DURANGO, Colorado — The Fort Lewis College lacrosse team made it clear they weren't intimidated by a visit from 25th-ranked Colorado Mesa (4-3, 3-0 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon, but they were unable to match the Mavericks depth and lost momentum after posting yet another blistering fast start before fading in a 19-11 loss to the conference front-runners.

"I think we're there with them. We've just got to get over that hump," Coach Ashley Travis said. "I don't know what that hump is, but we have to get over it."

It looked like the Skyhawks (2-3, 1-2 RMAC) may have cleared that obstacle when the team tore off six goals in the first 7:12 at Ray Dennison Field to jump on top of Colorado Mesa by an early 6-0 score, quickly erasing any doubt that they were capable of challenging the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's top teams. 

"We got them pretty fired up before the game. We were ready to fight them and be right there with them," Travis said after five different players scored to help get the Skyhawks off to what is becoming a characteristically quick start.

Abby Escandon followed up a five goal performance at Westminster College just two days ago with a goal off a free position shot less than a minute into the contest. Ann Nelson and Maren Clark would each deliver on the man advantage soon after, and Ellie Martinez scored on another free position shot to make it 4-0 less than five minutes into the game.

"We were on fire," Travis smiled.

Freshman Haley Dostie would then net her seventh and eighth goals of the year to put the home team up 6-0, and force Colorado Mesa Coach Shannon McHale to call an early timeout in an effort to slow down Fort Lewis.

Mesa would respond with a run of their own following the break in action, and by the midpoint of the half they had used their speed in transition to tie the game 6-6. The visitors had regained their footing, and dominated possession for the final 15 minutes of the first half, scoring four more goals in the process to go into the break with a 10-6 lead.

"In transition we need to mark tighter and slow down the fast breaks," Travis said after the Mavericks stole momentum with impressive midfield play to help overcome early Fort Lewis advantages in draw control and free position shots.

Those were both areas Travis had said she wanted to see improvement on after the team had also given up an early advantage in a road loss at Westminster on Thursday. While the Skyhawks did put forth a better effort in those areas, the Mavericks found a different way to slow them down after a fast start Saturday.

"On our side of the ball we need to pass better. They were killing us by doubling us and tripling us in transition," Travis nodded.

It would be Colorado Mesa that started fast in half number two, with the Mavericks scoring the first three goals to push the advantage to 13-6 and the team from Grand Junction appeared unstoppable at that point, having succeeded on 11 of 12 clear attempts.

"We struggle with fast breaks on defense, but that's what happens when you have a smaller roster. They have an army, and it is hard to compete and stay with them, but our girls did continue to push and I'm really proud of them," Travis said.

Fort Lewis was eager to prove they had a comeback in them. Defenseman Rebecca Kiyokawa won the draw following Mesa's goal and quickly pushed it into the attacking zone before dishing to Dostie for her third goal to end the drought with 22:37 to go. Escandon would add two more a couple of minutes later, with the first assisted by Dostie, and suddenly the Skyhawks were back to within four at 13-9.

Travis had high praise for Kiyokawa, who had five draw controls and a pair of ground balls in addition to the assist on Dostie's hat trick goal.

"We went into the game knowing that draws were going to be a crucial factor, and we worked on them yesterday so I think Becca was ready for that," the coach said. "She was ready to go in there and attack, and she definitely sparked that little three goal run. She's a tough, tough girl and she's just quick."

The freshman midfielder Dostie also impressed, and Travis feels her high lacrosse IQ will make her a memorable contributor for Fort Lewis over the next four years.

"She had a great game today. She was getting open on her cuts and catching the ball today, which is big for her," Travis said.

The brief run had taken its toll on a tired Skyhawks team, however, and Colorado Mesa would quickly respond with a pair of transition goals to regain a six point lead.

Caprietta Abbassa and Ann Nelson would tack on two more goals for the Skyhawks before it was done, but the team wasn't able to mount a full comeback less than 48 hours after playing in Salt Lake City.

"Playing Westminster and Mesa in the same weekend is a pretty tough swing for us. Having one day to prepare for Mesa wasn't enough for us," Travis admitted before stating that she still thinks her team is capable of upsetting the Mavericks in Grand Junction later this month.

The statistics generally back that up, as the two squads were relatively even in a number of areas and the Skyhawks even enjoyed an advantage in some categories. However, the Mavericks dominance in transition — 18-21 on clears compared to 11-22 for Fort Lewis — led to a 33-26 advantage in shots that helped the visitors overcome an 11 save performance from sophomore goalkeeper Averi Basso.

"She's made a lot of great saves, and she saves the shots she needs to save. She is the glue to our defense for sure," Travis said. "She is such a strong goalie it really doesn't get in her head too often. She really just works hard."

The netminder's work is one of the reasons the Fort Lewis coach thinks her team has proven capable of challenging the conference's best teams.

"We're hanging with all of these teams, and I don't think anyone thought we would," she acknowledged.

Offensively, the Skyhawks were led by the three goals from Dostie and Escandon, who also led the squad with nine shots - including five from free position plays. Nelson doubled up in goals, and tacked on five draw controls. Clark led the team in that category with six, and also added a goal on four shots.

Fort Lewis will look to run their record back to even next Sunday when they welcome CSU Pueblo to Dennison Field for an 11 a.m. game. The Skyhawks opened their season with a non-conference win in Pueblo, so Travis anticipates the Thunderwolves will be thirsting for revenge in next week's conference tilt.

"We're ready to get another RMAC win for sure, and we'll be confident going into the game, but they're going to be out for blood after we beat them in their home opener," Travis reasoned. "We've got to be tough, and we've got to be mentally prepared too."