Rearview: Rumbled and Stumbled

Photo by Lance Wendt

By: E.J. Freeman | MCLA.us    

ATLANTA - As the dust settles after a busy weekend in Denver, there are three teams that escaped the weekend unscathed.  Montana racked up three wins by not allowing double digit goals to any of their opponents.  Cal State-San Marcos also got three wins and looks to be among the nation’s elite once again.  St. Thomas once again looks to the pace setter in Division II going 3-0 on the weekend with an average score of 16-6.

Plenty of contenders took losses over the weekend, but that is partially the point in playing tough early season games so you can figure out the rough spots in your team and try to smooth them out.

Denver and Arizona Christian both went 0-3 on the weekend, but the lessons learned playing against some of Division II’s best should help them as they enter their conference schedules.

I expect we will see several of the Rocky Mountain Rumble teams in Richmond and probably some rematches of these games.  Thanks to Chris Kelley and everyone else who made the event possible this past weekend.

Down south there two high profile SELC vs ALC games in Division I this weekend.  On Friday night Florida State handed Clemson their first loss of the season 19-11 after scoring seven first quarter goals.  Tyler Morris was once again outstanding for the Seminoles.  The Tigers had been averaging nearly 18 goals per game, but the Noles held them to 11.  As in years past Florida State can score in bunches and if their defense plays like this it will be difficult to keep pace.  On Sunday, South Carolina and Tennessee played a game that was completely different stylistically.   The Gamecocks took down the Vols by a score of 9-8.  South Carolina trailed by one at half time, but used a 4-2 third quarter to take the win.  Sophomore Nathan Wolfe was the maestro as usual, scoring two goals and adding four assists, involving himself in six of the Gamecocks nine goals. 

Utah Valley and Brigham Young made the trip to Arizona to play Grand Canyon and Arizona State Thursday and Saturday.  The Beehive brethren both took some time to get going on Thursday and raised some eyebrows despite getting the wins.  On Saturday both teams looked like buzzsaws winning by a combined 48-17; showing why many have them at the top of their list of contenders.

UNC-Wilmington traveled to Nashville to play St. John’s and Arkansas.  Friday night against what looked like a resurgent Johnnies team, the Seahawks took no prisoners and won 10-0 before a quick turnaround playing the Hogs at 10 am Saturday and winning 11-7.   UNC-Wilmington looks like they will be a tough out in the ALC this Spring.  To their credit, after the Friday night shutout St. John’s came out and beat Arkansas 17-9.

Chapman picked up two out of conference wins against Cal and Northeastern 11-6 in both games.  Chapman seems to be locked in defensively and is going to make teams earn every goal against them.  Cal beat Northeastern 12-9 to get a 1-1 weekend.  Hale Brown continues to be a force for the Bears at the faceoff dot.  Northeastern is adjusting to the loss of a transformational class of seniors from the 2025 squad and may take some time to truly find themselves. Despite the 0-2 record, the trip out west may yet prove to be fruitful as the Huskies figure out their identity.

Boston College went down to Austin and trailed 9-5 at halftime.  It looked as though the Eagles weren’t quite ready for the Longhorns, but the Eagles under new head coach Jake Cates, dominated the third quarter 6-3 and forced the game into double overtime before sealing the deal and getting a big non-conference win. The Eagles cruised against Baylor on Saturday before heading home.  The win against Texas looks to be a good sign for the Eagles’ hopes in the CLC.

Picker Results

Thanks to Tim Haslam for stepping into the hot seat this week. Tim went a cool 4-1 for the week.  His only loss was picking Florida Atlantic to beat Montana State, but the Bobcats took the win.

Guest Picker Leaderboard:

Dylan Hess, Tim Haslam 4–1

J.J. Arminio 2–3

Fan Vote Upset of the Week

By the time the game faced-off, 90% of voters picked Northeastern to beat Cal.  Early on it looked like the voters might have been on to something as the Huskies led 4-2, but the Bears worked their way back and took the 12-9 win.  Congratulations to the Bears!

Quick Sticks

After two losses last weekend to start the season, Auburn found themselves down 3-0 early to Georgia Tech.  Rather than folding, the Tigers went on a 10-2 run to close the game and get their first win of the season.  After scoring 15 against Florida State to open the season, the Yellow Jackets only managed 15 goals combined in two games this weekend.  The Jackets need to figure it out fast as they head to South Carolina on Friday.

Pittsburgh opened the season with two wins over James Madison and Michigan State.

North Florida had another 2-0 weekend and looks to be a factor in the SELC DII North.

Head coaches, be sure to send your nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and Pearl Goalie of the Week to info@mcla.us by noon Monday local time.