Preview: Ramping Up

Photo by Alex Ray

By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us    

ATLANTA - After a quiet weekend, things are ramping back up this weekend.  We are entering the second half of the season and conference and division races are getting clearer.   March is always when we have a slight dip in MCLA action as teams hit Spring Break and as we discussed a few weeks ago every team handles Spring Break differently.  There are teams that only miss one weekend, while others might be idle for nearly a month.   There are still a few teams that are idle this weekend and next, but we are over the hump. 

Seeing the varying numbers of games played to this point got me thinking about MCLA schedules and what the right number of games is.  At this point in the season for teams that are currently ranked in the MCLA New Balance Coaches Poll the number of games played ranges from four (Virginia Tech) to ten (Florida State) in Division I and in Division II the range is from three games (Rhode Island) to ten (Montana State and North Florida).  This does not even take into account Grand Valley State who will play their third game of the season on Saturday and thus become eligible to be ranked. 

Obviously there is not one correct answer when it comes to the question of how many games to schedule.  There are teams that schedule as many as possible and end up with monstrous regular season schedules.  Utah Valley will play 16 regular season games this season.  The Wolverines with their 52 man roster are equipped to handle that kind of schedule.  Simon Fraser on the other hand with only 36 players on their roster would be hard pressed to handle that kind of schedule as the wear and tear on their players would add up quickly.  Contrasting with Utah Valley, Georgia will play ten games this season (with eight being on the road). 

On the Division II side, Montana State will play 15 regular season games this season; a number bolstered by their three game weekend at the Rocky Mountain Rumble.  The Bobcats only have two single game weekends all season.  Air Force on the other hand will play nine total games. Dayton will only play eight games, not much margin for error there.

Sometimes even the best laid plans and intentional schedules can fall flat.  Last season I felt as though I overscheduled with twelve games played before Spring Break.  This season I made the conscious choice to put fewer games on the schedule.  Due to unusually severe weather for Georgia, in January we saw our opening game cancelled as well as a preseason scrimmage.  After another cancellation in March, all of a sudden that schedule has been trimmed from an intentional twelve game slate to a tight ten games. 

Every program has different considerations in terms of travel, budget, and roster size but it would be smart for every program to consider those items when building their schedule so they can attempt to optimize it for their program and set themselves up for success.  No one wants to be the team that peaks in March, but is beaten up and exhausted in April and May.  The same goes for the team that has an irregular schedule and just never seems to find their rhythm.

Now, on to this week’s games. 

This week’s guest picker is former Virginia Tech attackman Aidan Smith.  Aidan was a three-time First-Team All-America selection at attack and was the 2023 MCLA Division I Player of the Year and finished with 288 career points.  The Hokies were the number one seed in both 2022 and 2023 with Aidan leading the way.  Thank you to Aidan for jumping in the hot seat and picking some games.

#2 Brigham Young vs #7 Liberty (in Knoxville) 2pm Friday – This workday tilt is definitely one to keep your eye on as your March Madness bracket falls apart Friday afternoon.  Brigham Young has taken down every team in front of them so far.  Their closest games were the opener against Arizona State and a shootout with Simon Fraser.  This will be the sixth time these teams have played since 2022.  Brigham Young has taken three of the last five games in the series.  The Cougars have been putting up gaudy goal totals so far and the Flames defense is doing some soul searching after consecutive losses to Florida State and Tennessee while giving up an average of 18.5 goals in those games.  Liberty is finding their way after the graduation of a transformational class that led the way to last year’s national title.  This game represents a chance for this year’s squad to right the ship and get things headed back in the right direction.  Can the Flames do the necessary self-examination and make whatever changes they deem necessary in less than 48 hours to knock off the Cougars?  Mason Quick is leading the Cougars with 7.57 points per game, but if the Flames load up against Quick there are plenty of other Cougars who can take advantage of the extra space.  This is a tough spot for a reeling team to find themselves in, but Liberty has an opportunity to show what they are made of.

Aidan’s Pick: BYU

Fan Pick: Brigham Young (80%)

#10 Virginia Tech at #8 Boston College 7pm Friday- Our guest pickers’ alma maters have not enjoyed great success so far this season; this game will be a test of the guest picker jinx. This contest will be played at Alumni Stadium, the home of Boston College Football.  Will there be a Hoosiers moment where head Hokie Panchito Ojeda shows his players that the field measurements are the same as at home despite the larger stadium?  Despite the similarities on the surface, these maroon-clad feathered foes are diametrically opposed stylistically.  The Hokies want to play a controlled and settled game hunting the right shots and use their faceoff dominance to strangle the life out of their opponents, while the high flying Eagles want to create pressure and chaos with their ten-man ride.  Eagle head coach Jake Cates raised some eyebrows this week calling his team “the deepest in the MCLA,”  now it is up to those Eagles to back up their coach’s proclamation.  Boston College always has as much talent on campus as any MCLA program, but in the past that has not turned into consistent success.  The Eagles are undefeated but those opponents have an 11-23 record so far this season.  The Hokies are expected to be a step up for Boston College.  Virginia Tech has a loss to South Carolina and a win over Florida State where they ran with the Seminoles for a half before settling into their more comfortable boa constrictor style and taking what ended up being a convincing win.  Can the Eagles compete at the faceoff dot and create chaos with their ride?  If so, the Eagles may be flying high.  If the Hokies can dominate possession and play their preferred style it may fluster Boston College.  This game will tell us a lot about both bird gangs.

Aidan’s Pick: Virginia Tech

Fan Pick: Boston College (58%)

#14 Georgia at #3 South Carolina 7pm Friday – South Carolina can wrap up the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) North Division with a win here.  If Georgia wins, we will not know who wins the division until April 4.  This will be the Dawgs’ seventh straight road game.  We last saw the Gamecocks when they beat Auburn in overtime on March 6.  Georgia has been idle since February 28 when they beat Central Florida.  The two teams are both led by marquee attackmen.  Rory Cavanaugh is a physical lefty who gets where he wants to go when he has the ball and has made a habit of dragging defenders to the goal during his time in Athens.  Nathan Wolfe leads the Gamecocks in a different way; the cerebral feeder always knows where his teammates are and has 38 assists so far this season or 4.75 per game.  Both teams faceoff at slightly over 50% so both attackmen should get their share of possessions to work with.  The last four games in this series have all been fairly close, so another nail biter would not be surprising.  South Carolina’s defense has been stout only allowing double digits twice this season while the Dawgs are giving up 11.57 goals per game. 

Aidan’s Pick: Georgia

Fan Pick: South Carolina (56%)

#1 St. Thomas at #14 North Dakota State 2:45pm Saturday - The Tommies have thus far dispatched anyone who has dared to challenge them.  North Dakota State will not be impressed as these teams have played each other five times over the last three seasons.  The Bison know that St. Thomas makes their opponents pay for any mistake, but the Bison must remain aggressive and loose against the Tommies.  St. Thomas has eight players with double digit point totals through seven games, so the Bison defense cannot just load up against the headliners Layne Kology and Cam Gelling.   The Tommies also have reigning PEARL Goalie of the Week in Aiden Losinski behind their stout defense.  The Bison are battle hardened having played a number of top teams so far.

Aidan’s Pick: St. Thomas

Fan Pick: St. Thomas (86%)

Virginia Tech (DII) at Grand Valley State 10am Sunday – The Lakers will fully join the Run to Richmond this weekend. The Lakers annihilated Division I Buffalo 25-0 back in February, but then went back into hibernation. Grand Valley will be playing their third game in three days, after so much time without a game will the Lakers be ready for that kind of grind?  The Lakers return more All-America honorees than any other team, but are still an unknown entity at this point.  The Division II Hokies are made up of 29 freshmen so the expectation is that they will get better as the season progresses.  How will the youngsters handle the test that the Lakers present?

Aidan’s Pick: Virginia Tech DII

Fan Pick: Grand Valley State (75%)

Other Games I’ll be Watching

#2 Cal State San Marcos at Arizona Christian 7pm Friday  - The second ranked Cougars have only lost to Division I Texas Christian.   The Firestorm have a tough 2-6 record, but they have played a lot of good teams and have been in close games.  Both teams faceoff at over 65% so they may both feel like they have the ball less than usual even if the statistics are even in terms of faceoffs.  The Cougars beat UC San Diego last week to take the inside track to the Southwest Lacrosse Conference (SLC) top seed.  A win here for Arizona Christian would be the payoff for the tough early seasons schedule. 

Fan Pick: Cal State San Marcos (73%)

#10 Florida Atlantic at Miami 7pm Saturday -   The Hurricanes are better than their 2-5 record.  They have been in every game except their loss to Coastal Carolina and they have played good teams.  The Owls are not scoring like previous versions of themselves, but still find themselves ranked in the top ten and may have rediscovered their offense in a 19-10 win over Florida Gulf Coast.  Both teams faceoff under 50%, but the Hurricanes are under 30%, which is a red flag.  A win here would go a long way toward getting the Hurricanes into the SELC tournament.  The Owls can continue building their momentum toward the playoffs coming off the win over Florida Gulf Coast. 

Fan Pick: Florida Atlantic (100%)

 #12 Chapman at Colorado 7pm Friday – Chapman heads to Colorado for their last two out of conference games before the SLC home stretch.  In years past this would be the game of the season.  At 2-5 Colorado is not having the season anyone envisioned, but with Mike Kuligowski winning nearly 80% of his faceoffs, the Buffs are always dangerous.  Colorado needs to make better use of their possession advantage.  If the Buffs can get it figured out before Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) play, they are dangerous there.  Chapman has two one-goal losses and will want to iron out any kinks before they play both #9 Arizona and #17 San Diego State down the stretch.

Fan Pick: Chapman (89%)

Texas A&M at #9 Arizona 12pm Saturday -  This game matches up two of the highest scoring players in the country in Ryan Wyrick for the Aggies and Matthew Bechtold for the Wildcats.  Wyrick is averaging 8.67 points per game and in the Aggies’ only game against a ranked team in South Carolina he notched five points.  Bechtold started the season hot, but came back to Earth a bit against San Diego State and Southern Methodist totaling three points in those two games.  The Aggies hope their Arizona trip gets them ready for the home stretch in the Lone Star Alliance (LSA) as they still have games against Southern Methodist, #13 Texas Christian, and #18 Texas in conference.  The Wildcats have four more out of conference games including a game against #5 Florida State next week before hitting the SLC stretch of their season.  This game may come down to who can slow down the other team’s star.

Fan Pick: Arizona  (67%)

#2 Brigham Young at #6 Tennessee 12pm Saturday -  Tennessee will be looking to close the Knoxville Round Robin at 3-0 and get a statement win.  The Cougars have a quick turn around after their Friday game against Liberty.  Logan Aiello and Brooks Wehman are getting the majority of the love for the Vols, but teams would be unwise to forget about Jake Schroll.  His quickness is a match up problem for most teams.  The Cougars might be one of the few teams that can match up with all three Tennessee attackmen.  Tennessee's lone loss came against South Carolina when the Volunteers won fewer faceoffs than they are used to and they faced an offense that could go goal-for-goal with them.  The Cougars win over 60% of faceoffs themselves and their offense can certainly match Tennessee's so this will be a fascinating game.  This game could be critical when it comes time to discuss seeding.

Fan Pick: BYU (57%) 

Sonoma State at #15 Oregon 1pm Saturday -  The classic irresistible force meets immovable object game.  Only Brigham Young has held Oregon below double digits and only Arizona has scored double digits against Sonoma State.  Riley Corcoran is saving 67% of the shots he sees for Sonoma.  Oregon’s attack unit of Aaron McCoy,  Henry Morse, and Connor Stagner all average over 3.5 points per game and will test the Sea Wolves defense.  Incredibly, Sonoma is doing this defensively despite winning less than 50% of their faceoffs on the season.  If Oregon gets the win, they should be confident going into their late season conference games and if Sonoma State can pull out the win, they similarly will feel good going into a critical late season game with California. 

Fan Pick: Sonoma State (64%)

Buckle up for what should be a great start to the second act of the season.  As always, head coaches send your nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the Week to info@mcla.us by noon local time on Monday.