8 - 33             
Colorado State...... 11 11  7 15 - 44             


TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colorado............  5  8  8 10 - 31
Colorado State......  5  8  6  9 - 28

FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colorado............  4-5   3-3   3-3   3-7  - 13-18
Colorado State......  1-5   0-3   0-3   4-7  -  5-18


CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colorado............  3-4   4-5   5-7   3-6  - 15-22
Colorado State......  3-5   6-9   8-9   6-8  - 23-31


EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colorado............  0-2   0-0   0-1   1-2  -  1-5
Colorado State......  0-1   1-2   0-0   1-1  -  2-4


PENALTIES - CU 5/4:30; CSU 5/4:30.