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Colorado Chapman lacrosse Photo by Shannon Lukens / Colorado Buffs men's lacrosse MCLA Super Post
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MCLA Super Post: News, Highlights, Mid-Season All-Americans + MORE!

Compared to the rest of the season so far, this was a pretty slow week. We saw some big games, but no major upsets. As most teams begin to hit spring break, the coming week looks a lot slower too. Makes for a good time to drop a mid-season MCLA Super Post!

With a minute to take a breather, let’s take a look at the past week, the top players, and the new Top 25!

Georgia Tech Solidifies Their #1 Spot

In the highlight matchup of the week, and perhaps the biggest SELC conference game of the year, the Yellow Jackets overcame a deficit at halftime to take down the previously undefeated Florida State Seminoles and secure their #1 ranking.

With #2 Cal beginning to creep in on their crown, a Top 10 win like this will help make sure that GT keeps the top spot in the Week 5 polls. These two are likely to meet again in the SELC final, and FSU keeping the score close helps to keep their at-large hopes alive.

However, barring any conference upsets in the meantime, the Ramblin’ Wreck have locked up the top spot in the SELC. A big test awaits them in Colorado in two weeks.

The Buffs Keep Climbing

Colorado had a rough start to their season, losing two of their first three and dropping out of the #2 spot. Since then, the Buffs have won six straight, including wins over #6 Cal Poly, #12 UCSB, and, most recently, #9 Chapman. The Panthers do look like they’ve returned to form since the return of Dylan Garner, but it was the Buffs who came out on top in their top ten matchup in Boulder last weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoMensLacrosse/photos/a.10154401059132393.1073741915.310521852392/10154401071612393/?type=3&theater

With GT and Cal both undefeated, and Grand Canyon having won the head-to-head, it’s very unlikely that Colorado will regain the #2 spot yet, but expect the Buffs to keep on moving up. Meanwhile, the Buffs have a chance to take out Georgia Tech on March 31st.

Conference Races Begin to Settle

Georgia Tech, as mentioned above, is now in the driver’s seat for the SELC. They weren’t the only ones who helped their conference cause this past weekend. Out west, #13 Oregon State took down #21 Boise State to gain poll position in the PNCLL. #15 Michigan State beat Pittsburgh and earned the lead in the CCLA. However, there is plenty of drama to come. Any of those teams could suffer an upset, and big conference races in the SLC and WCLL are still wide open.

Ryder’s Midseason All-Americans

We are almost halfway through the season and, with no major games of the week to discuss, I decided to try my hand at creating an MCLA DI All-America team for the first half of the season.

Without further ado, my midseason AA team:

Attack

  • Max McKone, senior, California
  • Cade Bailey, junior, Oregon
  • Tim Peterson, sophomore, Georgia Tech

https://www.facebook.com/UOmenslacrosse/photos/ms.c.eJxNVEtyQDEIulFH4zf3v1jnYYPdMoiIJqq39JhkSZhf~_9EBVK2OaMQDJMU6~_xQZZxj~_gKPQqCajUaL~;NFCSQoajpGNLwHBqhH0a1a8kXD8g7vkD3KBh~_TTcMYsFZ4lAF6fTOgB2Fgt0uU2N~_wHZr8QDecjOUg6APuwUrNt9gBe6xDJmOGOXPOhS~_gCZaY0BxR3rQsZMezltIlMRWQAMe~_N7TclhSWNRpgy5Cm0jH0MbjKaxjilhhD7Ggm1n~_7bbr56QdQOa~_2AeOTcmzLQdPnwj1NkLS3oWxfvwvlZ6bxV9GPJwbr~_Ruqwxny79uriN9aTonWnlTRtuH3A2oDtts8gYQAnI7NaUQIMRr0uoQJQ~_Yt5L7o3ZPDFj6jmXvMA9kwdDvnDqkizBJVf6ioKx1g9ET63ofAbyIoxvr99wzNQDxrjbSPwO8U~;0jijvw2Yve5YyLyrjF5Bf6HU~-.bps.a.1197123010386832.1073741845.335742746524867/1197124217053378/?type=3&theater

McKone was the February Player of the Month, and has led Cal to an undefeated start to the season. Bailey has been quite recently, but the Bryant transfer has been a dominant offensive force for the Ducks. Peterson has helped Georgia Tech to the #1 ranking, and has been a consistent point getter in ranked matchups.

Midfield

  • Colin MacIlvennie, sophomore, Colorado
  • Bodi Engum, senior, Minnesota
  • Danny Riley, junior, Virginia Tech

Midfield is a hard position to judge. The best midfielders don’t always show up on the stat sheet, and two-way middies don’t always get enough appreciation. MacIlvennie has multiple goals in every single game. Engum has played an integral part of Minnesota’s rise to national presence. Riley has been an offensive force for the Hokies so far.

LSM

https://www.facebook.com/BYULacrosse/photos/a.10155335125398706.1073741855.100305663705/10155335153073706/?type=3&theater

  • Max Neser, senior, BYU

The senior has long been one of the most dominant LSMs in the MCLA, and, despite some injury trouble this year, he remains the top LSM in the league one again this season.

Face-off Specialist

  • Jannsen Levin, senior, Oregon State

The senior has been on another level this season, playing a huge part in the Beavers’ 9-1 start to 2017. He’s currently winning an astonishing 82% of his draws.

Defense

  • Will Byars, senior, Georgia Tech
  • Alec Gieser, senior, Colorado State
  • Gideon Baum, senior, Cal Poly

These three are top poles on top defenses. Byars has been an absolute monster for the Yellow Jackets, having just held FSU star Davis Goodman to zero points. Gieser has already gotten honor roll for Commanding Performance, and is perhaps the top player for the Rams so far. Baum, meanwhile, is building on a 1st-team All WCLL performance from 2016 by helping the Mustangs become one of the top defenses in the MCLA.

Goalie

  • Bert Schmickel, senior, Cal

Arguments can be made for Cal Poly’s Sean Pihl and Florida State’s Anthony Cicio, and, honestly, the three of them might as well be tied. However, my spot goes to Schmickel, who has posted a 71% save rate this year. More importantly, he’s posted a 64% save rate or higher in every ranked matchup Cal has played, including 14 saves vs Chapman, 16 vs Utah, and 15 vs Arizona.

Ryder’s Top 25

1.Georgia Tech
2.Cal

These two are neck and neck for the #1 spot. They’re head and shoulders above anybody else as long as they still undefeated. GT gets top billing after their win over FSU.

3. Grand Canyon
4. Colorado
5. BYU

Grand Canyon is a 1-loss team with a H2H head over the Buffs, so they stay above them, but only just. Colorado is one of the hottest teams in the MCLA right now. BYU can play like the #1 team, but occasionally lapses into stretches of average play.

6. Florida State
7. Cal Poly
8. Arizona State

Florida State won’t fall far for me just by losing a close game to the #1 team. Cal Poly remains defensively oriented and offensively limited. Arizona State is hard to place, due to four losses, but they benefit from others falling.

https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoMensLacrosse/photos/rpp.310521852392/10154401557512393/?type=3&theater

9. Chapman
10. Oregon State

A win over the Buffs would’ve shot Chapman back to the top five. As it is, they look great for an at-large bid. Oregon State is 9-1, with three top 25 wins, and the likely PNCLL favorite.

11. Boston College
12. Utah
13. Colorado State

I said this last week, but this time it is (probably) true: Boston College finally plays this week. Weather delayed them last week. Utah looks good, but their resume is a little lacking right now outside of their Chapman win. Colorado State might be controversial here, but I think they need more quality wins before they get to be top 10.

14. UCSB
15. Oregon
16. Michigan State
17. UNLV
Utah Utes @ UNLV Rebels Game Photos - Utah Utes Lacrosse MCLA Super Post
Photo: Utah Utes Lacrosse

Call this section the “have quality wins, but with flaws” section. These few are interchangeable to some extent, but UCSB and Oregon have bigger wins.

18. UConn
19. Virginia Tech
20. Arizona

UConn is off to a solid start. Virginia Tech’s resume looks better as USC looks better. Arizona is talented, but needs to starting winning more often.

21. South Carolina
22. SDSU
23. Boise State
24. Sonoma State
25. Oklahoma

The Gamecocks are undefeated. San Diego State has some quality losses, and a big win over OSU. Boise State is still a threat in the PNCLL. Sonoma State reenters the top 25 after a win streak. Oklahoma sticks around due to being the current LSA favorite to go to nationals.

Video Explosion

https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoMensLacrosse/videos/10154398644592393/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-v8ArlTvm0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IDGVgrR3CQ