Inside the SLC: A new season is here
(No Ratings Yet) 
Loading ...
Now…now is what we have been waiting for through the agonizing fall and the wet winter. Everything has led up to now. Those runs in the cold…ground ball drills, dues, Vegas, ‘10 heads…you name it. The warm-up is over. Now it counts. Lax is back…lax is here, now.
I’ll tell you what I’m excited about and what the rest of the SLC dreads….welcome back Sun Devils. The wild card…chip on the shoulder from the season that promised so much yet took everything away. What could have been. A new challenge awaits. We shall see them soon enough and I can’t wait.
Alright, enough bs and on to the weekend that is here…well almost. It is still 1/29/2010 on this coast. Let’s begin with the first out of conference match up for the conference with a rematch from last year. The UCLA Bruins head up the the 101 coastline to take on the Broncos from Cal Poly. (Man that is a cool drive for a while fellas) The defending tournament champions from what was a brutal WCLL conference. Last season Poly came down and gave the Bruins a spanking in Westwood. They simply overpowered an over-matched UCLA squad. The Bruins are a bit older and deeper this year, but face a formidable squad who always comes to play in San Luis Obispo. UCLA is 5-6 vs Cal Poly since 1992 with their last win coming in the ‘00 season. The last time the Bruins played at Cal Poly (‘05) the Broncos prevailed 7-6. What can we expect this year? Well, I see the Bruins holding their own with a defense that can matchup with the best teams out there. The big question mark is the offense. They need production from an offense that broke the double digit goals barrier 4 times last year. Should be an interesting game.
What will Claremont bring us this year? Will it be the team that takes down the Gauchos, LMU and San Diego or the squad that implodes against the LSA’s TCU and SMU (at home no less!)? The Cougars will have to find some new ammo for the an offense that lost conference standout attackmen Phillip Trapp and Scott Trimble. Perhaps the defense will come through this year for them. The Cougars will host SLC South Division UNLV this Saturday. Claremont defeated Rebels with ease last year in Sin City by the score of 19-7. Before you say that Claremont will win this going away again this year…at home…the departed tandem of Trapp and Trimble combined for 11 goals and dished out 4 assists last time. Think about it. I’m not saying Claremont had no players this year, but will the leadership and will to win be there. Plus they have to deal with the beast that is Kyle Morse…5.9 points avg. Also, make sure to not sleep Steven Herman who averaged 4.2 points. Look for the Rebels to surprise a few teams on there. I still like Claremont in a close game.
In the night ca…uh…afternoon cap, Concordia takes on first-year SLC member Cal State Channel Islands at San Clemente HS. Concordia is coming off a tough 1-8 season. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know much about either team so whatever I say would just be straight up nonsense…so I will stop there. Glad to see a couple MCLA teams playing at a HS venue though. Lax is really taking off down there and getting kids (and importantly parents) excited about the possibility of playing in college is a good thing.
Glad lax is is here. Women’s bowling season is almost done and I was fearing the impending boredom. You should all be glad it is here too. Smile and tomorrow I am reffing youth lax with this Hofstra alum.
Join Buffalowill as he covers the crazy world of the SLC this year on CollegeLAX. 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 season.
