Weekend Preview: The Reckoning
by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us
LA CROSSE, Wis. – For 10 different conferences in two divisions, this weekend is what it is all about.
We’re going to see the wonderful highs of teams earning their way to Salt Lake City and the brutal lows of coming up a game or two short of season-long goals. It’s gripping theater.
Let’s take a peek at what’s going on in these conferences.
PNCLL Division I
This should be a high-drama tournament because there are no at-large options awaiting a second-place finisher. It’s win or go home.
Simon Fraser has obviously earned favored status by going undefeated in the league, but they only beat Boise State by a goal and played relatively tight games with Washington and first round opponent Oregon State.
The Saturday-Sunday format hurts the Clan a little bit. Fraser always keeps a tight roster – 24 this year – that isn’t necessarily built for the back-to-back grind.
SFU is, however, the most dynamic of any of the three teams. If they are on their game, returning to nationals for the first time since 2014 should be a dunk.
PNCLL Division II
Montana and College of Idaho are so far ahead of the pack that it’s difficult seeing any other matchup in the championship game on Sunday. Providence is one team that could get hot and make life very difficult for COI in the semis, but that’s about the extent of it.
If we do get a Yotes-Grizzlies throwdown in the finals, it will be an all or nothing affair for College of Idaho. They need the automatic qualifier to get to SLC, and they have a team that can do it, led by the incomparable (see video below) Nich Guzzetti (43g, 33a).
Even with a loss, Montana will remain in the at-large hunt with a strong schedule – including a 9-6 loss to North Dakota State – and a couple of quality wins. The Grizzlies beat COI in the title game, 12-9, last year and I think we’ll get something similar.
What team wearing a No. 1 seed in a D-I conference tourney is mostly likely to get beat this weekend? #mcla18 #RaceforSaltLake
— MCLA Tournament '18 (@MCLA_Tournament) April 23, 2018
PCLL Division I
This should be a wild one.
Northeastern is the tacit favorite as the top seed, but its only loss is to the team they face in the first round – New Hampshire. That actually should help the Huskies because they let one get away in that regular season matchup.
Northeastern led 5-1 to start the game, but couldn’t stop the Wildcats offense the rest of the way in 13-12 setback.
On the other side, we’ve got Buffalo taking on Boston College. Slam dunk for the Eagles, right? Well, the Bulls are a three-seed because they beat UNH and bounced UConn out of the tourney. That would be the same UConn team that beat Liberty this year.
Buffalo is a team having fun and winning games, and that’s a dangerous combo. BC better mind its business because if they lose here, any at-large hopes essentially disappear. The Eagles are probably the only team in the conference that can take the at-large route, but it will require a championship game visit.
PCLL Division II
This isn’t one of the 10 tournaments I was referring to because there is nothing at stake other than a trophy. Central Conn. State has already locked down the AQ as the regular season champs.
Odds are this game will come down to CCSU and Bridgewater in the finals with the Bears hoping to gain a measure of revenge for their regular season loss to the Devils.
RMLC Division I
The storyline: does the Utah annihilation tour continue as they march off into the sunset?
As things have it, the Utes will have to play the one team that actually gave them a game this year in the semifinals. Can Colorado State replicate that Thursday night magic from a couple of weeks ago, or was it a Pickett's Charge from a proud program?
The Rams will once again be throwing everything in the arsenal at Utah because their only ticket to Salt Lake City resides with the AQ. That’s the bad news for Utah. The good news is they know what’s coming and won’t get caught a step slow.
Like Utah, Colorado and BYU are comfortably through to nationals. Unless Colorado State pulls a couple of shockers, this is more about seeding purposes.
I don’t say that lightly, as anyone who has been to the four-games-in-six-days grind of the MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour knows, seeding is hugely important. All of these games will be hotly contested, but it’s tough seeing anyone derailing Utah.
RMLC Division II
Montana State is certainly the favorite heading into Friday morning, but they get a rough draw in MSU Denver – the defending conference championships.
The Bobcats needed a fourth-quarter rally to edge the Roadrunners, 11-10, during the season. Metro has the ability to get hot, so keep an eye on this one. With that said, Montana State is probably already through to nationals at this point.
Colorado Denver is an intriguing team because it has been fearless in its second year. Despite a couple of losses to end the season, the Lynx could make a run. They’ll need to.
What's the best D-I tournament Friday game this weekend? #mcla18
— MCLA Tournament '18 (@MCLA_Tournament) April 24, 2018
SLC Division I
Like the RMLC, you’re always going to get great games when we arrive at the SLC semifinals. This will be true again. And like the RMLC this year, there is a team that needs to make a Cinderella run to the AQ.
It’s CSU in RMLC, and it’s Arizona State in the SLC -- two teams that have met in the first round at nationals the last two years.
I know there are algorithms that codify strength of schedule, but the eyeball test tells me that ASU’s is the strongest. Especially when they add Chapman in the semifinals.
But that stretch from March 2-16 when the Sun Devils lost one-goal games to Boston College, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Liberty and Colorado was a killer. Throw in “off” seasons from Cal, Cal Poly, UCSB and Oregon, and the at-large ship was sunk.
So what we have is a very good team playing desperate lacrosse. Will it be good enough? In any other conference you’d figure ASU had a shot. Doing it in the conference that has produced the last three national champions? That’s a spicy meatball.
Chapman, Concordia-Irvine and Grand Canyon are all likely nationals-bound, so there are seeding implications. And you know the Panthers don’t want to give away a potential top seed at this point.
What will be the best D-II tourney game this weekend? #mcla18
— MCLA Tournament '18 (@MCLA_Tournament) April 25, 2018
SLC Division II
For the first time in recent memory, the stakes in SLC-II are just as high as SLC-I.
If everything breaks right, it’s not unreasonable that this conference sends four teams to Salt Lake City. On the other hand, it could just be the automatic qualifier and that's it. Northern Arizona appears like the only lock either way.
Those kind of scenarios make for great drama, and I think we’ll get a lot of it. Fortunately, the games will be streamed live on the SLC YouTube channel.
The 627th one. You can’t miss it.
— Iowa State Lax (@IowaStateLax) April 26, 2018
UMLC Division I
You want a wide open tournament? This is the one for you.
Indiana is kind of a quasi-favorite at this point, aided by a seven-game winning streak and a bye into the semifinals. Alas, the Hoosiers could face Missouri – a team that handed IU one of its two losses – in the semis.
Mizzou was the preseason favorite, but Iowa State ground up the Tigers in the last game of the season, 5-3, to snatch the top seed out of the West.
Now the Cyclones, who were the lone flag-bearers in UMLC-I last year, have to be considered a contender despite the fact they could face a Purdue team that beat them in the semis.
Seriously, anyone could win this thing.
WCLL Division I
The resurrection of the WCLL as true power conference was short-lived. Either that or it is taking a year off.
Unlike last year, the league powers were overmatched out of conference. The four WCLL playoff teams went a 7-19, with the best win being Cal Poly’s 9-7 win over Colorado State. Woof.
As such, this is not only a one-bid league, but one that will produce a double-digit seed at nationals.
Is the collective league better than what they showed? Yeah, probably. Cal and Cal Poly were dealing with some turnover early on and have figured some things out since. Santa Clara has been a revelation this year and is gaining confidence. Sonoma has found a bit of a stride, as well.
Still, as Bill Parcells said, you are what your record says you are, and that means a dogfight to get the AQ because everyone else is going home.
WCLL Division II
The Sierra Nevada Invitational enters year four.
UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz have put together superb seasons and hopefully one of them can stay in the at-large hunt, but the Eagles have beat the three other teams in this year’s bracket by a combined score of, 48-14.
* * *
Thanks to @ufrecsports for a great time at the 9th Annual UF Sport Clubs Banquet. #GatorLax was fortunate enough to take home some individual awards that were only made possible by team-wide effort and success. The Jamie Chapin Classic, the 2017 winner for Special Event of the Year, was once again recognized as a finalist. We were happy to share the love this year with another great event hosted by Gator Surf .
A post shared by UF Men's Lacrosse Team (@gatorslacrosse) on
Automatically Qualified
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, here are our qualified teams for the 2018 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour:
Division I
Michigan State
Texas A&M
Virginia Tech
Division II
Kennesaw State
St. Thomas
Missouri State
Central Conn. State
THANK YOU Coach Foss for all you have done. You have started to create a culture and now building a program. This is a big accomplishment and we are honored to have you as our Coach of The Year, out of all the @sdsusportclubs #aztecmlax #shornones #goaztecs #sdsusportsclubs pic.twitter.com/WsvHL9iOHW
— SDSU Men's Lacrosse (@SDSULacrosse) April 27, 2018
Streaming Information
- Our friends over at Lacrosse AllStars will be hosting all four of the RMLC semifinal games on Friday in Orem, Utah, starting at noon EDT (10 a.m. local) and both championship games on Saturday. Swing over to LAS’s RMLC site to find the streams.
- The great crew over at NorCal SportsTV will be streaming all four WCLL semifinals games on Saturday and both championships games on Sunday from Rohnert Park. Check out their YouTube page for the individual streams.
- The Southwestern Lacrosse Conference YouTube page will be the host of the D-I semifinals on Friday, the D-II semifinals on Saturday and the two championship games on Sunday. Thanks to TVX Video for the production.
NOTES: The Division II Selection Committee meets at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern while the Division I Committee starts its meeting at 7 p.m./10 p.m. The matchups will be posted on the MCLA.us ASAP after the decisions have been made…there will still be Commanding Performance of the Week powered by Under Armour in each division, so coaches get those nominations in by Monday morning.
Breakfast lacrosse!