Colorado College didn't expect it to be easy, and it wasn't.

But the Tigers, frustrated by exceptional goaltending during the first two quarters of play at Washburn Field on Sunday, rallied in the second half for an 8-6 victory over Birmingham-Southern College that earned them the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's inaugural playoff title in men's lacrosse.

Junior midfielder James Mauk fueled the triumph with three goals, including a pair just 99 seconds apart that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead midway through the third period.  

When senior midfielder Buck McKenna and sophomore attackman Steve Rijo added unassisted tallies in the final minute of that third quarter and 1:36 into the fourth, producing a the final 8-6 cushion, the comeback was complete.

The Tigers, 12-0, out-shot BSC by a 54-21 margin overall. Sophomore goalie Andrew Huffman steered away 19 of the 27 that reached him.

“We ran into another hot goaltender,” said head coach Guy Van Arsdale. “We had looks we wanted and he made some big saves that kind of kept the game the way it was. But I was proud that our guys just kept battling and playing hard. That was a hard fought, physical game.”

Freshman Zach Steedman made only five saves for Colorado College, but came up with a huge one on Panthers attackman Matt Ivie late in the contest to preserve the triumph.

Ivie scored three times in the first half as Birmingham-Southern carried a 5-3 lead into the intermission. He added an assist on BSC's only goal of the second half that knotted the contest at 6-6.

The Tigers got a pair of goals on from freshman midfielder Jack Kreitler, along with a solo effort by freshman midfielder Will Harris.

Colorado College, which will receive the program's first-ever NCAA tournament bid on May 8, plays host to Mesa State College next Saturday in the first of three non-conference games to close out the regular season.