Preview: Stay or Go?

Photo by Kevin Schoonover

  By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us    

ATLANTA- Across all sports a lot of credence is given to the idea of home field/court advantage and across the vast majority of sports this makes sense.  A familiar setting, no travel, and a predictable pregame routine can certainly help an athlete feel more comfortable.  When it comes to our league I have some doubts.

Our varsity counterparts, who have enormous control over schedules and demands on athletes, can certainly draw the typical advantage.  In the MCLA that looks a little different.  Between labs, co-ops, internships, jobs, and other obligations our athletes tend to have much more competition for their time and attention.  Hitting the road for a weekend of games and a long bus ride can certainly eliminate a lot of the noise and demands on your time.  Being on the road might make it easier to focus on the game at hand as opposed to shoe-horning it into your weekly schedule. 

As a coach I’ve also seen the effects that a road trip and hotel stay can have on a team.  A few years ago after our team had completed a very difficult and surprising (at least according to the prognosticators) weekend sweep on the other side of the country one of our players turned to the staff and said something to the effect of,  “Man, it’s amazing what we can do when all we have to focus on for a few days is lacrosse.”  That really stuck with me and has colored my thoughts on homefield advantage in our league.

Another benefit of these trips is the sheer amount of time that a team spends together.  Most of our teams do not have lockers rooms or team rooms or any kind of team space to gather before or after practice.  Sure teams get together socially, but that is never going to be just the team or include everyone quite the way a bus and hotel trip is.  The bonding that occurs just by sheer proximity on a bus and in the hotel is invaluable to team chemistry and can really help a team together.

Former Florida Head Coach Garrett Hanrahan was no fan of home games.  His issue came down to the extra logistical and set up duties that landed on him and his players when they hosted a game as opposed to just be able to show up and play when on the road.

Now, I’m not saying eliminating distractions and spending time together is going to turn every team into world beaters, but it certainly will not hurt the team.  So, as we head into another attempt at our first full weekend, the question of hotel living versus home cooking is something to ponder. 

This week’s guest picker is former Auburn Head Coach J.J. Arminio.  Coach Arminio played at Auburn during his college days.  He got into coaching at Georgia Tech and was an assistant from 2015-2017 where they made nationals all three years and won two SELC titles.  After consecutive MCLA semi-final appearances, J.J. moved back to Auburn and took over at his alma mater.  J.J. coached at Auburn from 2018-2025 where his teams made the SELC tournament four times.  J.J. stepped down after the 2025 season upon accepting a position with Auburn University Athletics as Director- NIL Events and Strategic Initiatives.

Thank you to Coach Arminio for taking the time to join us and answer a few questions along with picking some games.  In addition to his picks, J.J. gave us some insights into his thought process.

MCLA: You played in the MCLA and coached for a number of years, what was the biggest change you noticed from your playing days to when you started coaching and from when you started coaching to when you retired?

J.J.: It's crazy to reflect back on my playing days in college to what the MCLA is now. The biggest difference is the talent level. The MCLA is full of LEGIT lacrosse players. I think that's based on, just what we recruited on at Auburn, the quality of the college experience. The majority of guys in the MCLA are not going pro. And a majority of the guys in the MCLA could play at the D2/D3 level easily. So if you're looking for a well-rounded college experience; multiple majors to choose from, high level varsity sports to watch, social life, and giant alumni bases for time after lacrosse; MCLA is gaining more and more traction from great lacrosse players around the country. 

MCLA: Was there a game that particularly stands out in your memory from playing days and coaching days?

J.J.: It's hard to narrow down to just one. I was just reflecting on this the other day- It's funny, when you're not preparing for a season for the first time in over a decade, your mind starts to just reminisce. My time with Tech was filled with several highlights. 2 SELC Championships and plenty of wins in the MCLA tournament- unfortunately our two final four losses were more like championship level games and those will randomly pop in my memory. Coaches always say they remember the losses more than the wins. During my time at Auburn, we were never able to break through that ceiling of the playoffs to get to the national tournament, but we always seemed to have at least one nationally, head-turning win per season. Whether it was our trip to Austin and beating Texas in 2019. Or UVU in 2020 before Covid. Or Northeastern a couple years back with Colorado and at Arizona the following year. At FSU a couple of times when they were ranked in the top 10. And no one, who was involved in it, will forget the OT win against UGA in a literal monsoon. It's something I'm proud of, the culture we built, that we weren't going to back down from anyone. We were always ready for the fight. It didn't always go our way, but you weren't going to be able to walk off the field and say that team laid down and quit. Truth is, I remember more coaching than I do playing, because so much went into all the games. Take advantage of every minute, because eventually memories are all you have.

Now, on to the games.  Dylan Hess set a high bar last week going 4-1 in his picks, we’ll see if J.J. can match or beat that number.

Clemson at Auburn 7 p.m.- Friday

Clemson turned a lot of heads last week with their decisive win over the Gators.  Auburn was idle last week, but has undoubtedly seen the conversation about Clemson and new Head Coach Britton Short will have them ready to go when Clemson arrives on the Plains.  How does Clemson handle success?  This will be an intriguing battle of Tigers.

Arminio’s Analysis- Clemson looked very strong against UF. They might have a small advantage having played a game already to dust off the cobwebs, but I think this Auburn group is a young and hungry bunch with a renewed sense of energy that mimics their head coach. I'm taking the home team Tigers in a close one.  

Pick: Auburn

Fan Pick as of press time: Clemson (59%)

Georgia at San Diego State 7p.m.- Friday

The Bulldogs will take their 1-0 record on the road to face the Aztecs in an early season cross-country trip.  Newly minted all time leading scorer for the Bulldogs Rory Cavanaugh is a load to handle and has a knack for scoring goals even when he seems to be bottled up.  San Diego State has been at nationals the last few years and will be looking to jump on a potentially plane weary Georgia team. 

Arminio’s Analysis: Some will say the Auburn guy makes it personal against UGA. But in fact, if this was on the East Coast, I'm picking UGA. I think they're going to play inspired lacrosse all season in honor of their coach, Holin Axley, who's stepped away indefinitely for personal family reasons. Holin is a friend and my prayers are with him and his young family. But nothing is easy about traveling cross-country. Plus my research tells me they're traveling the day of the game. I just think the jet lag takes over and the home team is able to outlast the visitors.

Pick: San Diego State

Fan Pick: Split 50/50

Tulane at Texas State 1 p.m. – Saturday

The Green Wave are coming off an LSA finals appearance in 2025 and have their sights on getting back and taking home the trophy this year.  Tulane would love to send a message to the league with a big win here.  The Bobcats have a game under their belt and will be looking to send a message of their own after thumping UT-San Antonio last week to open the season.  Two motivated teams in an early season conference game should be a fun one.

Arminio’s Analysis: History says Tx State but it appears Tulane has been on the rise the last couple of seasons, especially last year. Can they get the team out of Mardi Gras season and into lacrosse season? Leave the distractions at home. Green Wave on the road. 

Pick: Tulane

Fan Pick: Texas State (100%)

Cal at Cal Poly 3 p.m. – Saturday

The Bears seem primed for a bounce back season lead by a strong core of players who were young contributors on their 2024 team that made it to nationals.  Cal Poly coasted against USC last week.  This game has conference playoff implications right out of the gate and these two teams know each other well.  This one should be especially feisty for a February game.

Arminio’s Analysis: This game is always close. Total coin flip. I'll give the nod to the home team.  (It seems that J.J. and I may not be aligned on home field advantage in the MCLA) Pick: Cal Poly

Fan Pick: Cal Poly (78%)

North Dakota State vs. Iowa State (at St. John’s) 7 p.m. – Saturday

An interdivisional game in the UMLC as a Saturday nightcap will be interesting.  Iowa State won two relatively close games last weekend scoring seven goals in each.  We haven’t seen the Bison play yet this year, but I think it is a safe bet that it will take more than seven goals to beat them.  The Bison play a tough schedule every year and will not be impressed by their Division I UMLC brethren. 

Arminio’s Analysis: NDSU has two games that day and Iowa State is the second game. Iowa State only has one game that day. When I look at the history of the last 5 matchups, the games have been closer than I would've thought given NDSU's history at nationals. Two games in a day is tough, but give me NDSU solely based on history and that it appears ISU lost a lot of their production from upperclassmen (4 of 5 leading scorers) while NDSU looks like it came predominantly from underclassmen, assuming that talent returns.

Pick: NDSU

Fan Pick: NDSU (70%)

Other games I’ll be watching:

Georgia Southern vs Wake Forest (at College of Charleston) 2 p.m. -  Saturday: Georgia Southern went to South Florida and lost two games that were close at halftime before the Eagles suffered a second half power outage; can they keep pace in the second half with a solid Demon Deacons team?

Fan Pick: Wake Forest (77%)

Boise State at Utah 12 p.m. – Saturday: How will the Broncos handle the loss of Colton Altimus?  Boise has their eyes on a repeat title in the PNCLL but Oregon looked strong last week.  Can the Utes take the next step in the RMLC?  This game might show if either team can threaten in their league. 

Fan Pick: Utah (76%)

Georgia Tech at Florida State 1 p.m. – Saturday: How does Georgia Tech look after graduating over 900 career points?  Can the Jackets score?  The Seminoles dropped 20 on UCF last week so the pressure will be on the Jackets to keep pace.

Fan Pick: Georgia Tech (53%)

UC Santa Barbara at San Diego State 2 p.m.- Saturday:  Whatever happens Friday the Aztecs can not dwell on it as they have another big game Saturday afternoon against the Gauchos.  This will be a fascinating game that should tell us a lot about both teams.

Fan Pick: UCSB (67%)

Miami at South Florida 11 a.m. – Sunday:  The Bulls are in Division II this year after struggling to find their way in Division I.  Miami hopes to give them a rude welcoming.  Can the Hurricanes defense that looks stingy so far hold down the Bulls?

Fan Pick: Split 50/50

Be sure to check out MCLATV to watch the streams.

Head Coaches, please get nominations for player and goalie of the week to info@mcla.us by noon your time on Monday.