Preview: Hot Pockets

Photo by Anna Scipione

By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us     

ATLANTA-  For as long as college sports have had conferences there have been arguments over which conference is the best.  Who reigns supreme?  this sort of regionalism was part of the charm of college sports until recently.  These debates can take all sorts of different forms from conferences bragging about how many tournament or bowl invitations they might get to conferences outright lobbying for their teams’ inclusion in the postseason.  The argument can create strange bedfellows as well; particularly the habit of SEC football fans of cheering for their conference rivals in the College Football Playoff or various postseason formats before the advent of the CFP  (a habit that this individual finds truly odd).  I suppose Mississippi State fans can feel proud when Georgia or Alabama hoists the trophy if they wish.  The MCLA is no different in that we also have conversations and debates about which conferences are best and regional strength.  Having two teams that sit a mere four miles apart sitting at the top of our Division I poll got me thinking about the existence of geographic pockets with concentrations of strong MCLA teams. I wondered if this was a unique situation for our league.

I decided to look back at our National Tournament over the last several years to see how these pockets showed themselves.  I chose to use semi-finals and finals appearances as a way of examining these pockets each season.

Last May we had Georgia Tech and Liberty face off for the championship in Division I, which was the second meeting of the season for the teams that were both in the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) until formation of the Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC).  The Division I semi-final losers last season, Utah Valley and Brigham Young, happen to be the neighbors and Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) members sitting atop this year’s poll so far.  On the Division II side we had Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) members  St. Thomas and Grand Valley State meeting for the third time of the year to determine the National Champion. 

If we go back another year to 2024, Brigham Young and Utah Valley played for the third time that season to determine the National Champion.  Montana State defeated St. Thomas for the title in Division II, which would seem geographically diverse, but the other semi-final teams in Division II were Grand Valley State and Air Force so the semi-finals had two RMLC teams and two UMLC teams.  Chalk up another one for concentrations of power.

In 2023 we had the inverse of 2024.  Division I saw Virginia Tech and Liberty representing the ALC in the semi-finals and on the other side Concordia and Chapman from the Southwest Lacrosse Conference (SLC).  Meanwhile in Division II, Dayton and St. Thomas played for a third time that season to see which UMLC program would take home the hardware.   Another year of conference familiarity.

In 2022 Division II had semi-finalists from four different conferences as Utah (RMLC), Rhode Island (Continental Lacrosse Conference), Montana (Pacific Northwest Lacrosse Conference), and St. Thomas (UMLC) all flew different conference banners.  In Division I however, SELC foes Georgia Tech and South Carolina met for the third time that season.  Clemson was another semi-finalist who played both the Yellow Jackets and Gamecocks in the regular season despite being in a different conference.  Brigham Young was the odd man out representing the RMLC.

Now we skip a few years as the COVID impacted 2020 and 2021 seasons did not have full MCLA Tournaments.  2019 had more of the same as in Division II St. Thomas, Dayton, and North Dakota State all represented the UMLC.  On the Division I side South Carolina and Georgia  Tech both represented the SELC as semi-finalists with South Carolina winning the league’s first title. 

The final year for this exercise was 2018 our first year running the tournament in Salt Lake City (a wildly underrated tournament site in my opinion for whatever that is worth).  Division I saw four different conferences in the semi-finals with Michigan State (UMLC), South Carolina (SELC), Brigham Young (RMLC), and Chapman (SLC).  A big win for conference diversity to  be sure.  Division II, however, went the opposite route with all four semi-finalists (Grand Valley State, St. Thomas, North Dakota State, and Minnesota-Duluth) coming from the UMLC.

So, having two teams separated by four miles at the top of the Division I poll may be a more extreme version, but having concentrated pockets with strong MCLA programs is certainly not new and does not appear to be going anywhere

Now, to the week at hand.  We have a somewhat light schedule this week as a number of teams are idle. 

Our guest picker this week is former Utah Valley head coach Brian Barnhill.  Coach Barnhill lead the Wolverines from 2016-2024 and lead the team to their first Division I RMLC championship and National Tournament appearance as well as a championship game appearance in 2024.  Thanks to Coach Barnhill for taking the time to answer some questions and pick some games.

MCLA: You oversaw UVU’s rise to national prominence.  What was your focus as a program during that build up?

BB:  It's great for UVU as a program to be recognized as a national contender now. When I first took over the program UVU wasn't even in conference playoff discussions, but in early meetings with the players they committed to putting in the work to turn things around. They put in a lot of effort to change the player mindset to believe that UVU could be a team that could be competitive. It had to start with the player's belief that a conference winning program was possible before we could ever discuss contending for a national championship. From a program perspective, and in order to provide a path forward for the program, our focus was a simple overarching mission statement: Recruit (players, alumni, families, donors, university admin), Retain (work to keep the same groups year to year) and Refine (culture, player experience, reviews, etc.). It takes time and a lot of effort from everyone, which is not news to anyone involved with an MCLA program. This mission focus carried over year to year and was re-introduced at every first player meeting in the fall with a goal of improving on the preceding season. We were (and remain) fortunate to have a lot of skilled players in Utah with good support systems willing to help whenever and wherever needed. Coaches, players and volunteers all had to buy into the vision of what UVU could be as a program if we all pulled together. To that end, Coach Maxfield has done an amazing job since taking over the program, pushing it to new heights and maintaining buy-in from everyone involved. He's a great coach who continues to improve the program and we are all excited to see continued UVU success.. 

MCLA: You had a unique situation in Orem where your archrival is only a few minutes away in Provo.  Was having such a rival so close that also happens to be an MCLA blue blood a motivator as you guys built up the UVU program?  Was it ever daunting to look down the road and see how much success the Cougars have had?

BB:  BYU is one of the MCLA's founding programs and they've certainly had a lot of success. UVU and BYU are close geographically, but they're also close in that players at each of our programs have often played on the same high school teams, club teams, summer league teams and will often play together during UVU's summer weekly pick up games. The players know each other, live near each other and often see each other outside of lacrosse. Taking this all into consideration leads to an inevitable rivalry. Without taking credit away from BYU's past accomplishments, I wouldn't describe their winning history within the MCLA as daunting to UVU. Rather, it gives legitimacy to the fact that UVU's players can compete year to year on a national level. I consider UVU and BYU as one of the best rivalries in the MCLA. These games are highly competitive: both teams bring their best, both team's alumni come out to support and the game draws crowds that fill stadiums.

MCLA: Do you have a favorite memory from your time at UVU?

BB: Asking for a favorite memory is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. Yes parents have a favorite child, but it changes day to day. I loved my time with all of our coaches and made lifelong friends with the coaches. I loved the time with the players during our road trips, bus rides, van rides, practices - it's all a great memory. For me the payoff for all the hard work as a coach was the time spent with players and helping them in school and life. But we know that we're really talking about is a favorite on field memory. With that qualification, our run to the National Championship was unforgettable. UVU was a 14 seed going into the tournament and to get to the championship we had two key overtime wins against Chapman and UCSB that I'll never forget. We weren't supposed to be contenders, but that team knew different. The energy, the team chemistry, the level of play was remarkable and is an on field memory that I put at the top of the list. 

MCLA: Was there moment when you felt like you knew you guys were heading in the right direction?

BB: The moment I knew we were heading in the right direction was at practice. Not one specific practice, but when practices became consistently more competitive and intense, that was a good indicator. This change in practice effort came from the captains, top players and carried through everyone on the team. When the competitiveness and intensity carried into the next year, new players understood that this was the norm for practice. It wasn't that the practices were long, short, difficult or just covered the basics, it was the approach the players took to each element of practice. When we started practicing with this full effort day in and day out, when it came to game time it was "easier" than practice. That's not a reflection on the opponent, just a mindset that we do hard things, view the game as the reward and the player knowing he was game ready based on the practices leading up to that game. That lent itself to our team taking the field with earned confidence and that was when we as coaches knew the program was heading in the right direction.

Time to get into the games.

#1 Utah Valley at #15 Cal Poly 7pm Friday - The Wolverines have been running roughshod over opponents, but UC Santa Barbara made the game interesting in the middle cutting a big lead down to one before the Wolverines added a few goals late. Utah Valley just puts so much pressure on their opponents with their dominance at the faceoff dot with reigning Player of the Month, Jake Lundin winning 87% of his faceoffs.  Combine that with a talented offense, their 10-man ride, and an imposing defense and  it becomes difficult for the Wolverines’ opponents.  Cal Poly has been involved in some close games and will not be intimidated.  Can they handle the pressure and attack it thus putting pressure back on Utah Valley? The Wolverines gave UC Santa Barbara ten extra man opportunities and while they it did not come back to bite them in that game, that is way too many chances to give good teams.  The Mustangs are built on defense having only given up double digits twice this season.  Can the Mustangs slow down the Wolverines and potentially frustrate them? 

Fan Pick: Utah Valley (67%)

Barnhill’s Bet:  No surprise here! UVU all the way, but here's why. UVU is solid on defense with the All American Jack Baird anchoring the defensive squad. Defensive middies are athletes in their own right (see David Parchment and Corbin Alvord). They have an extremely good goalie in Patrick Thomas with a 74% save rating. On offense they have the leading contender for POY in Blake Yates, but he's more than an offensive threat. He rides harder than any attackman I've ever watched and he causes a lot of turnovers during the ride. At the dot UVU has an exceptional all around athlete in Jake Lundin (87% Face Off win percentage). Then you bring in the midfielders led by "Boo" Reher, Camden Rossi, Porter Searle and virtually any other offensive player the offense is impressive. Virtually every offensive player has points on the season - just an all around solid offense. Sorry Cal Poly, but UVU can't be stopped! Pick: Utah Valley

#19 California at #17 San Diego State 7pm Friday - These two teams met last year, but before that had not played since 2007, which is surprising.  Both of these teams have played mostly tight contests and I’d expect this one to be close as well.  Other than Cal’s 17-16 loss to UC Santa Barbara both of these teams have generally played lower scoring games. Goals may be at a premium in this one.  Cal has a significant faceoff advantage with Hale Brown and is winning 62% of their faceoffs as opposed to 35% for San Diego State.  Can the Aztecs overcome that kind of disparity?  It may take a highly  efficient offensive performance for the Aztecs to get the win, which they should be used to given their season long faceoff disparity.  Luc Schneider comes in averaging five points per game and will look to pace the Aztecs offense.

Fan Pick: Cal (55%)

Barnhill’s Bet: Two 4-3 teams battling it out. San Diego State needs a win here to give it some momentum going into some challenging conference games in a couple weeks. Cal has a quality win over Northeastern and some tough, close games where they didn't get the job done. This is a critical game for Cal to get on track. This will be a close game. But with SDSU having home field advantage here the Aztecs will pull off the win.  Pick: San Diego State

#2 Cal State San Marcos at #11 UC San Diego – The winner of this game becomes the favorite in the SLC Division II.  San Marcos has been idle since February 22 while the Tritons beat a ranked San Diego team last week.  These two teams have played twice in each of the last two seasons with San Marcos winning all four games, but three of the games were close.  Can UC San Diego jump on the Cougars early while San Marcos potentially works  through some rust?  Either way, the winner should not be too pleased with themselves as they will likely see each other again based on recent history.

Fan Pick: Cal  State San Marcos (62%)

Barnhill’s Bet:  UCSD has a couple losses against tough Montana State and Montana teams. UC San Marcos is a better team than either of the Montana teams. I know the UC San Marcos mascot is the cougar, but the green in me won't succumb to the temptation to recognize their mascot. We had a transfer player (now a coach) from UC San Marcos and for me they will forever be the Fighting Donnies! San Marcos takes this game. Pick:  Cal State San Marcos

#4 Montana at #1 St. Thomas 12:45pm Sunday – This game is the jewel of the weekend slate, but could lose some luster if either team loses on Saturday as Montana plays St. John’s and St. Thomas plays Minnesota-Duluth.  Montana won this game in 2024, but the Tommies have taken the last two games in this series.  Both teams are averaging 15 goals per game so this one could have some fireworks.  Joey Cortner comes in saving 81% of the shots he has faced so far this season helping the Grizzlies stymie their opponents.  A hot goalie can be a big advantage in a top-five matchup like this. Neither team has played a close game yet this season, I would be surprised if the veteran Tommies lost their way in a close game, but stranger things have happened.  If Cortner can steal some goals away for the Grizzlies in crunch time that will go a long way toward giving Montana confidence.

Fan Pick: St. Thomas (52%)

Barnhill’s Bet:  I'm a fan of Coach Sargent. He runs a great team and has an efficient offense taking the field. For St. Thomas, every coach unanimously voted St. Thomas #1 in the poll for a reason. I can't go against the coaches in the know. St. Thomas by a handful.  Pick: St. Thomas

Santa Clara at Sonoma State 12pm Sunday – This is a big game in terms of the WCLL standings.  The winner looks to be in good shape for a home game in the quarterfinals while the loser is likely to hit the road.  Sonoma goalie Riley Corcoran is leading the country in save percentage, while Santa Clara keeper Ryan Rosselli is the reigning PEARL Goalie of the Week while neither offense is scoring a ton of goals so I expect this to be a tight low scoring affair. 

Fan  Pick: Sonoma State (71%)

Barnhill’s Bet: Sonoma State has played a tough schedule going into their game with Santa Clara. Sonoma's defense has been playing really well keeping Cal Poly and Santa Barbara to 8 and 5 points respectively. I think their defense carries the day and keeps Santa Clara's offense at bay. Sonoma with the win!  Pick: Sonoma State

Other Games I’m Watching

Southern Methodist vs New Hampshire (in Apex, NC) 1:30 pm Saturday – SMU has been a little up and down this season and this will be an intriguing out of conference game.  New Hampshire enters the weekend with only four games under their belt so far.  Both programs are typically feisty and can give teams major headaches.  This will be the third game in three days for both teams as they both play NC State and North Carolina as well so this could be a battle of attrition.  Fan Pick: New Hampshire (100%)

Florida at Colorado State 1pm Sunday – The Rams sit at 1-5, but have played a tough schedule.  They’ll need to show serious improvement if they want to compete in the RMLC.  Florida meanwhile, will likely need to beat Florida State and/or Auburn in order to qualify for the SELC tournament and a win here (and against Colorado) can certainly help the vibes as the Gators head into the decisive part of their schedule.   Fan Pick: Florida (67%)

Bridgewater State at #8 UNC-Wilmington  7pm Friday– The Seahawks have not played since February 22 against Kennesaw State.  Both teams have struggled facing off so far this season, but someone has to win the faceoffs in this game.  Bridgewater has lost both of their games, but played against solid competition.  This one could be interesting for both teams.  The Seahawks may have some rust on their high flying offense to shake off. Fan Pick: UNC-Wilmington (100%)

While we have a lighter slate of games this weekend, there are jewels hidden in there. So sit back and enjoy them.   As always, head coaches get your nominations for PEARL Goalie of the Week and Warrior Player of the Week to info@mcla.us by noon local time on Monday.