QuickStick MCLA Top 20 Poll – 4.18.18

Sometimes being late to the party isn’t a bad thing. Our friends at Northeastern pulled off a big PCLL upset and that has been taken into account tonight. Nonetheless, it’s Conference Championship SZN and we couldn’t be more torqued!

The SELC is building up to be an absolute bloodbath. Honestly, who knows what will happen, but Shears can tell you what he thinks here.

For many teams, this is “make it or break it time.” For the seniors, go out, play hard and leave it all on the field. These are your final days playing organized, highly competitive lacrosse. Make every moment last.

Aight, enough of the sorrows. It’s not closing time yet and we’ve got games to play. Here’s this week’s QuickStick MCLA Top 20!

1. Utah – The Utes had fate on their side in Colorado Springs. It was Senior Night for the Rams, a team that’s battle but come up short all year. It took lighning delays, and “buzzer beaters” (not gonna lie, I was watching and it looked like it was still in Cologna’s stick..). Nonetheless, they went to OT, won the faceoff and scored. Ballgame. Good teams win close games. Utah followed it up by knocking off Colorado in a much less stressful game but obviously highly competitive. I know I can’t wait for when they take on BYU this week.
2. Chapman – The Panthers completed their undefeated regular season with a dominating performance against UCSB. The Gauches challenged many top teams this year. Chapman winning by 9 is just another statement.
3. South Carolina – So first they made an epic hype video, but then Marty Daniels dropped a video saluting the ‘Cocks. I was done the second I saw that and so was Clemson. Tigers held in their in the rivalry game but South Carolina pulled away in the 4^th. The undefeated Cocks head down to Hotlanta with nearly half this poll to play sports.
4. BYU – So Jordan Harris didn’t have to give up his super computer or do a naked lap around Boulder. The Cougs bailed him out and took down Colorado on the road. This was an impressive win for BYU. This team has the talent to go all the way and that was displayed last week. They take on Utah this week it what may be the biggest MCLA game played outside the National Tournament all year.
5. Michigan State – MSU got the job done against Western Michigan a week ago, but not without a bit of fear. Sparty only took down the Mustangs by 4, but a win’s a win and we gotta appreciate that. Time for the CCLA Playoffs and a matchup with Pitt on Saturday kicks things off.
6. Grand Canyon – GCU wrapped up their regular season with a convincing win over UNLV. Time for the SLC Tournament for the Lopes.
7. Colorado – It was a tough week for the Buffs who lost back to back games against BYU and Utah. They look to bounce back this weekend against CSU in their rivalry game. If the Buffs are to falter against the Rams, it’s safe to say their at-large bid to the National Tournament could be up in the air.
8. Virginia Tech – Do the Hokie Pokie and turn yourself around. Blacksburg’s finest took down public enemy #1 in Liberty and roll into the SELC Tournament on a high note ready to face UGA. A win in the first round and I think VaTech clinches a spot in the National Tourney, but lord knows those guys wanna get the AQ.
9. Concordia Irvine– It was an off-week for the Eagles as they began postseason preparations. The former MCLA DII Team has been cruising in their first season in DI. I’m excited to see how they fare in the SLC and potentially National Tournament. They can’t overlook UCSB this weekend as a loss puts them in a tough crowd for at-large bids.
10. Georgia Tech– Rounding out the Top 10 is Georgia Tech. The Jackets took down some hungry UGA Dawgs to clinch their Division. Many expect them to make a deep run in the SELC Tournament, but rumor has it they’ve been bit hard by the injury bug. Either way, MCLA God Ken Lovic will have his boys ready and the good news is they don’t have to travel far.
11. Boston College – The Birds left the nest again and took down UCONN on a Friday night in Storrs (where else would you want to be?). They flocked home and took down pesky Buffalo. A date with Beantown rival Northeastern this weekend and a UNH team who’ll be looking to bounce back after being upset by Buffalo.
12. Florida State – When FSU fired their coach, the MCLA’s proper freaked TF out. “gersh omg this is horrible…” well look at them now, and honestly, I saw this coming. FSU is a talented squad who can run with anyone in the country when they’re clicking. Don’t be shocked if they’re the last one standing this weekend in HotLanta, but if they lose, you also know they’ll be the first ones tryna get into Flip Flops on Saturday Night, the hotspot for those who attend the Fall SELC League Meeting.
13. Liberty – The fire went out against the Hokies. Flames fell by 5. Time for God’s men to regroup and look to pull off some magic in the SELC Tournament. With GaTech bit by the injury bug, don’t be shocked if the Flames are still standing on Saturday.
14. Davenport– It’s the CCLA playoffs baby, anything can happen! The Panthers take on Minnesota. Do I smell revenge game? I think the Panthers pull this one off and take on MSU in the Final for their chance at the MCLA National Tournament.
15. California – The Golden Bears took down Nevada and now host Stanford. They’re favorited to win the WCLL. Idk what else to say aside from the winner of the WCLL gets a bit to Nationals while someone from the highly competitive at-large field will have to stay home.
16. New Hampshire – Sheesh, tough L against pesky Buffalo (can’t say we didn’t see this coming…) but the Wildcats are eager to show the MCLA they’re amongst the best and have their eyes set on knocking off BC this weekend in Chestnut Hill.
17. Florida – A tough L in their rivalry game but the good news is the Gators still get to head up to Atlanta and compete for a conference title. They face South Carolina, a team who beat them by 11 earlier this year, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
18. Clemson – I can’t penalize the Tigers for losing to South Carolina. They ran with the #3 team in the nation for 3 quarters. This was the toughest opponent they faced all year and quite frankly hung in there more than some people certainly expected. It was a great test heading into the SELC Tournament.
19. Georgia – Just like Clemson, how can we penalize the Dawgs for losing to GaTech? We just couldn’t. The SELC is by far the strongest conference this year and this weekend’s tournament will be insane. Don’t be surprised if you see some upsets, maybe some good boys will get some bones, and SELC hot sauce this weekend.
20. UCONN – Their strongest win is against Liberty but they just lost at home to Northeastern by 5. The Pups Niagara Falls this weekend for games against West Virginia and Buffalo. If UCONN wants to make the MCLA Tournament, they’ll need to beat Buffalo and win the PCLL Tournament, both of which they’re capable of doing. One thing to note here, this may be the best MCLA scheduling move of all time for WVU. The Mountaineers scheduled games during the SELC playoffs, knowing they’d likely lose to VaTech and Liberty. I don’t know what to think of this, they probably have ESPN or something.

Others considered (no particular order): Arizona State, Northeastern Colorado State, Oregon, Simon Fraser, Cal Poly