SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (April 24, 2016) – In a must-win game, Colorado State University – Pueblo men's lacrosse could not overcome a slow start as they lost to Westminster College 21-9. Because of their seventh Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defeat, the Pack was mathematically eliminated from the RMAC tournament.
Blake Foerster (So., Centennial, Colo.) buried a trio of goals for his second hat trick of the season. Foerster has 14 goals and a team-leading 11 assists on the season.
Senior, Jamil Modaffari (Penn Yan, N.Y.) dished out three assists. Modaffari ranks second on the Pack with 20 goals and 29 total points. He also secured a career-high four ground balls Sunday.
The Pack fell behind in the first quarter as Westminster scored three consecutive goals. Foerster got the Pack on the board 4:20 into the game, but Westminster followed Foerster's goal with three more goals to take a 6-1 lead into the second quarter. The Griffins first quarter surge chased Pack goaltender Nick Richards (So., Henderson, Nev.). Richards's record dropped to 2-8.
This goaltender switch did not help the Pack much as the Griffins added five more goals in the second quarter. CSU-Pueblo's lone goal of the second came from Weston Bartgis (Fr., El Cajon, Calif.) with 5:21 left in the first half. Bartgis' 12th goal closed the gap to 8-2.However, Westminster ended with the first half with a 3-0 run to take an 11-2 edge intermission.
CSU-Pueblo came out of the break with a pair of goals from Nick Cervi (So., Pueblo, Colo.) and Foerster. Taylor Davis (Fr., Littleton, Colo.) scored the Pack's only other point of the third quarter. Despite Davis' ninth goal of the season, the Pack trailed 15-5 after three.
Westminster would outscore the Pack 6-4 in the fourth quarter to close out a 21-9 win. Joe McDonough (Fr., Jacksonville, N.C.) scored his sixth goal of the season in the final frame.
Cervi got his second goal of the season in the fourth quarter. He finished with a season-high three points. Sunday's game also marked Cervi's first multi-goal game of 2016.
Preston DeHerrea (Jr., Northglenn, Colo.) and Foerster scored the pack's final two goals of the game. Normally a defender, this goal was DeHerrera's first in his career. He also grabbed two ground balls.
Freshman Tyler Millican (La Mesa, Calif.) corralled three ground balls. He also forced three turnovers. Millican now leads the RMAC with 19 caused turnovers (1.38 per game).
Justin Held (So., Brush Prairie Wash.) snagged four ground balls. Tanner Hall (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz.) and Caleb Johnson (So., Castle Rock, Colo.) each had three ground balls.
The Pack will host Adams State University Saturday in their season finale. Saturday's contest will start at 3 p.m. at the Art & Lorraine Gonzales Stadium.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
