Evergreen junior goalie Matt Hoff has verbally committed to play NCAA Division II lacrosse at Mesa State College.

Hoff said he also considered Simon Fraser, Southwestern, Grand Canyon and Stony Brook before settling on the Grand Junction, Colo.-based school.

“I picked Mesa because it’s about four hours away from my house, and the campus is big enough that if you want to avoid somebody you can and small enough that if you want to find somebody you can too,” Hoff said. “Coach (A.J.) Stevens seemed like he really meant business.”

Hoff said he’s pumped to take his game to the next level and is happy that he will be joining a few current seniors from the area at the fledgling program that will begin its first season in the spring of 2011.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Hoff said. “It’s really exciting. I’ve already played with some of the players who are going there, and I think the transition will be fairly smooth.”