Weekender: Tech Boom or Bust?

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Georgia Tech has been on such run the last decade, which features a trip to the finals in ‘22, that it’s easy to forget the Yellow Jackets made just one trip to nationals during the 17-year stretch from the inception of the MCLA to 2014. And that was a one-and-done visit in ’04 as a 13 seed.

Naturally, program assumptions have soared with this recent success, to the point where this season – a campaign that a lot of programs would dream of having – is coming up a little bit short for the Wreck.

Tech coach Ken Lovic was asked if, at the beginning of the season, he was told the Jackets would be 9-3 with an SELC berth locked up and a chance at beating the Nos. 5 and 11 teams in the country to finish the season, would he take it?

“Probably not,” Lovic admitted. “We had very high expectations coming into the season and we let a few games slip away. Considering some of the changes we tried to make and the number of young guys in key roles, I probably should take it though, since our goals of conference and national championships are still out there and attainable.”

Lovic admits that the schedule was a tad ambitious – “Twelve games before spring break was probably a little much." The Ramblin’ Wreck coughed up a 7-3 halftime lead, losing to Northeastern, 12-11. They were tied with Liberty before the Flames exploded for eight goals in the third in a 15-11 defeat and Georgia Tech couldn’t find its offense in an anemic, 11-8, loss to Virginia Tech.

The trio of defeats could be usable learning moments as the season concludes.

“The three losses were all pretty different, but there were positives to take from each,” Lovic said. “The biggest one is that we had enough opportunities to win each of those games. Credit to our opponents for taking advantage of the mistakes we made, but I think we let all three of those games slip through our fingers somewhat.”

Lovic’s preseason calculations for the Wreck were well-founded with Brooks Baro (34g, 24a) and Pierce Quarles (25g, 26a) running up front and Hudson Higgins anchoring the defense. The emergence of the midfield during the course of the campaign has been critical.

“Our midfield production has gotten more consistent and, at this point, feels somewhat reliable,” Lovic said. “Guys like Michael Grosso, Matt Seifert, Andrew Belli, Carl Dagher and Augie Werthman have really played well lately. We're asking those guys to play two ways and they've really started to put it together.

“Charlie Ciardullo has gotten better every week at the faceoff dot after shaking off some early rust and has become a real weapon for us as well. All of our poles have been playing well and, since we don't have very many, we need all of them to move around between close and LSM."

Saturday’s game against No. 5 Florida in Gainesville will provide another postseason-like test for the Yellow Jackets. And Georgia Tech could potentially see the Gators twice more before the ’25 season ends.

“They are a really strong team and have been for a while now,” said Lovic of Florida. “We've played them in the SELC tournament the last two years. Florida has had a stacked midfield and compliment with some great attack play for years and this year is no different. They are really going to put a lot of pressure on our midfield defense and our guys need to be up to the challenge.

“On the other end our attack group is a really dynamic unit and they complement each other very well. We're at our best when those three guys are all producing and we'll need them to do that this weekend.”

Regardless what happens against the Gators this weekend and then later against archrival and No. 11 Georgia, the Jackets are a solid pick to be in the hunt for the SELC auto-bid and an at-large should then need it. But the next month should have them battle-tested for the last go-around in Round Rock.

“I'd say the SELC is a little different than the last few years in that there isn't a team that feels like a lock for the final four,” said Lovic. “But there are at least four teams that, if they are clicking and get the right matchups, can easily get there.

“An SELC team has been at the top of the poll at least one week the last several years, but it doesn't appear that will be the case this year, but maybe we'll have one in the final poll.”

Games I'm Following

No. 17 Wake Forest at Virginia Tech D-II, Friday – 5 p.m. (WF -1 | 18.5)
It’s been six weeks since the Demon Deacons suited up for a live contest, so there will be some rust to shake off. The Lil' Hokies have won three of their last four, including a two-goal loss to No. 1 UC San Diego on the road, so this has the potential to be a miserable matchup for Wake. Goalie play will be the difference.

No. 9 Montana State at No. 14 Montana, Friday – 7 p.m. (MSU -7 | 24.5)
The defending champs are still reeling from the loss to Utah State at home while the Grizzlies are ham-and-egging their way through a pretty difficult schedule, bolstered by their upset of FGCU last weekend. This is always a rivalry game, although it feels like it should be more competitive now than I would have guessed at the beginning of the season. The Bobcats need to get on a roll if they want to have a serviceable seed in Round Rock for a repeat.

Clemson at No. 13 Tennessee, Friday – 7 p.m. (UT -5.5 | 22)
The Tigers, Vols and Virginia Tech are all tied atop the ALC South standings with 3-0 records, so we’ll start the jockeying for seeding here. All three are locked into a conference tourney berth, so now we’re playing for matchups. With the ALC not opting for the crossover format in the first round, this might be for home field in the first round (the winner will still be in the hunt for top seed and a bye into the semifinals). With both teams off for the past three weeks, I expect a sloppy contest.

South Carolina at No. 19 Arizona, Friday – 6 p.m. (AZ -1.5 | 17.5)
One-game, cross-country trips are relatively rare, but the Gamecocks are going to give it a shot. The Wildcats cracking the Top 20 gives South Carolina the opportunity to parlay it into a ranked victory, as well. With the Cocks essentially assured a trip to Tallahassee in the SELC first round, they can use this trip to get poised for the postseason. Arizona is riding high after a two-game sweep, but they’ll have to be focused against a defensive-minded USC outfit.

Dayton at No. 7 Grand Valley State, Friday – 9 p.m. (GV -8.5 | 27)
This game has lost its prestige from years past, mostly due to the Flyers sitting at 1-4 (granted two of those losses were to D-I squads). Still, these two have been rivals for a long time, so I would expect Dayton to come out of the gate with some fire. Whether they can sustain it for 60 minutes against the Lakers is the rub.

No. 10 Georgia Tech at No. 5 Florida, Saturday – 1 p.m. (UF -3.5 | 22)
This could realistically be an SELC tournament finals preview. It could also be a pair of teams that get bounced in the semifinals. That’s sort of where the SELC is these days. One would think they are both locked into Round Rock comfortably, but potential upsets in the SLC, LSA and CLC tournaments could make for an uncomfortable Selection Sunday for the loser. As far as red flags go, the Gators giving up 16 to Texas and the Wreck getting wiped out in Virginia still linger.

No. 2 Cal Poly at No. 6 Texas, Saturday – 1 p.m. (CP -1 | 29)
Um, I'm not going to lie – I had to redo this paragraph this morning after last night’s Mustang on Mustang crime perpetrated by Southern Methodist upon Poly. The 14-7 score was so staggering, it was difficult to believe. That result has a spring in the Longhorns step and will force SLO to regroup in a hurry or risk taking a significant dive down the seeding spectrum.

No. 18 Miami at No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast, Saturday – 2 p.m. (FGCU -3.5 | 18)
It’s always a Hail Mary to get a nationals bid without making your conference tournament – especially with a loaded field like this year – so the loser here is probably toast. The Eagles have been through this type of grind in the recent past and they played a tougher schedule, which is a huge benefit. The Hurricanes are unquestionably talented, but going on the road and pulling this off would be special.

Auburn at Central Florida, Saturday – 6 p.m. (AUB -7 | 28)
ELIMINATION GAME! Assuming that Florida State takes down both of these teams this weekend – not a lock by any means – the Tigers and Knights will tangle for the third and final bid out of the SELC South and likely a ticket to either Atlanta or Athens. If you want to argue that Auburn is the best 4-7 team in the country, I wouldn’t object. The huge advantage for the Tigers is at the dot, where Aidan Garrett and company are rolling at a 68.3 percent clip. UCF is well below .500.

No. 8 San Diego State at No. 18 Arizona State, Sunday – 11 a.m. (SDSU 4 | 22)
We’re starting the SLC finishing kick and the scramble for the four seeds in the league tournament at Santa Barbara City College. Both will be coming off Friday games – ASU faces Chapman and SDSU has Grand Canyon – so it’s a level playing field. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the two Top 10 games we have, this would be the most compelling game of the weekend with decently high stakes.

Chapman at Grand Canyon, Sunday – 11 a.m. (CHAP -2.5 | 23)
If you assume that 3-3 is the minimum conference record an SLC team will need to qualify for the league playoff, this isn’t a make-or-break situation for either squad in a vacuum. But if you assume that they’ll lose their Friday games to higher-ranked teams, this one takes on larger importance. There’s a very real chance one of these teams will go 0-2, which will be tough to dig out from.

Slides & Rides

- Congrats to UNC-Charlotte senior attackman Tyler Nichols, who became the program’s all-time leading points man with 210 (109g, 101a) currently. He surpasses Nick Ferens (’22) for the honor.

- Kind of a spring break bummer for Oregon. The Ducks beat Baylor on Sunday, canceled a game against TCU on Monday and then had their game against SMU called because of lightning on Tuesday. Fortunately, Oregon is two games away from the No. 2 seed in the PNCLL tourney…brutal trip to the desert for UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are now just a game over .500, but they do still have a crack at the WCLL top seed.

- Circling back on SMU’s convincing win over No. 2 Cal Poly, it brings up just as much intrigue about the Dallas Mustangs as the SLO version. SMU is now not only a contender for the top seed out of the LSA South, but they could sneak up and grab the AQ. Just two games remain on the schedule, most notably the finale against Texas.

- In addition to getting in your nominations for the PEARL Goalie of the Week and Warrior Player of the Week to info@mcla.us by Monday at noon, start putting together a candidate for Lacrosse Specialties Player of the Month for March. Submit them when your monthly schedule is complete.