MCLA Lacrosse: Utah Men’s Lacrosse 2014 Schedule Features Arizona State, Oregon, Arizona, Simon Fraser, Colorado State, Colorado And BYU

MCLA Lacrosse: Video Highlights Of #5 BYU Men’s Lacrosse 17-3 Win Over Utah On April 27

BYU’s lacrosse team played Utah in their final game of the regular season defeating them 17-3. They now head to the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference playoffs in Grand Junction, CO.

WCLA Lacrosse: #1 Colorado State Women’s Lacrosse Dominates On The Road As It Defeats #2 BYU, #15 Westminster And Utah On April 5-6

The state of Utah stood no chance against the CSU women’s lacrosse team.
CSU defeated Westminster, No. 2 BYU and Utah on the road by a combined score of 55-26 over the weekend.
The Rams remain the only undefeated team in the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association and wear their No. 1 ranking with pride.
“We are just one of those teams that always rallies,” senior captain, Maddie Garcia said. “We will play until we fall on the ground,we just pulled each other together.”
Though the game against No. 2 BYU was once tied at 4-4, CSU pulled ahead thanks to sophomore attack Ali Slyne’s go ahead goal, assisted by older sister Karly. The team increased the lead from there, taking the game 15-8.
“We’ve been playing together since we were nine years old, so I know what she’s going to do and she knows what I’m going to do,” Karly Slyne said. “We know how to work well together.”
Senior attack Karly Slyne tallied eight assists and nine goals on the weekend for a balanced CSU team.
Among other standouts, Garcia made huge contributions to all three games, racking up nine assists and 11 goals during a 3-game stretch over just 24 hours.
“I knew my year is coming to an end, and my lacrosse career in general,” Garcia said. “I was really trying to push it all out for my team and go the rest of the way undefeated.”
The BYU game might have been the toughest competition the Rams have faced this season, as they won their other two games in Salt Lake City against Westminster and Utah State 21-8 and 19-10, respectively. For more: http://www.collegian.com/2013/04/07/csu-womens-lacrosse-team-victorious-over-the-state-of-utah/

MCLA Lacrosse: Top Games Of The Week Feature #11 UC Santa Barbara At #5 Cal Poly, Grand Canyon At San Diego State, Texas State At Texas A&M And Boise State At Utah

No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (0-1) at No. 5 Cal Poly (0-0) – Saturday, 1 p.m. PT

COYNE: This game has certainly become even more interesting after the Gauchos’ opener. Prior to the start of the season, it appeared that Cal Poly had graduated way too many high-end players to hang with an ascendant UCSB program marked by Mike Allan’s return. But after the postponement of the USC game and the overtime loss to Stanford, the Gauchos look more vulnerable. It may be a short-term issue for UCSB, but it has certainly ratcheted up the importance of this contest.

I’ve got an inkling this one will boil down to goalie play. Both Conrad Carlson (60.5 save percentage last year for the Gauchos) and Nick Czapla (59.4% for the Mustangs) were part of a platoon situation, but this year they each will be the top dog in net. Both are excellent, but I’ll lean to Czapla’s championship game cred (six saves in the first half against CSU) plus, perhaps, a little SLO home-field advantage. ‘Stangs flip last year’s script, 8-7 in overtime.

SCHOOLER: This is not the same Mustangs team we saw last season. Lots of talent is gone, but the same can be said for the Gauchos. Both are young teams and will see improvement as the season progresses.

Stanford was a wakeup call for UCSB. The Gauchos have the firepower despite all of the talent lost to graduation. They just need to figure out how to sustain their initial push and play a complete game. That game would have been a blowout had the Stanford goalie, Josh Giglio (18 saves), not played out of his mind. The shots were there and they need to fall in this next game. Can they get the ball past Czapla? I think so.

The hunger after a tough loss to the Cardinal on the road and the fact that Cal Poly has yet to play a game makes me inclined to pick the Gauchos (along with the fact that I have never picked against them). I have UCSB winning, 12-9.

Grand Canyon (0-0) at San Diego State (1-0) – Saturday, 2 p.m. PT

COYNE: This is a reasonable game for Grand Canyon to commence its Division I excursion. Even more so when you consider there aren’t a whole lot of games left on the schedule in which the ‘Lopes will be favorites. San Diego State was 5-9 last season, with two of the wins coming over D-II teams, and the Aztecs are now breaking in a new coaching staff. Again, this seems like a good place for GCU to start.

With Carson Barton (55g, 25a) and Matt Mountain (22g, 15a), the ‘Lopes will get their goals, but their challenge will be to stop them from going in on the other end. Andrew Hunter is no longer around, along with his brother, pole Richard Hunter. In addition, GCU no longer has Fred Whistle’s faceoff dominance to give Manny Rapkin’s troops an advantage at the dot. And if there’s one thing that SDSU is used to, it’s the Division I grind, as they have been doing it for a while. It’ll be closer than what the Grand Canyon-ites think, but the ‘Lopes will notch its inaugural D-I victory, 12-10.

SCHOOLER: This is the game. Is Grand Canyon going to be able to compete at the Division I level? I can safely assume that the ‘Lopes will not win the SLC, but placing themselves in front of the mid-tier teams early would be a great statement.

The season is young, but I think the coaching change will work wonders for the Aztecs. They have so much potential at that school and always seemed on the verge of a breakout season. They also have a lot of young talent on the team with at least a season under their belts. It is unclear how either team has done with recruiting, but if I had to bet, I would go with SDSU and its ability to draw from the plethora of talented local high schools.

The Aztecs will welcome the Lopes to their first real Division I game with a loss. SDSU, 14-10.

Texas State (2-0) at Texas A&M (0-2) – Saturday, 7 p.m. CT

COYNE: Did you know that Texas A&M has more MCLA tournament berths than Arizona State, Boston College or Florida State, and just one fewer than Oregon or Cal Poly? If you’re new to the association, probably not, because since its last tourney bid in ’08, the Aggies are a combined 33-37, including last year’s 5-12 mark. As its schedule is currently configured, A&M isn’t even eligible for an at-large bid to nationals this spring. Times have changed.

On the flip side, Texas State is starting the Mike Brand era with an ambitious (by LSA standards) slate featuring ranked foes Boston College, Connecticut and Northeastern. As competitive as the Bobcats hope to be in ’13, they are still in Texas’ rearview mirror within the conference and several recruiting classes behind the top guns in the MCLA. So will this be a competitive game? Normally I’d think so, but Texas State smashed the Aggies, 15-3, last spring, and I’m not sure that much has changed to flip the result. B-cats, 12-7.

SCHOOLER: There is nothing tougher than picking the outcome of a game between two teams from the LSA at the beginning of the season. It is usually a toss-up. Jac has probably chatted with the coaches and studied their rosters closely, but as a fan, I do not have the resources (or time) to do that.

As a general rule, I root against any Texas team, but in this instance I don’t have that luxury. So it looks like Texas A&M has been off to a rough start and we know that Texas State has experienced some success in the past. For that reason, I am going with the Bobcats, 16-8.

Schooler’s Pick

No. 13 California (0-0) at No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (0-1) – Sunday, 1 p.m. PT

SCHOOLER: I didn’t want to pick two UCSB games, but the Gauchos have a great back-to-back weekend, including this home opener against the Bears on Sunday. How did I get suckered into a weekend of skiing when I could be enjoying it by the ocean for the first game to ever be played at the….the…well, we will have to come up with a name for the new field?

This game has me a bit worried. Both teams have lost a lot of talent. While I am not familiar with the Bears’ rookies, I know that UCSB has a talented group of freshmen from all over the country. Several of these rookies are starting and will only get more comfortable with the more games they play. The-difference maker will be Conrad Carlson in goal for the Gauchos. He once split time with Andrew Noto, but with his departure, it opens up a whole new door and I expect Carlson to shine.

This will be an excruciating game to follow for me on Twitter during a long car ride back from Mammoth Mountain in the Sierras, but it will be well worth it when the Gauchos come out on top, 13-12.

COYNE: You know it must be one helluva ski trip if our boy Nick is going to miss this contest, or perhaps he’s just boycotting the team now that “The Pit” has been retired. Either way, he’s missing out on a gem of an early season game. If the two teams were playing under similar conditions, I’d just punch in the Gauchos at home and move on. However, UCSB will be coming off a huge road rivalry game the day before against Cal Poly while the Bears will have chipped off the rust with a ‘friendly’ against Division II Pepperdine.

Cal would probably benefit from a UCSB win against Poly as the Bears would have the whole “let-down” thing going for them, but either way, the they have a very good shot to pull this out. Cal lost some key ingredients from last year like John Hofinga (35g, 5a) and goalie Casey Keenan (59.4 sv%), but head coach Dan Nourse had a sanguine outlook for his team when I spoke to him in the offseason. This one will be a grinder, but in the end, the Gauchos will lean on their defense to save the day. UCSB, 6-4.

Coyne’s Pick

Boise State (0-0) at Utah (0-0) – Sunday, 2 p.m. MT

COYNE: This is an important season for both the Broncos and the Utes. Boise State is a program trying to break into the next level of the MCLA, and showed a flash of brilliance last year with the upset victory over Simon Fraser. Utah is desperately trying to hold onto its upper-tier status within the RMLC after posting a 6-8 mark in ’12 where the six wins came against teams with a combined 22-48 record.

Last year, the Utes raced out to a big first half lead and coasted home against the Broncos for a 12-8 win. I’d be more willing to go out on a limb on this contest if not for the fact that Boise State will be playing Brigham Young on Friday night. While the weekend excursion to the Beehive State will be beneficial for the Broncos, Sunday’s contest against a fresh Utah squad will be a bit too much for this young team. Utes, 13-10.

On a brief aside, if you haven’t seen this video about what Boise State did for a local family, take a peek. You’ll become an instant BSU fan.

SCHOOLER: Give me a break. There is no question here. Utah is like the NBA’s former best sixth-man, James Harden. If you put the Utes in a different conference, they would make the tournament every year. The same cannot be said about Boise State.

I see this as a light appetizer for Utah as they head into a more challenging conference schedule. Utah wins, 15-7.

For more:  http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/club/2012-13/news/020613_schooling_schooler_can_teams_survive_the_move

MCLA Lacrosse: Utah Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Rick Kladis Talks About 2013 Season (Video)

Interview with Utah Utes Lacrosse Head Coach Rick Kladis about the Utes 2013 schedule, squad and coaches.

MCLA Lacrosse: Utah Men’s Lacrosse Releases 2013 Schedule Featuring Oregon, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State And BYU

MCLA Lacrosse: Video Highlights Of Chapman Men’s Lacrosse 9-6 Win Over Utah On Feb 20

MCLA Lacrosse: Utah Men’s Lacrosse Releases 2012 Schedule Poster

MCLA Lacrosse: Utah Men’s Lacrosse 2012 Schedule Features Cal Berkeley, Chapman, Oregon, Arizona State, Colorado State And BYU

MCLA Lacrosse: Top Games Of The Week Feature #2 BYU Men’s Lacrosse Hosting #13 Utah And San Diego State At #14 UC Santa Barbara

No. 13 Utah at No. 2 Brigham Young – 7 p.m. MDT, Saturday

SCHOOLER: At the beginning of the season, I picked this as the upset of the season. I predicted that BYU would beat CSU and sit on top of the RMLC while overlooking a talented Utah team. The stars have lined up. All I need is for Mark Manning to have the game of his life and destroy his once-beloved Cougars. I am going with the Utes in this game, but if they don’t win, it’s all good. It will give the Gauchos a better chance at nationals if there is a conference upset in the PCLL.

COYNE: Nick’s trying to hit a grand slam here with no one on base (am I allowed to use a baseball analogy?). BYU breezes, 14-8.

Santa Clara (6-8) at Sonoma (6-7) – 1 p.m. PDT, Saturday

COYNE: If you’re wondering whether there is a paucity of good games this late in the season, this game should give you your answer. This is a snoozer, but the pickings are slim, unfortunately. It seems so long ago, but both of these teams were ranked this year and thought to be contenders in the WCLL.

It was probably unfair to believe that. Both teams were welcoming back former coaches who had done great things in the past. But despite the optimism brought by the return, there were just too many missing pieces. So it boils down to this: which team has more to play for? Both are out of the WCLL tournament, so it comes down to playing at home. The Seawolves get the nod, barely. Noma, 12-11 (3OT).

SCHOOLER: I had very high expectations for Sonoma this season. The Seawolves started out well with a win over Michigan State, but have laid a goose egg in the WCLL this season. They have not beaten a single team! With five down and one to go, they have one last chance to save face at the expense of Santa Clara. Sonoma was in the same place last year and managed to defeat a struggling Chico State. Will it happen again this year? I think so. Sonoma takes this game by 5.

UCLA (8-5) at San Diego (4-8) – 7 p.m. PDT, Saturday

COYNE: This is the classic game illustrating the difference between strength of schedules. I’m guessing Nick won’t fall for it, but there’s always a chance. San Diego should win this one comfortably. Toreros, 12-5.

SCHOOLER: No question that San Diego wins this one. It is a far superior team. UCLA can pull off some wins at home because of the size of its field, but not on the road. The Toreros win this in a landslide.

Coyne’s Pick

San Diego State (4-9) at No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (9-5) – 3 p.m. PDT, Saturday

COYNE: Considering UCSB has already defeated the Aztecs at home this season, 15-9, on March 5, one would think this game will be a formality. It should be, but there is a variable. This is a must-win for the Gauchos, so we’ll find out how well they can play under severe pressure. Against a slightly more talented team, I might take a flyer against UCSB, but the Gauchos will win this game narrowly, 13-10.

SCHOOLER: San Diego State is lucky to be in this position. They managed to surprise Arizona earlier in the season, and since there are only four teams in the SLC South, Arizona was left out. Preceding this game will be an epic California high school battle between Northern California powerhouse St. Ignatius and Southern California powerhouse Coronado. This will be a great opportunity for UCSB and San Diego State to show these high schoolers what MCLA lacrosse is all about.

The Aztecs have nothing to lose in this game, but if UCSB loses, it is out of the national championships. So the Gauchos are fighting for their lives. I am hoping that the seniors will be excited for one last game in The Pit since senior day was ruined by USC two weeks ago. Seniors Jamie Bridgman and Dave Kurtmen will be solid. So will Taylor Gilbert, Aaron Hemeon and CJ Jacobs. Numerous coaches have referred to the middies from UCSB as the best in the nation. It is time for them to put it together and start acting like the best. Gauchos win, 15-5.

For more:  http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/club/2010-11/news/042711_schooling_schooler_just_like_that_its_almost_over