2013 Captains Austin Fisher, Patrick Sullivan, Tyler Zabor, and Alex Devlin were part of a senior class that went 75-8 over four years and won two MCLA National Championships.

Greenville, SC – In their ninth MCLA championship game appearance in team history, the Colorado State University Rams travelled over 1,500 miles to play a team just 55 miles down the road, and on the backs of yet another record-setting defensive performance, they completed their drive for perfection on Saturday night at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, SC.

#1 Colorado State’s 7-2 victory over the #2 Colorado Buffaloes capped a 21-0 season for Colorado State, who won the MCLA national championship for the second year in a row, and a record-setting sixth time in team history.  It also marks the first time in team history that CSU has repeated as national champions and recorded an undefeated season.

Two days after defeating fellow RMLC rival Brigham Young 9-7 in the semifinals, Colorado State faced another familiar foe in the championship game.  The Rams had defeated the Buffs 9-3 in the regular season and 9-6 in the RMLC championship before getting together in the MCLA’s penultimate game.

CSU never trailed in the contest after finally getting things going with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.  The Rams jumped out to a 4-0 halftime lead that eventually ballooned to 7-1 in the late fourth before Colorado finally got their second goal of the evening to create the final five-goal difference.

Junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY) was the story of the first quarter, rocketing home the first two goals of the game against MCLA All-American goaltender Brad MacNee to make it 2-0 after one.  Kacy Carter (Rock Canyon HS / Castle Rock, CO) and Braxton Campbell (Summit HS / Silverthorne, CO) each added a goal in the second quarter to give the Rams their 4-0 halftime advantage.

Neither team found the back of the net in the third quarter, but the Buffs got on the scoreboard with 14:05 left in the game when Ryan Haines bounced a shot home to bring Colorado to within three.  But a key man-up goal by freshman Jake Johnson (Bridgton Academy / Lake Forest, CA) less than a minute later seemed to quell the momentum as the Rams methodically turned back any offensive advance by the Buffaloes down the stretch.

By the time Tyler Dougherty found the net on man-up for Colorado with just :56 left in the game, it was too late, and Colorado State swarmed the field in celebration of their back to back MCLA championships and perfect 21-0 season.

The teams were dead-even on shots with 29 each on the evening, and face-offs were nearly even as well as the Rams picked up 7-13 draw opportunities.  The Colorado State goaltending duo of Jack Regan (Sunset HS / Portland, OR) and Koltin Fatzinger (Wheat Ridge HS / Thornton, CO) stymied any opportunities the Buffaloes were able to get past the stingy Ram defense, making 8 combined saves in the game.

Colorado State allowed just 16 goals over the course of the entire four-game national tournament, including holding Colorado to a record low of just two in the final game.  The previous low in a championship game was held by the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos, who managed only four against Colorado State in CSU’s third national championship season in 2003.

Colorado State celebrates their second consecutive MCLA championship at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, SC.

For their efforts, the senior trio of close defenders, Hayden Porter (Heritage HS / Littleton, CO), Tyler Zabor (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) and Patrick Sullivan (Heritage HS / Littleton, CO), were named championship game MVPs.

CSU’s 21-0 season is the first undefeated campaign by an MCLA program since Michigan went 20-0 in 2009.  CSU’s women’s team also concluded a 22-0 season with their third WCLA championship in four years last weekend, giving the two programs an incredible 43-0 combined record in the 2013 season.  Colorado closes the 2013 year with an 18-3 record – all three losses coming to the Rams after running the table against the rest of the MCLA.

Colorado State graduates arguably its most successful class in its illustrious team history in 2013.  The program loses fourteen seniors, including first team All-American and MCLA Godekraw National Player of the Year Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) and seven other MCLA All-Americans.

The 2013 class has a record that may not be equaled any time soon, having compiled a 75-8 overall record which included winning their last 29 games, capturing two national championships, four consecutive RMLC conference titles, and an 8-0 record in rivalry games against Colorado.

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Sophomore Eric Uhl (left) and senior Braxton Campbell (right) each had two goals in the MCLA semifinal win over BYU.

Greenville, SC – After spotting the #4 Brigham Young Cougars the first three goals of the game, the #1 Colorado State University Rams battled back in an emotional and physical MCLA semifinal contest to earn a 9-7 win and a berth in the MCLA championship game for the second year in a row.  Nothing came easy for the Rams on a hot and humid day at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, SC as BYU and CSU squared off for the third consecutive year in the tournament semifinals.

The game was nip and tuck throughout and featured four ties and four lead changes as the two perennial MCLA heavyweights duked it out with their seasons on the line.

Brigham Young came out firing in the first quarter, scoring the first three goals of the game as CSU struggled to gain its footing against their RMLC rivals.  But CSU bounced back in the second quarter, scoring three of their own goals to tie the game headed into halftime.  Braxton Campbell (Summit HS / Silverthorne, CO) scored the first of his two goals to jumpstart CSU’s offense, which had been otherwise held in check by the Cougars for the first 21 minutes of the game.

Headed into the second half, CSU took their first lead of the game at 4-3 when senior Alex Devlin (Langley HS / Langley, VA) spun and ripped home a shot with 10:54 remaining in the third.  But the Cougars would not go quietly, going on a two-goal run of their own to retake the lead just two minutes later.  After some furious back and forth action, sophomore Mike Wolff (Don Bosco Prep / Ramsey, NJ) tied the score at 5-5 with 1:03 remaining in the third as the teams went to the decisive fourth quarter all tied up.

BYU took the lead again at 6-5 when Jake Ferrin blasted one home, but the Rams were about to go on a decisive three-goal run over about seven minutes of game-time.  The run was punctuated when freshman Eric Uhl (The Masters School / Simsbury, CT) tore down the alley and slammed one home to put the Rams up by two.  Jake Arbon answered right back for the Cougars, but junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY)  got topside on his defender and stuck a shot nearside against BYU goalkeeper Rob Ostler to put the finishing touches on the scoring.

BYU outshot CSU on the evening, taking 30 to the Rams 27.  Clearing was a relative struggle for both teams, who failed on five different occasions each throughout the game.  CSU’s man-up unit, which had been running at a 50% clip going into the game, didn’t register a goal in its three chances while BYU went 1-4 with the man advantage.

Colorado State (20-0 overall) moves to the MCLA championship game for the second year in a row and the ninth time in school history.  The win over the Cougars was the second this season and made the all-time MCLA playoff series 5-3 in favor of the Rams after CSU eliminated BYU in the 2012 semifinals as well.  The Cougars finish the season at 16-5 and with their sixth trip to the MCLA semifinals in the last seven seasons.

The Rams will face a familiar opponent on Saturday evening at Sirrine Stadium.  Waiting for them on the other end of the bracket are the #2 Colorado Buffaloes, who advanced to the championship game via wins over Texas, Michigan State and a 5-4 semifinal win against #3 Arizona State.  The Buffs and Rams have met twice in the 2013 season with CSU taking both contests.  The first was a 9-3 triumph in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown at Hughes Stadium and the second was a 9-6 win in the RMLC championship game just two weeks ago in Grand Junction, CO.

It’s also the second time in history that the two teams have met in the MCLA championship game, with the Rams winning a thrilling 8-7 game over the Buffs in 2006.

Senior Josh Gregg notched two goals in the 9-4 MCLA quarterfinal win over Sonoma.

Greenville, SC – In the teams’ first meeting since the 2009 season, the #1 Colorado State Rams leaned on a stalwart defensive effort and balanced scoring to take down #7 Sonoma State in the MCLA quarterfinals on Tuesday evening.  The Rams were tested throughout by the Seawolves, but steadily pulled away en route to their 9-4 win.  CSU’s win moves them into the MCLA semifinals on Thursday afternoon – a trip they have made for three consecutive years.

In a tightly contested first quarter, senior midfielder Josh Gregg (Columbine HS / Littleton, CO) got the scoring going on a spectacular individual effort while the Rams were man-down.  The teams traded goals at the end of the first period, giving CSU a 2-1 lead heading into the second.

After the teams traded goals again to put the lead at 3-2 for the Rams, senior Alex Devlin (Langley HS / Langley, VA) and senior face-off midfielder Dan Warfield (Smoky Hill HS / Aurora, CO) jammed home goals just 11 seconds apart in a key sequence that allowed CSU some breathing room at halftime with a 5-2 lead.

The third quarter was again closely contested as the CSU defense shut out Sonoma’s offense, including Gregg striking again again after weaving through the defense on the opening draw of the quarter.  Mike Wolff (Don Bosco Prep / Ramsey, NJ) added a man-up goal to make it 7-2 heading into the fourth.  From there, things got increasingly sloppy for both teams as the Rams held off the Seawolves’ comeback bid for the 9-4 win.

Wolff led all scorers by adding an assist to his two goals while junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY) had two assists for the Rams as well.  Brad Bochesa had two goals for Sonoma to lead the Seawolves.  Junior Koltin Fatzinger (Wheat Ridge HS / Thornton, CO) was terrific in goal for the Rams in the second half, making five big saves.

The win puts Colorado State (19-0 overall) in the MCLA semifinals for the third straight season, where they will play RMLC rival and 4^th seeded BYU.  The Rams and Cougars met in the 2011 and 2012 semifinals with each team taking a game each en route to their national championships.  BYU got to the semifinals by virtue of a 17-14 win over #12 Oregon.  On the other side of the bracket, #2 Colorado took care of #7 Michigan State 9-2 and #3 Arizona State rocked #6 UCSB 15-5.

Senior Dustin Grybinas had three goals in the 20-3 MCLA first round win over Purdue.

Greenville, SC – The first seeded and #1 Colorado State University Rams jumped all over the 16^th seeded Purdue Boilermakers, breezing past the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference champions by a 20-3 score.  The Rams led 6-1 after one, 11-1 at halftime and 16-3 at the end of the third quarter as 16 different Rams registered a point in the MCLA first round tournament game.

CSU scored seemingly at will in the first quarter as six different players scored each of the six goals.  Purdue struggled to find an answer at either end of the field as the Rams outshot the Boilermakers 50-13 on the afternoon.

The Rams were led in scoring by senior midfielder Dustin Grybinas (Kirkwood HS / Kirkwood, MO), who had three goals.  Four other players had three points as well in the dominating effort.  Everyone on the active roster played significant minutes as the CSU subbed liberally throughout.

Colorado State (18-0 overall) advances to the MCLA quarterfinals where they will face-off against the winner of the Boston College vs. Sonoma State game at 7:30pm on Tuesday.  Purdue finishes their season at 9-5, having made team history by appearing in their first MCLA national tournament and winning the GRLC.

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.

CSU celebrates their fourth straight Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Title.

Grand Junction, Colo. – Saturday was a gorgeous evening for lacrosse on the campus of Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO as two of the country’s best MCLA programs got together to determine the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference championship.  Behind the standout efforts of senior attackman Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) and face-off specialist Dan Warfield (Smoky Hill HS / Aurora, CO), the #1 Colorado State Rams took down the #2 Colorado Buffaloes 9-6 to win their fourth straight RMLC title and likely secure the #1 seed in the upcoming MCLA national tournament.

The Rams and Buffs were tied 1-1 late in the second quarter before a key two-goal run just minutes before the half gave CSU a cushion heading into the second half.  After Fisher struck on man-up early in the third quarter, CU bounced back with two goals of their own to make it 4-3.  But Colorado State had one more run in them, reeling off three straight markers to grab a 7-3 lead with 10:00 left that proved insurmountable as the teams headed to the finish.  The teams traded goals to end the game in the fourth quarter, but the Buffs just could not get over the hump to defeat their rivals.

Both teams were a little tight on offense early on, especially CSU, who had 11 first half turnovers.  But Warfield’s dominance at the face-off ‘x’ and a stalwart defensive effort were keys in keeping the Rams in the game until the offense was able to get things moving late in the second quarter.  Warfield was a perfect 6 for 6 in the first half, finished with 13 of 18 totals, and led all players with five groundballs on the night.

Fisher scored all four of his goals in the second half while three of his fellow attackmen were cashing in as well.  Junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY) had two goals and two assists, junior Kacy Carter (Rock Canyon HS / Castle Rock, CO) had two goals, and sophomore Mike Wolff (Don Bosco Prep / Ramsey, NJ) got in the act with three assists as well.

The Buffs were led by Riley Seidel and Greg Kelsic, who each had two goals and one assist.  Bradle Macnee had 10 saves for Colorado while CSU’s duo of Jack Regan (Sunset HS / Portland, OR) and Koltin Fatzinger (Wheat Ridge HS / Thornton, CO) combined for 11 in the win.

For the second consecutive game, Colorado outshot the Rams, but the CSU defense was up to the task in holding the Buffs off the scoreboard in key moments of the game.  The Rams made their most hay in the groundball department, winning that category decisively 30-18 and taking 13 of 19 total face-offs to help give CSU the edge in possession time throughout.

With the victory, Colorado State (17-0 overall, 5-0 RMLC) will very likely end up as the #1 seed in the MCLA tournament that kicks off on Monday, May 13 in Greenville, South Carolina.  The win marked the first time in league history that anyone has won four straight RMLC titles, a particularly impressive feat given the success the conference has had on the national stage.

The Buffaloes (15-2 overall, 4-1 RMLC), who were ranked #2 both in the RMLC and nationally coming into the conference tourney will likely be a high seed as well.  Seeds and match-ups will be announced

Junior LSM Tim Miaskiewicz (Mullen HS / Denver, CO) led the Rams with five caused turnovers and five groundballs in the 17-4 RMLC semifinal win over Utah.

Grand Junction, CO – In the first semifinal of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference tournament, the #1 seeded Colorado State Rams jumped out to a 5-0 lead and were never challenged as they dispatched fourth seeded Utah on a sunny Friday afternoon.  CSU led 12-0 at the half and coasted to a 17-4 victory in a game that featured 15 different point-scorers for the Rams on the campus of Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO.

CSU scored three goals before the game was five minutes old and senior captain Austin Fisher (Rock Canyon HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) led the charge with all five of his game-high points in the first half of the game.  CSU held a 5-0 lead after one and cashed in seven times in the second period to put the game out of reach.

Colorado State was led by Fisher’s five points along with an identical four goal, one assist performance from Kacy Carter (Rock Canyon HS / Castle Rock, CO).  Tim Taggart (Mountain Vista HS / Highlands Ranch, CO) had three assists in the contest as well.

The Rams outshot Utah 44-22 and enjoyed a 38-22 advantage on groundballs.  CSU also cashed in on four of six man-up opportunities while holding Utah to just one of four.

Colorado State (16-0 overall, 5-0 RMLC) awaits the winner of the Colorado vs. Brigham Young game taking place at 7pm on Friday night.  The RMLC championship game will be held at 6pm on Saturday at Walker Field.

Hall of Fame:

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