That's why you don't see very many inter-divisional games. And now with the selection commitee, it magnifies those wins/losses.

Granted, I agree while-heartedly with both of your reasons. We as club laxers pay a heavy price, both financially and physically, just to play a game we love. Do most of us get any sort of glory or recognition? Hell no.

And the low-level team excuse doesnt fly either. I know that from personal experience. Before my freshman year at Charlotte, the team had won maybe 3 games in a season, at most. I'm fairly sure that they won only 1 game the year before. Fast forward to the end of the season and we're 9-3, regular season SELC champs, runner-up in the SELC tournament, and one spot outside of an at-large trip to Dallas, TX, to play for the National Championship. So called “Low-level” teams are much more likely to drastically change overnight than the reverse. It doesn't take much. One taste of that success and everyone wants to stay at that level.

I'm currently experiencing it once again as a player at UNCG.

I'm a little more disagreeing with #2. You don't learn anything in blowout losses. You go through the motions because you're gonna lose(i know exceptions exist, but they're rare). You learn far more in the close games. You're more emotionally invested. You play your best so you can beat your opposition.

There are some exceptions to the D1vsD2 rule, though. I am totally fine with mid-level D1 teams competing with D2 schools. The Pitt vs GCC game at the beginning of the season is a great example of this(sorry, Pete. No offense). Grove City is a great team. Pitt is an average team.

But what's the perception from the collegelax.us user who has no knowledge of either team, other than their Divisional status? Pitt is D1, they lost to D2 GCC. That's an upset. That loss hurts the Pitt program much more than the loss to Buffalo, despite only losing by 1 to GCC.

The prospective MCLA laxer might see that loss and think “Oh, they lost to a D2 school. They suck.” Does that person end up playing there? Maybe, but he's already going in with an attitude of negativity.

The inverse is equally true for the GCC prospect.”Oh sweet, we beat Pitt. We must be good.”(which is actually the case this year. Expect to see them in Denver)

Perfect example: Carnegie Mellon lost 3 games last Saturday by a total of 7 goals. I'm almost 100% sure they learned more about their team that day than they will in the loss they'll get vs Pitt.

Enough with this novel of a reply. I think I've covered what I needed to. If you need any clarification on anything, let me know.

1. It does make a difference. Playing a competitive game is more fun and better for morale and work ethics.
2. You don't learn nearly as much from blowouts as from close losses.

I'm not precisely sure how UNR stacks up against that D1 competition, but all 20-5 losses will do is curb effort and snuff out hope. You have to walk before you can run.

#1, a game is a game. Kids sign up to play lax, and when you're a low-level team, probably not going to Denver, it makes no difference which division that game comes against.
#2, you improve by playing against better competition. Blowouts aren't fun, but they're a learning opportunity.