by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – One of the many great things about the MCLA is its ability to attract coaches from a wide talent pool.

We’ve got NCAA Division I national champion assistant coaches to MLL All-Stars to Division III standouts to high school championship coaches to just -graduated up-and-comers. It’s a big tent, to be sure.

This Friday features a pair of newly-minted head coaches squaring off in an SELC non-divisional clash.

On one side is J.J. Arminio at Auburn. Arminio is a War Eagle alum, but cut his coaching teeth as an assistant with Georgia Tech over the past three seasons. He was a big part of the staff that led the Yellow Jacket to the last two national semifinals, and is expected to put the Tigers on the upward path.

UCF may have beat our football team in the peach bowl this year, but tonight we're looking for revenge as we take on UCF at home at 7pm #WarEagle
A post shared by Auburn University Lacrosse (@auburnlacrosse) on Feb 9, 2018 at 7:38am PST

In the other coaches box will be Mike von Kamecke. He is a former All-American at Salisbury (Md.), a Division III school, with coaching stints at the high school level and the NCAA D-II (Tampa) ranks. Now he’s the head man for a Central Florida program looking to take the next step.

It should be an entertaining game. It’s the season-opener for both, but it’s not an SELC divisional affair, so there isn’t a ton on the line. Other than getting off to a good start.

For me, this is the beauty of the MCLA, specifically the opportunity it provides coaches of all backgrounds to show their mettle. As such, I’ll be keeping an eye on this outcome.

What's the Game of the Week in MCLA Division I for the period ending Feb. 11? #mcla18
— MCLA Tournament '18 (@MCLA_Tournament) February 6, 2018

The so-called Division I Game of the Week is taking place in Minneapolis as No. 17 Minnesota entertains No. 13 Michigan State in a CCLA thriller. As mentioned in Inside Lacrosse’s “CCLA Snapshot,” the Gophers had the best chance to unseat Sparty from its six-year run of dominance, but got tripped up.

This isn’t one of the proverbial “must-win” situations for either team because the CCLA has traditionally been a one-bid league and the AQ will get doled out in April. With that said, the Spartans have a schedule that could keep them in the at-large hunt with a couple of key wins.

TODAY'S GAMES

This would be one of them.

The shine came off Friday's Texas-Cal matchup with the Longhorns losing to A&M last Sunday, but you never know. Teams always improve and Texas is dripping with talent. I’m not giving up on this being a solid contest.

Gamecocks have arrived #Dallas pic.twitter.com/ob11PlPVnf
— Gamecocks Lacrosse (@CocksLacrosse) February 9, 2018

I’ll be curious to see how South Carolina holds up on its Texas swing. Sure, they wiped out Georgia in the opener, but three games in three days is a serious grind. Fortunately, the Gamecocks lined up the schedule from hardest (SMU) to easiest (Texas Tech) with Texas State in the middle.

What's the Game of the Week in MCLA Division II for the week ending Feb. 11? #mcla18
— MCLA Tournament '18 (@MCLA_Tournament) February 6, 2018

The massive, 29-team LSA-II doesn’t always produce the most competitive games, but we’ll get a dandy on Saturday night when No. 20 Missouri State visits No. 21 UT-Dallas in what could be an LSA championship preview.

The Bears have played two D-I opponents so far, going 1-1, while the Comets have fattened up with a 3-0 mark in D-II routs. Will that make a difference? We’ll see, but Mo. State has to be careful because they have an extremely talented Baylor team waiting for it on Sunday.

If you want to get a look at the MSU-UTD game, StickStar Productions is streaming the game while Mo. State has control of the_mcla Snapchat account for the weekend.

NOTES: Michigan State pays D-II Duluth on Sunday. That’s no slam dunk for the Spartans…we’ll get our first taste of Florida State this weekend against NC State and Miami…Cal Poly opens its defense of the WCLL crown by hosting league foe Nevada on Saturday…former D-II championship Concordia-Irvine starts its D-I journey by hosting a divisional game against UCLA…nominations for Commanding Performance of the Week powered by Under Armour due Monday morning. Coaches nominations only…another game to keep an eye on: Oklahoma playing No. 5 Georgia Tech in Nashville. This is a huge opportunity for the Sooners.