Preview: Ready to Run

  By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us

 ATLANTA- Although there was a game last week, The Run to Richmond begins in earnest this weekend.  The opening weekend has some matchups that will definitely tell us a little bit about the teams involved.  Obviously, no one’s season will be made or broken as we flip the calendar from January to February, but there will certainly be lessons learned.  As usual at this point in the season, the docket for this week is dominated by games in relative warm weather locales (the threats of winter weather remain however).  We will be treated to out of conference matchups as well as some conference and division games with playoff implications.

The biggest game of the weekend pits two teams that qualified for the 2025 MCLA National Championship Presented by New Balance when the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers face off  (Note, this game was cancelled shortly after press time due to inclement weather- however, the Gators are still slated to play the Clemson Tigers).  As I’ve mentioned before, the MCLA is in a bit of a reset with the number of All America players that graduated so we will begin to see who is primed to step into the void left behind.

This column marks the debut of a new feature for this season where we will have guests predict games on the weekend columns.  This week’s guest picker is Florida alumnus and current PLL and NLL player Dylan Hess.  In addition to picking games, Dylan took the time to answer a few questions about his MCLA experience.

MCLA: How did your experience in the MCLA compare to what you expected coming in?

Dylan Hess: Before stepping on campus or showing up to the first practice, I made a promise to myself to not have any expectations. I really just wanted to appreciate all these experiences as they came about and not judge them by comparison. That being said, it was a blessing to have visited some cool places and played with and against a lot of very talented players along the way.

MCLA: What was the highlight of your MCLA experience?

DH: Being a part of the UF vs. FSU rivalry for the first time... and beating them twice.

MCLA:  What was it like integrating into a pretty experienced and talented team at Florida?

DH: I was impressed with how bought in the guys were. You can have talent but it doesn't mean anything if you don't show up, and oftentimes that meant at practice from 9pm to 11pm at night. Late night practices, pay your own weight for everything, class and extracurricular obligations... integrating with guys like that was easy and I think the rest of the MCLA can agree. 

MCLA: Obviously, you played a very different role at UF vs Georgetown, did you enjoy the different role and having the ball in your stick so much?

DH: It was awesome. The whole motivation behind going to Florida was to experience something completely different and I think I did that to the best of my ability both on and off the field. The pressure is on when the ball is in your stick and I loved every second of that feeling.

MCLA: You’ve had tremendous success transitioning to the pro game, what has that transition been like?

DH: I get chirped way less in the pros compared to the MCLA so that has been nice. It was also very helpful getting the ball back in my stick and playing a lot of offense because being multi-faceted at the pro level is very beneficial. Off-field wise it's nice seeing the league embrace the MCLA and draw more attention to the teams and players. 

Thanks to Dylan for taking the time to answer some questions and make some picks for us.

Now, on to the games:

Florida at Clemson 7 p.m. – Friday

The Gators graduated a lot: Dylan Hess, Dylan Weinberg, Ethan Gerber, Colby Kudla, Ethan Heim, Chase McNeill.  Head Coach Garrett Hanrahan rode off into the sunset as well.  New lead Gator Jordan Tracey has been around and assumes head coaching responsibilities.  Clemson is the inverse.  The Tigers return a lot and are looking to build on their appearance in the ALC semi-finals in 2025.

Dylan’s Pick: Florida

Fan Pick (as of press time): Florida (54%)

New Hampshire at Georgia, 7p.m. -  Friday

The Wildcats are making the trip South to play the Dawgs and the Yellow Jackets.  Despite being cats and dogs, the programs have some commonality. Both teams are coming off somewhat disappointing 2025 campaigns.  The Wildcats closed the season with three straight losses by an average of 7 goals.  Georgia lost their last two games giving up 44 combined goals in those two games. The Dawgs have a lot of talent coming back and are under the tutelage of interim coach Zac Knapp while longtime coach Sean Houlhan leads the Wildcats.

Dylan’s Pick: Georgia

Fan Pick: Georgia (70%)

Georgia Southern at Florida Atlantic, 1pm – Saturday

This avian battle pits the Eagles from Georgia Southern against the Owls from Florida Atlantic in an early season SELC game.  The Owls, after earning the top seed in Round Rock last year, graduated a lot of talent.  Can they continue their high flying ways or will they come back to Earth?  Georgia Southern has their eyes on grabbing the SELC North crown and a win here would give them a lot of confidence.  Either way, the Eagles have to move on quickly as they face the Miami Hurricanes later in the day.

Dylan’s Pick: Florida Atlantic

Fan Pick: Florida Atlantic (71%)

Cal Poly at USC, 2 p.m. – Saturday

The Mustangs are heading south to take on the Trojans to open the season.  These two teams have faced off every year the last few years with Poly having won three of the last four, but the across those games the teams are separated by only a single goal.  The Mustangs have been regulars at nationals or on the bubble the last few years and will be looking to get back and advance past Monday.  The Trojans meanwhile are looking to get back to the SLC tournament for the first time since 2022 when they made nationals and also won their first round game. 

Dylan’s Pick: Cal Poly

Fan Pick: Cal Poly (70%)

Air Force at Denver 12 p.m. – Sunday

The Falcons head to Denver to take on the Pios in an early season RMLC matchup.  Air Force won last year’s matchup, but the Pios kept it close until the fourth quarter.  Denver played several tournament teams close last year and will be looking to take the next step this season and win some of those games.  The Falcons are coming off consecutive semi-final appearances at nationals and will be looking to make to the finals this season.  Samuel Gee is gone, but Mark Tang is back for a final campaign to lead the Falcons on offense.  Luke Schiffers will look to reprise his First Team All-America 2025 season on the defensive end for Air Force.  Both teams can get their season off on the right foot with a win in this RMLC matchup. 

Dylan’s Pick: Air Force

Fan Pick: Air Force (100%)

Other games I’ll be watching:

Florida State at Central Florida 5 p.m. – Friday: Can UCF take the next step and how will the Seminoles handle the losses of Andrew Zeman and Matthew Wyatt?

Fan Pick: Florida State (83%)

Oregon at Santa Clara 12 p.m. – Sunday: How will the Broncos look in year two under Manny Rapkin and do the Ducks have what it takes to win the PNCLL?

Fan Pick: Oregon (57%)

High Point at Appalachian State 1 p.m. – Sunday: After a tough year in Division I how will the panthers handle their transition to Division II and can the Mountaineers avoid allowing the big runs that hurt them against the ALC’s best in 2025?

Fan Pick: Appalachian State (100%)

Time to hunker down and enjoy the first real weekend of the season, be sure to download the MCLATV app to catch as many games as possible.

Head Coaches, please get nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the week to info@mcla.us by noon on Monday.