By Steve Kojima

Last weekend cleared up the PNCLL D1 playoff picture a little bit, but there’s still lots to be decided. We do know No. 5 ranked Oregon and No. 7 ranked SFU will be at the PNCLL Final Four in Missoula, Montana, May 3-4

Simon Fraser (5-0) will likely take the top seed after posting a convincing 16-8 win over the Ducks on Saturday. Oregon (7-1) responded to that loss with a resounding 21-8 victory at Washington (3-3) on Sunday afternoon and will most likely be the No. 2 seed.

The final two seeds are still up for grabs with Montana (4-3), Washington (3-3) and Oregon State (3-3) the most likely candidates to grab a spot at the conference’s post-season tournament.

OSU made their playoff spot a little more difficult to achieve, despite a 14-12 victory over Washington on the weekend and strong showing at Simon Fraser (11-8 loss). Since Washington defeated Montana (4-3) by one goal, and Montana defeated OSU by four goals, the Huskies and Griz own the goal differential tie-break over the Beavers, so OSU now needs a little help to get in.

Boise State (1-4) could turn the playoff picture around if they beat Montana on Apr. 19. A Griz loss, would give OSU a shot to sneak in if the Beavers win out and beat Boise on Apr. 27. If Griz win that Montana-Boise game, however, they are in.

OSU also has a chance to get in if Washington loses one of its remaining games. The key match to watch will be when the Huskies face cross-town rival Washington State (0-4). The Cougars would love to pull an up-set there and leave Washington the team needing help to make the post-season.

So a few big games still to be played out. Will there be some suprises?

Right now, barring any unforeseen up-sets, your four PNCLL D1 teams would feature in order of seed: SFU, Oregon, Montana and Washington.

The PNCLL conference championships will be held in Missoula, Montana, May 3-4.

The winner of the PNCLL Final Four will receive an automatic bid to the MCLA national championships in Dallas, Texas, May 13-17. Seven at-large bids are also available, and the PNCLL conference will deservedly have an opportunity to earn one of those seeds.

Oregon and SFU were respectively ranked at No. 5 and No. 7 overall in the last MCLA D1 Top 25 poll. Montana is last year’s MCLA D2 National Champion.

Next up

Simon Fraser will play at Idaho (0-4) and at Washington State University this weekend, before finishing their regular season at home with Gonzaga University (3-4) on Apr. 26. “They’re all big games,” said SFU’s Curtis Manning, on looking ahead. “We’ve got to build on them and get ready for the Final Four.”

Oregon has No. 6 ranked BYU on their slate at home on Apr. 26, and they are scheduled to play at Cal and at No. 8 ranked Sonoma State this weekend.

Montana’s last conference game is as host to Boise on Apr. 19. A win can punch them a ticket to the Final Four. A loss and they’d need OSU to lose too. The Griz also play out of conference this weekend.

Washington travels to conference rival WSU on Saturday, then Idaho on Sunday. If they win out, they’ll secure a spot in the playoffs. A loss could eliminate their playoff hopes.

Oregon State will have a week off before they host BYU. They’ll also play at WSU and at Boise State in two weeks. Depending on whether Montana or Washington win in the coming weeks, those final conference games for the OSU Beavers could be big. As noted, they’ll need help to get in.

Check back soon for your Weekly PNCLL Preview.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 7:55 pm and is filed under MCLA News, PNCLL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.