The Future Looks Bright for the MCLA

This week was an exciting week for lacrosse. The MCLA continued to provide its’ fans with great games across the nation and the NCAA kicked off their season. This week also saw the announcement of another lacrosse program. On Thursday, February 9^th, Furman University announced its’ plans to add Men’s and Women’s lacrosse to their Athletic Department. Furman is one of several schools to recently announce their intentions to field a Division 1 team. The two most recent schools have been MCLA programs, Michigan and Marquette. Recent conference realignment has also affected the lacrosse landscape. Recent rumors have had Lone Star Alliance member Southern Methodist, adding NCAA Division 1 lacrosse. Although more and more programs are leaving the MCLA, the league serves an important role. As seen by Michigan and Marquette the MCLA can be a stepping stone to growing the sport at the NCAA level. The athletic departments added lacrosse at those schools because the foundation for a great program was already there. But do not worry MCLA fans; the league is not going anywhere. There will always be a need for club lacrosse and even though the teams might change the league’s high level of lacrosse will never change.

Weekend Notes

BYU 14 – Simon Fraser 10

The defending D1 Champions and the pre-season #1 ranked BYU Cougars faced a tough test on Saturday when they faced the #18 Simon Fraser Clan. The Clan cut BYU’s lead to three going into the third quarter but could not upset the Cougars. Last year’s MCLA leading scorer, Calvin Craig, scored two goals and netted two assists in the Clan’s failed upset attempt. BYU’s win on Saturday marked their third win in three days.

(DII) Davenport 13 – (D1) Michigan State 12

The Division II Davenport University Panthers made a statement to the rest of the MCLA on Saturday, taking the #6 ranked Division 1 Michigan State Spartans to double overtime before falling 13-12. This was almost a signature win for the Panthers, but was still a strong showing for the Division II defending champions. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers fare against the remaining Division I teams on their schedule, Miami (OH) and Wisconsin-Madison.

Boston College 8 – Florida State 7

Sunday featured a fantastic matchup against two top 15 ranked pre-season teams. # 12 Florida State had a 6-5 lead going into the third quarter but #5 Boston College was able to force overtime and win the game despite four points from the Seminoles Brett Angerer. Florida State will try and rebound from the loss on Friday February 17^th, when they face conference rival Miami.