Weekender: A Fading Star

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The ebb and flow of conference aptitude has been a constant in our association since its inception. It wasn’t that long ago that the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) were sending multiple to teams to the national semifinals and raising the trophy with regularity.

The apex was 2017 when Grand Canyon defeated Chapman for the whole enchilada. Arizona State made it to the quarters that year before running into the Lopes. In 2022 a new wave of teams – USC, Arizona and Concordia – earned a ticket to nationals, increasing the conference’s depth. The Eagles would win another title for the league in 2023.

Now the league is contracting from a competition standpoint. Concordia jettisoned off to the NCAA while the Trojans have regressed to the mean. Chapman, the long-time flag-bearer for the SLC, is still under .500 heading into Saturday’s contest with Cal. Arizona State has a couple of decent wins, but are toiling at 4-4 as they prepare to host UC Santa Barbara. Grand Canyon will need the AQ.

San Diego State is the lead dog at this point, and the Aztecs will be heading to Round Rock regardless of whether they have the AQ or not. But they are not a dominant team. There are no teams in the Division I level of the conference that strikes the fear in anyone.

Ironically, the SLC’s junior circuit – once one of the traditionally weaker leagues in the MCLA – is now a monster, featuring the No. 1 team in the country (UC San Diego) and a team that could be very well ticketed to the semifinals in its current form (Cal State San Marcos).

The good news about SLC Division I is they are in good company. The WCLL and RMLC have already gone through stages of regression and redemption. Brigham Young is the biggest bully on the block now, but six years ago they were barely above .500 and didn’t make the tournament. The top – and only team RMLC team to make nationals that year – was Colorado. The Buffs were bounced in the quarterfinals. That league could potentially send four to Texas.

The power in Division I is now in the Southeast, which was formerly a bit of a running joke. The SELC and ALC are fat and happy currently but as time elapses, they, too, will fall back to the pack. And some other conference will take its stead.

Don’t cry for the SLC, however. They will collectively bounce back and flirt with national championships again. The other conferences would be wise to take advantage while they can.

Games I’m Following

No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 6 UNC-Charlotte, Friday – 4 p.m. (FAU -3.5 | 25)
Do the 49ers even remember how to play lacrosse? It will be two days shy of a month since the last time Charlotte played someone in a different colored jersey (Wilmington, Feb. 23) when the Niners lace them up against the Owls in Alabama. FAU is a finely-tuned machine right now and are three goals away from being the top team in the country. A slow start for Charlotte and they could get their doors blown off.

No. 9 Utah State at No. 17 College of Idaho, Friday – 5 p.m. (USU -5.5 | 29)
With five Top 10 contests on its resume already, Utah State is as grizzled as they come right now. There is no one on the Yotes squad that can surpass the talent the Aggies have already seen, so COI will have to be flawless to pull this upset. Stopping Cooper Williams will be the first challenge, but that’s easier said than done. Complacency is USU’s biggest enemy this weekend.

No. 11 Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 14 Tulane, Saturday – 9 a.m. (Tulane -1 | 21.5)
This is a big bounce-back opportunity for the Eagles. They got their doors blown off by rival FAU last weekend, so a win here could right the ship and give FGCU the confidence it needs for the stretch run. The Green Wave will enter this contest fresh, however, while the Eagles tangle with No. 18 Montana on Friday night in Alabama. The goalie competition between Alex Stewart and Conor Farnan will be the featured attraction of this show.

Alabama at South Carolina, Saturday – 2 p.m. (USC -6.5 | 19.5)
ELIMINATION GAME! Well, not technically. Alabama could cause a three-way logjam with a loss and a win over Georgia, forcing a tiebreaker. Realistically, however, the victor will be the No. 3 seed out of the North and earn a ticket to either Gainesville or Tallahassee while the loser plays out the skein hoping to pad individual all-conference bonafides. The Crimson Tide have been one of the better stories of the ’25 season while the Cocks came up short against a premium schedule. South Carolina is a nasty animal at home, so Bama will have to be flying high.

Chapman at California, Saturday – 1 p.m. (Cal -1.5 | 20)
I don’t think anyone expected these two teams to be unranked and a combined 5-9 heading into this non-conference tussle. The Panthers showed a glimmer of hope with the win against UC Santa Barbara two weeks ago, but realistically the only way to get to Round Rock is via the SLC auto-qualifying bid. Same goes for the Bears out of the WCLL. As such, the stakes are pretty low, but late-season non-conference wins always puts the wind at your back.

Rhode Island vs. No. 2 Florida Atlantic, Sunday – 11 a.m. (FAU -2 | 24)
We finally get real glimpse at Lil’ Rhody. The Rams started the season with a pair of pillow fights against two Connecticut directional schools, but a three-game gauntlet in Alabama will shape our impressions of URI along with finally getting it poll eligible. This FAU contest is actually the third of the weekend with Kennesaw State (Friday) and No. 6 Charlotte (Saturday) preceding it. The Owls will have already played the 49ers and No. 18 Montana prior, so it’s a level playing field. We’ll see what the Rams have in the tank as the Owls look stacked.

No. 14 Tulane vs. No. 6 UNC-Charlotte, Sunday – 1 p.m. (UNCC -4.5 | 27)
In reality, Tulane will have to at least split this weekend against FGCU and Charlotte to have a reasonable shot at an at-large bid. As likely as you might think the Green Wave are to repeat as the LSA champ, they have to deal with Arkansas and Texas State – a couple of former D-I programs that moved to D-II this spring – for the AQ. After facing FAU and URI in the first two days, the 49ers are likely looking at this game as a breather, which opens the door for Tulane.

Tampa at No. 19 Miami, Sunday – 3 p.m. (MIA -3.5 | 21)
Conventional wisdom says that Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast are the likely two conference tourney entrants out of the SELC South, but nothing is etched in stone yet. If Tampa loses to the Canes, they are officially out of the mix as they’d lose potential tiebreakers to both Miami and FGCU should they upset FAU next weekend. If the Spartans bounce the Hurricanes, Miami would have to run the table against the Owls and Eagles to grab a spot. At-large hopes are faint for both, but we should see a pair of desperate teams going at it.

No. 20 UC Davis at No. 8 Cal State San Marcos, Sunday – 2 p.m. (SM -4 | 23)
The hottest team behind UC San Diego is probably San Marcos. The Cougars put an even bigger beatdown on Air Force than the Tritons did, and they seem like a team that is going to be hugely problematic in Round Rock. Davis is the odds-on favorite to grab the WCLL auto bid, but we really don’t have much of an idea about how the Aggies stack up in the overall D-II picture. We’ll find out on Sunday.

Slides & Rides

- Congrats to Bridgewater State goalie Jonah Varallo for hitting the 600 save mark for his career…big ups to Mason Mogard and Tighe Leszczynski on potting their first career goals for St. Thomas against Duluth…Congrats to Bridgewater State’s Nick McKenna for eclipsing the career 200-point mark.

- There are plenty of potential spoilers out there this season, but one of the biggest that is going under the radar at this point is Virginia Tech D-II. The junior Hokies have a pedestrian 4-3 mark, but they lost to UC San Diego by two on the road, they have a one-goal loss to Coastal and a season-opening three-goal setback to Wilmington. Tech is basically guaranteed one of the top two seeds out of the ALC North and they will be a squad that no one wants to see on their side of the ALC bracket.

- Grand Valley State beating Michigan State, 12-8, on Thursday isn’t that much of a surprise. The Lakers would walk away with the UMLC-I title in most years. GVSU will dispatch Western Michigan on Sunday with relative ease, as well. The issue for the Lakers – and for the rest of D-II – is they are burning up dates (Sunday will be the third) against D-I opponents, which are basically scrimmages from the committee’s standpoint. And outside of St. Thomas in early April, GVSU’s schedule lacks the weight of the other Top 5 schools. That’s a problem for the rest of the division because the talented Lake Show will likely head into nationals under-seeded, creating quarterfinal havoc for one contender.

- Nominations for the PEARL Goalie of the Week and Warrior Player of the Week are due to info@mcla.us by noon on Monday. Head coach nominations only, please.