Rearview: Hold On For One More Day

Photo by Anna Scipione

By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us

ATLANTA- After this past weekend we have our first four official participants for the 2026 MCLA National Championships Presented by New Balance.  Congratulations to Arkansas, Florida Atlantic, Texas, and Florida State on winning their conference tournaments and punching their tickets to Richmond.  By Sunday the rest of the dance card will be complete and we will have our official brackets.

Congratulations as well to Kansas State who won the Lone Star Alliance Division III championship.

The majority of our teams have now completed their 2026 season and as we get into this coming weekend more teams’ seasons will end each day and really each hour as games are completed.  Those teams who are not participating in their conference tournaments are surely disappointed and the same goes for those whose seasons end early in their conference tournaments this weekend. 

The end of the season is always so jarring as the buzz and activity of being in season and having practices and games and traveling and making the necessary arrangements ends all at once and is replaced by silence.  The void in your daily schedule is only an illusion because, as always, life will expand to fill whatever gaps exist in one’s calendar. 

Seasons tend to go by slowly and quickly simultaneously, which is part of why the end always feels so sudden. When you are in the middle of the season it is often difficult to see the forest through the trees. 

It often strikes me as I spend time around groups of players or teams having reunions how little of the conversation is about the results of the games on the field.  The memories that these individuals share and talk about and keep them coming back to campus are the times they spent together with their teammates and the bond created by that common purpose. 

So, as the number of teams still active in our league whittles down lower and lower each day over the next few weeks I would encourage those that are still alive to embrace the time together because it will be over much sooner than you realize.   To those whose seasons are already over, make sure you take the time to attend any end of season function and get those last few moments together with your teammates for the season because while they may seem a dime a dozen at the moment; they are not, and you will miss those opportunities.  It is very easy to throw yourself into whatever comes next after the season, but I would encourage you to take the time to soak in the last moments together as a team because this team will never be the same and likely will never all be together after these next few weeks.

Now, onto the week that was.

FAN VOTE UPSET OF THE WEEK

Minnesota and Purdue met in Madison, Wisconsin to play their UMLC West game.  The Boilermaker  faithful were confident coming into the game with 74% of the voters selecting the boys from West Lafayette.  Minnesota left no doubt in the game as they raced to a 10-1 halftime lead on their way to a 15-7 region win to claim the UMLC West top seed.  Congratulations head coach Jace Childs and the Golden Gophers for taking the Fan Vote Upset of the Week.

Quick Sticks

 As mentioned here as a likely occurrence, the LSA South teams swept the Division I quarterfinals.  Texas Christian seemed to find their mojo once again getting revenge over their rivals Southern Methodist on their way to an appearance in the LSA championship game, but it was too little too late as the Horned Frogs are not likely to make the field in Richmond after falling to Texas again.

In Division II side of the LSA in addition to the congratulations to Arkansas for winning the league Oklahoma State and Texas Tech deserve kudos for having very strong seasons in their first year in Division II after making the jump from Division III.

Up in Boston, Northeastern got a rivalry win over Boston College as the Huskies grounded the Eagles in an 11-10 slugfest.  The Huskies have always been a tough bunch and look to be finding their stride at the right time.  The loss for the Eagles likely pushes them to AQ or bust territory for Richmond.  The two teams could meet again this week in CLC tournament.

For the second year in a row Colorado State took down their rivals from Boulder.  The win should give the Rams some confidence heading into their RMLC tournament game against Brigham Young.  With the loss the Buffs will play Utah Valley in the RMLC semifinals.

Our top ranked teams, Utah Valley and St. Thomas, finished their regular seasons undefeated.  It would be easy to take their performances for granted this season due to their dominance, but they both should be celebrated for their consistency.   The Tommies and Wolverines have won every game by five or more goals.

In the SELC, Florida State took the Division I crown for the first time in 15 years.  This is the first time since 2018 that a team other than South Carolina or Georgia Tech won the title as Virginia Tech won it that year.  This year also marked the first time since 2014 that neither Georgia Tech nor South Carolina played in the title game.  The SELC adopted their current quarterfinal format with the top seed in each region getting a bye in the quarterfinals in 2022 and since that time only one team that earned the quarterfinal bye has won the league.  This year both teams that had the bye lost in the semifinals as Georgia and Florida State advanced to the final.  Obviously there are not enough data points here yet to mean anything, but still an interesting factoid.

On the Division II side of the SELC Florida Atlantic avenged one of their three losses by beating Tampa in the title game.  Early in the season Florida Atlantic lost three out of four games and had people wondering if the Owls could find their form again.  Well, those  three losses were all to top ten teams and in the long run the Owls showed the benefits of playing a tough schedule and entering the conference tournament with some battle scars. 

San Diego State and Chapman played round one of their series on Friday night and the Aztecs won 14-8 behind 10 points from Luc Schneider.  They will play again on Saturday in the SLC tournament.

Arizona and Arizona State also played round one of their series with the Wildcats taking the first meeting 11-7. Arizona incrementally walked away from the Sun Devils in the game.  The two rivals will do it again on Saturday in the SLC semifinals.

Sonoma State has been winning behind goaltending and their zone defense all season, but looks to have found their offense in a big way averaging nearly 17 goals across their last three games.  If the Sea Wolves can score like that it puts additional pressure on the other offense to try to score against that stingy defense.

In the UMLC Division II, Grand Valley State got another ranked win by defeating Dayton 12-9.  The Lakers will enter the league tournament with the top seed in the east region.  North Dakota State defeated Minnesota Duluth to take the second seed in the UMLC West.  The Bison have not gotten the results they would have liked through most of the season, but have played one of the toughest schedules in the country.  If they can get a win or two in the conference tournament and find their way onto the bubble and potentially into the MCLA National Championship Presented by New Balance they will be a dangerous double digit seed.

Coastal Carolina and East Carolina won their ALC quarterfinal games and will play Wake Forest and UNC-Wilmington respectively.    The Coastal Carolina game against Wake Forest may be a play-in game for Richmond so expect both teams to leave nothing on the table.

Rhode Island swept Southern Connecticut State and Columbia over the weekend and will be the top seed in the CLC Division II tournament this weekend.  The Rams will face Columbia again in the semifinals. Maine and Bridgewater State will meet on the other side of the bracket.

Head coaches be sure to get your nominations in for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the Week by noon Monday.