by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Semifinal Thursday was a rough day for favorites at the 2022 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex.

All four of the higher seeds were bounced in the semis, leaving us with a Division I final of SELC rivals No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 3 South Carolina while in Division II a pair of tournament rookies – No. 7 Rhode Island and No. 5 Utah – get to play for the whole enchilada.

BRACKETS: DIVISION I | DIVISION II

Georgia Tech becomes the third lowest seed to make a Division I title game in MCLA history, trailing just No. 12 Stanford (2001) and No. 9 Chapman (2017). That ’17 Chapman squad was also the last team to participate in a final against a member of its own conference, as they lost to Grand Canyon

The Yellow Jackets have subdued No. 9 Concordia-Irvine, top-seeded Virginia Tech and No. 5 Clemson to make it to this point. All three of the games have seen the Wreck take early leads and then hang on by their finger nails in the waning minutes of the game for the win. Their combined margin of victory is four goals.

Goalie Gino Pagliaro and the defense in front of him have worked in concert for much of the run, which has traditionally been Tech’s calling card. Sam Eck has been the engine on the offensive side of the field.

No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 3 South Carolina meet for the third time with the two teams splitting the first two meetings. Who wins the big one on Saturday at 10 a.m.? #mcla22
— 2022 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) May 13, 2022

Tech and South Carolina are quite familiar with each other. On March 18, the Yellow Jackets traveled to Columbia and hung a 12-8 loss on the Gamecocks. Pagliaro made 20 saves and Eck went for seven points (5g, 2a) in a classic Jackets win.

In the SELC championship game, South Carolina controlled the tempo, resulting in a 17-15 victory for the Gamecocks. Connor Griffin scored six goals in the winning effort and both goalies were under siege.

Griffin is one of the many weapons at Carolina’s disposal. Sam Weis is one of the deadliest shooters in the country with one conference rival coach estimating his shooting percentage would easily lead the nation. Throw in the playmaking ability of Johnny Stanton, and you’ve got a handful of problems.

While perhaps known for its offensive weapons, the Gamecocks defense is underrated. But where South Carolina will give Tech its biggest problem is the guy wearing 99 at the dot.

Sophomore FOGO Will Frith has been dominant on draws all season, but against Georgia Tech, he has been particularly effective. In the two previous games he has won a combined 38-of-54 faceoffs – a staggering 70.4 percent.

Brigham Young showed some early success against Frith in the semifinals, but the Hilton Head product finally got on a roll and didn’t allow the Cougars to gain any momentum. He might be the x-factor on Saturday.

The high-octane offense of No. 7 Rhode Island squares off with the lockdown defense of No. 5 Utah. Who wins this battle of opposites? #mcla22
— 2022 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) May 13, 2022

The Division II championship game is the age-old story about what wins out in the end – a high-powered offense or a stingy defense.

At No. 7, Rhode Island is the lowest seed to reach a D-II national championship, with the previous record being sixth held by three teams. With just the one foray outside of New England, it was tough to get a read on the Rams. One thing we know now is they can score.

URI survived an overtime scare against No. 10 Utah State in the first round and since then, the Rams have been rolling. They beat both No. 15 UNC-Charlotte and No. 6 Montana by the score of 15-7. The 15.3 goals per game average is nothing to sneeze at.

Charlie White is the unquestioned motor of the Rhode Island offense and is savvy both on- and off-ball, as his two goals and two assists against Montana can attest. With that said, there are plenty of weapons in Larry Madeira’s stable.

And similar to South Carolina, for all of the attention the offense gets, the defense is outstanding, led by 6-foot-2, 250-pound Hunter Billings in net. Billings’ 22 saves against Montana were impressive, as he had the entire goal covered, continually frustrating the Griz.

Utah becomes the first MCLA at a varsity school to make it to the finals, and they’ve done it with a defense that leaves one in awe. The Utes ability to get on the hands of shooters and force teams into low percentage shots was on full display in the upset over St. Thomas in the semifinals. The Tommies usually efficient offense was frustrated all game long.

Zach Tripp got the call in net for the Utes against St. Thomas and was superb. The assumption is he would get the nod again on Saturday, but Nicholas Irving provides a quality second option. Hart Swan is an old-school defenseman who is often tasked with the opposition’s best player.

Keep an eye on the defensive middies for Utah because they appear to give the entire unit cohesion with the ability to steer opponents into sub-optimal decisions over the course of the game.

Offensively, the Utes aren’t as dynamic as Rhode Island, but they have plenty of talent. The Rogers brothers – senior Cort and sophomore Cade – can fill it up and Trevor Douglis is dangerous when he sets up shop behind the cage.

With the faceoff game appearing to be a wash, the battle between the Utah offense and the Rhode Island defense could be where this game is decided.

Championship Saturday
2022 MCLA National Championship presented by New Balance

No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 3 South Carolina, 10 a.m. *
No. 7 Rhode Island vs. No. 5 Utah, 12:45 p.m. *

(* - note the new times. The games were moved up to mitigate the heat index on Saturday)