Inside the SLC: Into the Weekend
So week three in the SLC has come and gone and what have we learned? …not much I say except LMU may be the real deal this year. It is still early but the Lions made their statement by spoiling the Aztecs revenge game at Palos Verdes High School. The most impressive part of this was that they held the Aztecs to only 7 goals including a 1 goal 4th quarter. Impressive against a team that was oh so close to making the playoffs last year from the brutal WCLL South. Note to the Aztecs: As much respect as I have for the program and the great alumni I have met…the website almost gave me a seizure. Lot’s of good info on there though…
USC played UCSB much tighter than expected at the infamous “Pit.” UCSB took a little time to get on the board, but the new look Gauchos found a way to win. Funny math on that site by the way… Unfortunately in what I think is a poor scheduling decision, USC was hammered at home by team on the rise Santa Clara. Don’t think this game wouldn’t have been closer if the Trojans were not in Isla Vista the day before. Good recap on the weekends events here. Tough road to that elusive first playoff berth…
I had a hard time watching the once mighty Tritons of UCSD fall to DII Cal State Fullerton. Where is Nick Dean?!?! Interesting how just a few years and poor classes can bring a program to a halt. To their defense the DII moniker is only in name as CSUF, despite the newness of the program, fits the DI profile better. A NCAA Division I athletic program and a huge enrollment of nearly 37K clearly should put the Titans at the DI level in the years to come. If they were in the PNCLL they and Long Beach State would probably be in DI….like Portland State.
The Arizona Wildcats took care of business against UNLV Saturday as well. Don’t let that score fool you as 4 of the Rebels’ scores came in the 4th quarter and all came after a scoreless first. The Wildcats could be that sleeper team from the South that surprises. Coach Morrison was pleased with the effort despite no preseason scrimmages this year. Unfortunately, we will not learn much this week as Arizona spurns the PAC-10 to play NCAA DII Notre Dame de Namur. Good luck, but you guys should be in Palo Alto.
In the only other SLC DI match of the weekend the Bruins proved to be no match for the Chapman Panthers. Chapman remains the favorite to win the SLC North. I would be very surprised if they are not the #1 seed heading into the SLC Tournament. Their schedule is perfect, save the trip to the Beehive State. The Bruins continue to struggle, albeit against some of the MCLA’s top teams, and now have not won an MCLA DI game since beating Texas in Austin in 2007 and they have not won a division game since April 2006 when they defeated LMU. Sorry, guys Cal win in 2007 was in-conference, but out of division.
As for Arizona State…all this waiting must hurt. Even Head Coach Chris Malone is forced to wait out for second-hand knowledge. The PAC….I mean MPSF tournament this weekend will not be same without them there. OSU might have the most expensive single game trip in the history of the MCLA! Hopefully there are some plans in the work for adding some games for these guys… Staying on this topic, the tournament organizers should have given the Sun Devils a deadline for confirming their games once news of the first cancellation leaked. Sure we all want to give them the benefit of the doubt and every chance to make it to the game….but after no practice and the pushing back of the announcement date several times does anyone think they will be up there?? Sorry guys, but those fellas up in Palo Alto have a tournament to run and a commitment first and foremost to the confirmed teams traveling from out of state.
This was too long…
Join Buffalowill as he covers the crazy world of the SLC. He is a fan of the 7-diamond mesh and despises bison. He has been coaching youth lacrosse for several years and expects to win 1-2 games this year.
