Weekend Watch: The Calm

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – I’ve got five kids 11-years old and younger and they compete over everything.

First into the car. First out of the car. Who gets the last Texas toast. Who gets the larger cookie. Who goes down the slide first.

It’s relentless.

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

As you can probably imagine, when the five of them are lined up waiting to be unleashed (along with a couple of cousins) upon a backyard full of candy compliments of the Easter Bunny, it’s like holding back a pack of wolves.

My little baby girl will cut you if you get in her way.

The rest will be pushing and shoving. There will be screaming, tears and a couple of Sunday best outfits will get ruined. My wife will start bickering with her mother. My brother-in-law will begin arguing with his girlfriend. My bloody Mary won't be spicy enough.

Relatively speaking, it’s going to be a really relaxing time.

Watching my family devolve into a bunch of frothing lunatics will be a breeze compared to what awaits next weekend.

It’s on the weekend of April 26-28 that 16 championship trophies will be handed out, 14 automatic qualifiers to the 2019 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour will be awarded, two 16-team brackets will be announced and a 50-page program will have to somehow make its way to the printer.

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Come out and support the #9 Eagles as they host USC in the first round of the @slc_lax conference playoffs! #cuilax #protectthenest #beatusc
A post shared by Concordia University Lacrosse (@cuilax) on Apr 18, 2019 at 1:11pm PDT

It’s going to be very stressful, but extremely entertaining. There should be plenty of upsets, story lines, euphoria and heartbreak.

As such, kick back this weekend and enjoy these relatively quiet three days.

Not to say that there aren’t some great contests this weekend. There are some fantastic rivalry games that will determine tournament seeding along with first round action in the SLC and WCLL tourneys.

But with only 33 games total, this is the quietest week since February.

Alas, it’s just the eye of the hurricane, and the storm’s comin’.

For the throne. pic.twitter.com/wEGMwdaky7
— Mizzou Lacrosse (@MizzouLacrosse) April 15, 2019

My Five Picks

Kansas (6-2) at Missouri (7-3), 6:30 p.m. – Friday
The Border War will not only have all of the trappings of a big rivalry game, but will go a long way in seeding the upcoming UMLC Division I tournament in Crown Point, Ind. The top three seeds won’t be locked down until after the weekend.

Mizzou brings in the prolific combo of Noah Iverson (34g, 34a) and Jack Eagan (29g, 8a) while the Jayhawks counter with one of the best goalies in the country you've never heard of, senior Thomas O’Hara (71.1 sv%). Who has the advantage? Tough one. Tigers, 11-10.

We talkin practice.

Who ya got when the dust settles Friday night under the lights?

Tigers. Gamecocks. 7PM. Riggs Stadium. CU there. pic.twitter.com/HNns4wjwL3
— Clemson Lacrosse (@ClemsonLacrosse) April 17, 2019

No. 6 South Carolina (12-2) at No. 19 Clemson (10-4), 7 p.m. – Friday
Two of the four SELC-I subdivisions are jockeying for seeds, and this is one of them. Whichever team walks away with the win will grab the top seed in the SELC Northeast and draw Georgia (#2SW) in the quarterfinals. The loser gets Georgia Tech, who no one wants to see in the quarters.

Garret Brennan (41g, 39a) gives Clemson a dynamic offensive player who posted five points against South Carolina last spring. Scoring isn’t really the issue for the Tigers. It’s the onslaught they’ll face from the Gamecocks that needs to be mitigated. USC, 14-10.

No. 21 Grand Canyon (4-7) at No. 13 Arizona (8-4), 1 p.m. - Saturday
A ticket to the SLC semifinals – and a date with Chapman – hangs in the balance of this contest. The Wildcats breezed to a 10-3 victory in the regular season meeting with the Arizona zone confounding the Lopes offense, which was held to three goals and shut out in the second half.

Grand Canyon is a dangerous team with some outstanding players, but a lot of these guys have national championship rings. Are they ready to grind with a hungry UA team that wants to make a mark? I’m not sure, but ‘Zona has the better goalie. ‘Cats, 11-9.

pic.twitter.com/lNoJ0i9qK5
— UVU Men's Lacrosse (@UVULacrosse) April 18, 2019

Brigham Young at Utah Valley, 7 p.m. – Saturday
Elimination game? Honestly, yeah, I think it is. The loser is almost certainly toast while the winner will be a solid bubble team. At least that’s my assessment.

BYU has had a hard-luck season in many ways, as four of the Cougars six losses have come by three goals or less. And they’ve never been blown out. UVU has struggled against the cream of their schedule. BYU, 13-11.

.@LibertyLax set for Saturday’s regular-season-ending showdown at Virginia Tech. #libertyuniversity https://t.co/PhixB1Fwcy
— Liberty University (@LibertyU) April 18, 2019

Liberty at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. – Saturday
This is going to be such a great game. The high-flying Flames against the methodical Hokies with the top seed in the subdivision on the line. Liberty is playing at a different level this year, and I think it really shows in this one. Flames, 14-9.

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Awesome edit from our guy @georgemcguirkphoto from our 2-0 spring break trip to Colorado.
A post shared by Chapman Men’s Lacrosse (@chapman.lacrosse) on Apr 18, 2019 at 9:07am PDT

Slides & Rides
Division I
Buffalo’s 17-11 win over No. 24 Northeastern on Thursday night could really throw a monkey wrench into the CLC East race. There’s a decent chance that the Bulls, Northeastern and Boston College could get thrown into a three-way tie…a sweep of Nebraska and Kansas this weekend and Minnesota is the top seed out of the UMLC West…Sonoma lost, 7-4, at Stanford earlier this season, so the Seawolves winning this weekend wouldn’t be too much of a shock.

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Congratulations to MSU Denver alum and former Goalie, Koahl Thornton for signing with the @denveroutlaws ! Koahl becomes the second Roadrunner to sign in the @majorleaguelax @the_mcla @msudenverathletics @msudenver
A post shared by MSU Denver Men's Lacrosse (@msudenverlacrosse) on Apr 18, 2019 at 3:48pm PDT

Division II
Saturday’s game between Saint Mary’s and Humboldt State will determine who gets the fourth seed in the WCLL-II tourney and who starts summer…San Diego’s 11-2 win over Biola sends the Toreros to the SLC-II semis where they get Northern Arizona…the race for the CLC-II title is interesting...ditto for the RMLC. A lot of figuring out to do…Southern Oregon travels to Western Oregon with the winner grabbing the second seed out of the PNCLL-II South while the loser gets the third seed.