by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

ORANGE, Calif. -- Chapman ruthlessly ended a pair of Georgia Tech semifinal runs in the 2016 and 2017 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour, and has pretty much held sway over the cross-country rivalry recently.

The Ramblin' Wreck finally changed the storyline on Friday night at Ernie Chapman field -- the same venue that saw the Panthers knock Tech out of the semifinals.

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE | FRIDAY'S RESULTS

The No. 8 Yellow Jackets (4-0) shook off an early 4-1 deficit, built an 11-7 lead over the No. 4 Panthers after three quarters and then held on down the stretch to post the 12-11 victory.

Griffin Goggans was the key early, as his first-half hat trick helped Tech take a 6-5 lead into the half despite the early hole. Tim Peterson was the facilitator with a goal and four assists while Conrad McEvoy did a little of everything, finishing with two goals and two dimes.

Gino Pagliaro made 14 saves (56.0 sv%) to post the win for the Jackets.

Come out and support @stanfordmenslax vs. Sonoma St. - Saturday at Johnson Field at 1pm ! pic.twitter.com/tIsw5LNFld
— Stanford Lacrosse (@stanfordmenslax) February 23, 2019

Georgia Tech has plenty of stiff games left on the schedule -- they have to face a solid San Diego State outfit today -- but Ken Lovic's troops have a very large chip to push to the middle of the table when the selection/seeding process begins.

On the other side, Chapman suffers its second straight one-goal loss to a Top 10 team on its own field. Heightening the angst is top-ranked Michigan State is next on the schedule.

Chapman, however, is one of the few programs that doesn't really need to worry about early season losses. Back in '17, the Panthers started the season 1-3, went into the tourney as a nine seed and still made it to the finals.

This game was about Georgia Tech, however. With a sweep today, a Top 5 rankings could be in the works.

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We’re not here to take part. We’re here to TAKE OVER. #ALLIN
A post shared by Clemson Lacrosse (@clemsonlacrosse) on Feb 22, 2019 at 6:59pm PST

Flyers on the Board
No. 9 Dayton opened up its season with a roady against No. 20 Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., and escaped with a 7-6 victory.

The Flyers needed a fourth-quarter rally to ensure the win against a team that has already played a pair of ranked teams.

The fact that Dayton got the win is the key part. The Flyers are notoriously slow starters, mostly because they get very limited access to facilities leading up to the season. The first couple of games are usually the first time Joe Venturella's charges are playing full field.

Dayton still has No. 25 MSU Denver and Wash. U (Mo.) left this weekend, so they aren't out of the woods yet. A sweep, however, would send the Flyers into Judgement Weekend with heightened confidence.

Gameday! Home opener today.
: @PurdueMensLax
: 12:00PM
: Pitt Sports Dome #H2P #FILLTHEDOME pic.twitter.com/aWtNZTlOnZ
— Pitt Men's Lacrosse (@pittlacrosse) February 23, 2019

Slides & Rides
- Virginia Tech opened its season with West Virginia, a seemingly comfortable way to kick off the new campaign. Unfortunately for the Hokies, this is a new and improved Mountaineer outfit.

The two teams were tied heading into the final quarter, where Virginia Tech finally pulled away for 9-7 victory. Hunter Capestany and Noah Dewey each netted hat tricks in the win.

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#gobears #mcla19 : Dan Nourse, : Kim Winship
A post shared by Cal Men's Lacrosse (@calmenslax) on Feb 22, 2019 at 1:15pm PST

- The Colorado contingent had a solid opening night. No. 9 Colorado breezed past No. 16 Oregon, 17-6, while Colorado State handled Oregon State, 14-4. The matchups will flip today. If CSU can hold off Oregon, the Rams should find themselves back in the Top 25.

- No. 15 Florida State won a hard-fought road game against No. 20 Santa Clara, 10-9...Auburn improved to 6-0 with a 12-9 win over Vandy...Southeastern Louisiana registered its first win over an MCLA Division I opponent as it took down Houston, 12-6...No. 2 St. Thomas visits No. 3 North Dakota State in a rematch of last year's D-II title game. Should be a gem.

- As always, get those nominations for Commanding Performance of the Week powered by Under Armour and Pearl's Goalie of the Week to [email protected] when you get a minute.