Senior Austin Fisher was named as the RMLC Offensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference in 2013.

Fort Collins, CO – The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference announced its 2013 award winners on Saturday afternoon and the Colorado State Rams landed ten players on the first and second teams combined.  Senior attackman Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) headlined the group by taking home Offensive Player of the Year honors and Alex Smith was named RMLC Coach of the Year as the Rams head into the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association tournament with a 17-0 record and the #1 seed.

Fisher was one of four Rams on the first team, which also included senior midfielder Tim Taggart (Mountain Vista HS / Highlands Ranch, CO), and senior defenders Tyler Zabor (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) and Hayden Porter (Heritage HS / Centennial, CO).  For Fisher, it marks the second time being named to the first team and the third time overall.  Porter also was named to the first-team in 2011 and 2012.  Zabor was a second-team RMLC defenseman in 2012 while Taggart had never previously been named to an all-conference team prior to this season.

Six players were awarded second-team honors for the 2013 season.  Junior attackman Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY), senior midfielder Alex Devlin (Langley HS / Langley, VA), senior defenseman Patrick Sullivan (Heritage HS  / Littleton, CO), junior goaltender Jack Regan (Sunset HS / Portland, OR), senior defensive midfielder Josh Gregg (Columbine HS / Littleton, CO) and senior face-off specialist Dan Warfield (Smoky Hill HS / Aurora, CO) all landed on the second-team.

Finally, junior attackman Kacy Carter (Rock Canyon HS / Castle Rock, CO), junior goalie Koltin Fatzinger (Wheat Ridge HS / Thornton, CO), senior d-middie Logan Chandler (Arapahoe HS / Centennial, CO) and junior long-stick midfielders Zach Arthur (Cherry Creek HS / Denver, CO) and Tim Miaskiewicz (Mullen HS / Denver, CO) all made honorable mention.

The ten players on the first two teams was the highest number of Rams honored for such awards in the last seven years.  For head coach Alex Smith, it also marks his second RMLC Coach of the Year award, having claimed the same honor in the 2010 season.

Colorado State travels to Greenville, SC next weekend to take on 16^th seeded Purdue in a first-round contest.  The winner will take on the winner of the Boston College/Sonoma State game on Tuesday.

Complete list of awards:

RMLC Offensive Player of the Year 
Austin Fisher

RMLC Coach of the Year 
Alex Smith

First Team RMLC
Austin Fisher – Attack
Tim Taggart – Midfield
Hayden Porter – Defense
Tyler Zabor – Defense

Second Team RMLC
Sean Smith – Attack
Alex Devlin – Midfield
Patrick Sullivan – Defense
Jack Regan – Goalie
Josh Gregg – Defensive Midfield
Dan Warfield – Face-Off

Honorable Mention RMLC
Kacy Carter – Attack
Koltin Fatzinger – Goalie
Logan Chandler – Defensive Midfield
Zach Arthur – Long Stick Midfield
Tim Miaskiewicz – Long Stick Midfield

Fort Collins, CO – On the backs of a 15-0 regular season and a fourth straight Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference title, the Colorado State Rams will enter the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association’s national tournament as the #1 seed.  The Rams, who won the title in 2012, have been perched atop the MCLA polls all year and come into the tourney as the top seed for the first time since the 2006 season.

CSU will face off against the 16^th seeded Purdue Boilermakers next Monday in Greenville, SC.  Colorado State and Purdue have never before played and will feature several of the top playmakers in the MCLA.  The Boilermakers, who rebounded from an 0-2 start to win 9 of their next 11 games, obtained a tournament berth as the automatic qualifier from the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference.

Colorado State won the automatic qualifier from the RMLC after taking down Utah 17-4 and 2^nd ranked Colorado 9-6 in the conference tournament.  The Rams have defeated the numbers 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 16, and 22 teams in the MCLA on the way to their record fourth-straight conference title.  This will be the 15^th appearance for the Rams in the MCLA tournament, where they have advanced to 11 semifinal games and won five national championships.

Purdue dropped early season contests to North Carolina State and Clemson before suffering defeats against Wisconsin and Indiana in the regular season.  The Boilermakers avenged their losses to both conference foes in the GRLC tournament, defeating Wisconsin 8-7 and the rival Hoosiers 11-10 in the championship game.  Their tournament championship and appearance in the MCLA tournament are both firsts in Purdue’s history.

The Rams are led by senior attackman Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO), who won RMLC Offensive Player of the Year honors, and senior face-off specialist Dan Warfield (Smoky Hill HS / Aurora, CO), who is winning nearly 67% of his draws on the season.  Purdue’s main scoring comes from junior Palen Rhodes, an honorable mention All-America selection in 2012, and freshman Greg Behning, who has 46 points on the season.

CSU is currently outscoring teams 12.8 to 4.3 on the season while Purdue has given up double digits only three times.

Face-off for the Rams and Boilermakers is scheduled for 4:00pm EST on Monday, May 13 in Greenville, SC at the Wenwood Soccer Complex.  The winner will play the winner of the 8/9 game between Sonoma State and Boston College on Tuesday.

Click the link or copy and paste the following into your browser to buy online:

http://csutix.universitytickets.com/login/login.asp?refpage=../user_pages/event.asp?id=899&event_id=899

Game time vs. the Buffs is 5pm on Saturday, April 20!

See you there and go Rams!

Fort Collins, CO

Pete Mottram was one of the most decorated attackmen of his time at Colorado State, who then competed in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League against teams like the University of Denver, Air Force, Colorado College and others.  Having just missed the MCLA era, Mottram was a physical player who could get his own shot and create for others.

Pat Coy burst onto the national scene just as the MCLA was blooming into what it has become today.  One of the most physical and intimidating defenders in the country during his time at CSU, Coy was a multi-year All-America and All-Conference player and helped lead the Rams to two national championships in 1999 and 2001.

Overlapping slightly with Coy, Ryan Davis was part of perhaps the most well-rounded and feared attack groups in the history of the program, lining up alongside fellow Hall of Famers Mike Roth and Mike Napolilli.  A slick playmaker with a no fear attitude, Davis also graced the cover of Lacrosse Magazine after CSU won their second title in 2001.  Davis currently sits at #8 all-time on the CSU modern stats list with 173.

Another offensive star, Nick Stanitz-Harper was a starter from his first day on campus at Colorado State.  Playing as a midfielder early in his career before moving to attack full-time later on, Stanitz-Harper was a physical presence who could shoot the ball with velocity and accuracy.  His size and strength, along with his knack for timely goals, made him a tough match-up for any defenseman as the burly right hander from Aurora, CO rang up over 200 points in his career.

Finally, the team will pay honorary tribute to Dr. Ron Krugman, who served as the team chiropractor and resident health guru for many years.  “Dr. Ron” was a fixture on the sidelines for the green and gold, helping players rehabilitate from injury and just feel a little better during the long season.  Thanks to Dr. Ron, Thursdays were always good days and many players benefitted from his work.

This year’s Showdown and Hall of Fame Game will be held at Hughes Stadium for the first time in MCLA history.  The Rams and Buffaloes are currently ranked 1 and 2 in the MCLA polls and are both currently enjoying undefeated seasons.

By adding four new official members and one honorary member in its sixth year, the CSULAA Hall of Fame now stands at 21 honorees.

For more information on purchasing tickets for the event, please visit www.csuvscu.com.

Hughes Stadium on campus of Colorado State University will be the venue for the 2013 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown

Fort Collins, CO – The Colorado State University men’s lacrosse team and Sport Club department is excited to announce the location of the 2013 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown against their in-state rivals, the University of Colorado.  After several years of neutral site games, the Showdown will take place directly following the spring football game on campus at Colorado State University on April 20, 2013 at Hughes Stadium.

It marks a watershed moment for the two teams as plans for the University of Colorado to host the game next year at Folsom Field have already taken shape and brings one of the best rivalries in the MCLA back on campus to capitalize on potentially stronger community and university support.

The game will mark the second time in the MCLA-era that the Rams have faced off at Hughes, having taken on Brigham Young in 2002.  It will also be the first time since the 2002 season that the Rams and Buffaloes have competed in a spring contest in Fort Collins after creating the formal version of the Showdown in 2004 and moving games to the Denver market for the majority of the past ten years.

This year’s Showdown will also coincide with the Colorado State University men’s lacrosse Hall of Fame Game, in which the 2013 class will be honored at halftime of the event.  There have been four previous Hall of Fame ceremonies, this being the first since 2008 to be held on campus at CSU.  This year’s inductees will be announced soon.

Starting in 2004, the Colorado State University Lacrosse Alumni Association helped create the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown, bringing the game to Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch, CO.  After several years of positive results and attendance, the game moved to Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium in 2006.  The Showdown remained at Mile High in 2007 and 2008 before being moved to Folsom Field in 2009 and then to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2010.  The 2011 and 2012 versions of the Showdown were also held at Mile High before the move back to campus this spring.

Ticket sales for the Showdown will begin in the coming weeks as an online link is set up and both teams begin to organize their efforts.  Game time is set for approximately 5pm, or about an hour after the conclusion of the spring football game at the stadium.  Proceeds from the game will benefit both lacrosse programs.

CSU men’s lacrosse wishes to thank Aaron Harris, Assistant Director of Sport Clubs at Colorado State University, and the CSU Athletic Department for their efforts in organizing the venue for this game.

2013 Captains Clockwise from Top Left: Austin Fisher, Patrick Sullivan, Tyler Zabor, Alex Devlin

Fort Collins, CO – The preseason ranked #1 Colorado State University men’s lacrosse team is set to officially kick off their 2013 season this weekend with two games against RMLC opponents. The Rams, who defeated Northern Colorado and Colorado Mesa in scrimmages last weekend, will take on Utah State Friday night and Westminster College on Saturday afternoon. Both games will take place at the Loveland Sports Park in Loveland, CO and are free to the public.

The Rams are led into the 2013 campaign by a host of seniors, most notably the four captains, Alex Devlin (Langley HS, Langley, VA), Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS, Highlands Ranch, CO), Patrick Sullivan (Heritage HS, Littleton, CO) and Tyler Zabor (Rock Canyon HS, Highlands Ranch, CO). In 2012, CSU won a record fifth MCLA national championship – their first since 2006 – and are ranked atop the Nike/Inside Lacrosse MCLA Division I poll in the preseason for the first time since 2007.

CSU has owned the series against Utah State, holding an undefeated all-time record against the Aggies. USU is currently 1-2, with a win over Fort Lewis and losses to Idaho and Montana State. The contest will be an RMLC conference game – the first for both teams in the 2013 season –  and faces off at 7pm on Friday night.

Saturday, the Rams take on MCLA Division II powerhouse Westminster College from Salt Lake City, UT. The Rams and Griffins have never met in a sanctioned MCLA contest, but Westminster will compete in the MCLA’s Division I starting in 2014, so the two programs will have plenty of time to get acquainted over the coming years. The Griffins are currently ranked #3 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse MCLA Division II poll with a record of 2-1. Saturday’s game will start at 4pm.

Follow the Rams on Twitter for score updates, or come to the game. Venue can be found at: (http://mcla.us/venue/loveland_sports_park/)

Please visit www.csulacrosse.com for more info on the team or www.mcla.us for more information on the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association.

Let us know if we are missing anyone!

CSU All-Time Records >>

The Rams will open at home with scrimmages against MCLA Div. II Northern Colorado and NCAA Div. II Colorado Mesa University on Feb. 16 and 17.  CSU then has a quick weekend of Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference play with home games against MCLA Div. II Westminster College, a team that will be joining Division I in 2014, and Utah State on Feb. 22 and 23.

After the four-game opening homestand, the Rams hit the road for the first of two major out of conference trips on the season.  CSU will be in Las Vegas, NV over the weekend of Mar. 2 and Mar. 3 to take on UC-Santa Barbara and UNLV.  The game against the Gauchos will be a rematch of CSU’s 6-3 MCLA quarterfinal victory in Greenville, SC last year and the continuation of a terrific non-conference rivalry that has stretched back to the late 1990’s.  CSU has never faced UNLV in MCLA play and will be looking forward to taking on their long-time Mountain West Conference rival in lacrosse.

Returning for another three-game home stretch on short rest, the Rams will face a brutal three games in four days against three premiere MCLA programs as Loyola Marymount, Simon Fraser, and Virginia Tech come to town on Mar. 7, 9, and 10 respectively.  It will be the first home game for the Rams against LMU in nearly a decade.  Simon Fraser’s visit will mark the fourth straight year the Rams and Clan have met in the regular season, while CSU has not met Virginia Tech in a regular season game since a neutral site affair in 2003.

The Rams are back on the road over the weekend of Mar. 16 and 17, paying a visit for the first time in team history to Chicago, IL to take on Michigan State University and Minnesota-Duluth at Benedictine University.  The games against the conference champions of the CCLA and UMLC respectively will be extremely challenging for CSU and very important in deciding potential tournament seeds later down the line.

After a weekend off, the Rams will host Chapman University on campus Monday, Mar. 25.  CSU and Chapman have been going at it with regularity over the past several years, meeting in Oregon in 2012, Colorado in 2011, and California in 2009.  It will be the second time in series history that the two teams have met on a Monday night in Fort Collins and the atmosphere is sure to be electric on campus.

CSU is off for Easter Weekend before entering the meat of its RMLC schedule with a trip to Utah for games against long-time rival Brigham Young University in Provo on Friday, Apr. 5 and then fellow RMLC foe Utah in Salt Lake City on Apr. 6.  In the MCLA’s premiere rivalry, CSU and BYU are 5-5 against each other since 2009 and have defeated each other in the two previous MCLA semifinal contests.  The Rams got the better of the Cougars in the 2012 MCLA semis after BYU ended CSU’s season in 2011.

Colorado State wraps up its home schedule with one last back-to-back event on the weekend of Apr. 12 and 13.  The Rams will face the University of Georgia on Friday night and then take on RMLC opponent New Mexico on Saturday.  CSU has not faced either opponent in sanctioned MCLA play.  The game against Georgia will be held in Highlands Ranch, CO at Shea Stadium as part of the team’s 5^th Hall of Fame Celebration.

Finally, the Rams conclude the regular season schedule with their annual rivalry contest against the University of Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown.  CSU has come out on top of the Showdown in every year except for 2009, but the last several have been extremely close, particularly 2011’s double overtime thriller.  This year’s location will be announced in the coming months.

For stats, pictures, news and more, follow CSU men’s lacrosse at www.csulacrosse.com all season long!

* Denotes RMLC Conference Game
^ Denotes CSULAA Hall of Fame Game
$ Denotes Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown

The Rams, who have previously held their alumni game and a scrimmage with the University of Northern Colorado, will face-off against three in-state rivals in the third installment of the Shootout, which coincides with a large high school and youth tournament run by the Colorado Lacrosse Academy.

The Rams open the day at 10:30am when they take on NCAA Division II Adams State College.  At 12:30pm, CSU faces off against NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa University and the day concludes with a 2:30pm match-up against the University of Colorado – one of the team’s most bitter rivals.  The game between CU and CSU is the traditional end of the fall-ball schedule for both teams and has been a spirited and well-attended affair, even in the fall.

The Pumpkin Shootout has grown each year and will be home to nearly 30 high school and youth teams over the weekend.  The event has turned into a unique showcase for prospective collegiate lacrosse players, providing them with both the opportunity to play in front of college programs as well as to watch how they operate up close.

For a complete event schedule and field location, please visit the Pumpkin Shootout’s official webpage at http://www.coloradolaxacademy.com/SCHEDULE.html.

Collegiate Game Schedule:

• 10:30am – CU vs. CMU (Field 1) & CSU vs. Adams (Field 2)
• 12:30pm – CSU vs. CMU (Field 1) & CU vs. Adams (Field 2)
• 2:30pm – CMU vs. Adams (Field 1) & CSU vs. CU (Field 2)