The Reverb: The Limit
Opinion
| Arizona State
| California
| Chapman
| College of Idaho
| Colorado Mines
| Georgia Tech
| GVSU
| Kennesaw State
| Liberty
| Minn-Duluth
| North Florida
| Oregon
| UT-San Antonio
by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us
LA CROSSE, Wis. – I received an email the other day from a prominent national lacrosse figure asking me to reconcile Colorado Mesa’s 52-0 victory over Johnson & Wales last Tuesday.
My initial reaction was to chuckle, because it was clear the MCLA was getting profiled.
RESULTS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
My second reaction was to show a little bit of pride, as this individual just assumed that if it was in the western part of the country, it must be MCLA. We own the West!
The individual apologized profusely when I informed him that it was two NCAA schools participating in the record-breaking venture. He apologized twice, in fact.
It’s all good. We’ve got thick skin in the MCLA.
The whole interaction, however, brought up that evergreen lacrosse question: what’s the limit on scoring.
Slogging through Twitter, the reactions ran the gamut.
On one end of the spectrum, you’ve got the Tierney disciples who see anything past 19 goals as another sign of Western Civilization decay.
On the other, you’ve got a subset that finds a team throwing the ball around and dumping it into the corner for a half as more insulting that continuing to score.
The rest fall somewhere in between.
For me, the most important thing to understand is there is nothing illegal about scoring a ton of goals.
View this post on InstagramStudying up for the postseason.
A post shared by NDSU Men’s Lacrosse (@ndsumensclublax) on
As such, this is strictly a morality play. It falls entirely under the rubric of sportsmanship and how it is interpreted.
Sportsmanship has always been at the forefront of the growth of our game. I see it as a nod to its Native American roots and the spiritual component that is involved. Rare is the individual or team that wants to be perceived as “disrespecting” the game.
I understand this.
At the same time, sportsmanship is a subjective term. Projecting an opinion on a final score and, at the same time, treating it as gospel seems odd to me.
For instance, I think the 19-goal rule is silly. I don’t doubt its genesis comes from a well-intentioned place, but such a hard-and-fast rule with as many variables as lacrosse can provide feels like a vestige from a past generation.
On the flipside, 52-0 seems very unnecessary.
In short, I don’t feel Colorado Mesa needs to apologize. They certainly have to sleep in the bed that they made, which may have on- and off-field consequences, but they did nothing wrong.
My Top Fives
Division I
1. California (12-0) – Seeds say Cal will get Stanford again. The Big Game: Part Deux!
2. Liberty (13-0) – The Hokies – the Flames’ nemesis – are what’s left before SELCs.
3. Georgia Tech (14-0) – Jackets get a two-week vacation before the postseason.
4. Arizona State (11-1) – Sun Devils will likely draw Concordia-Irvine in SLC semis.
5. Chapman (12-2) – Will an SLC title be good enough for a No. 3 seed?
Division II
1. Minn.-Duluth (9-1) – Grand Valley is the only big unknown for the ‘Dogs.
2. Kennesaw State (9-2) – All things considered, the Owls looked good against Clemson.
3. Grand Valley State (7-1) – Gritty win over Dayton has Lakers on a roll.
4. College of Idaho (10-0) – Yotes are averaging 22.9 goals per game.
5. North Florida (10-1) – The Ospreys are 3-1 in one-goal games this spring.
View this post on InstagramNice complete win on Thursday! Playoffs start now! #fighton
A post shared by USC Men's Lacrosse (@uscmenslacrosse) on
Slides & Rides
Division I
Colorado will be the top seed in the upcoming RMLC tournament regardless of the Colorado State outcome. Buffs playing for a seed…from my vantage point, Utah Valley has to beat BYU to stay in the at-large mix…ASU is hammering everybody…it took a 13-12 overtime win over Chico, but Sonoma State is in the WCLL tourney. The Seawolves will face Stanford next weekend…Oregon wraps up the No. 2 seed in the PNCLL. Simon Fraser is in good shape to snag the fourth spot…Georgia Tech and Illinois State won their states…Boston College’s loss to Northeastern is pretty much the end of the line for the Eagles. Even if Buffalo creates a three-way tie, none of the tiebreakers favor BC.
These men left it all on the field for an impressive playoff W. Full team effort in a hard fought 15-14 victory. Congratulations Runners!! #mudbowl @MCLA @LSALacrosse #playoffbound pic.twitter.com/XkguvEpT4x
— UTSA Men's Lacrosse (@UTSALacrosse) April 13, 2019
Division II
UT-San Antonio pulled a shocker in the LSA-II tourney, upending top-seeded Baylor with an ironman squad. The Roadrunners punch their ticket to Dallas in two weeks…Missouri State still appears to be the team to beat in the LSA…UC San Diego enters the SLC tourney as the No. 1 seed out of the South. Is that good enough for a bid on its own?...with its 12-6 victory over Central Conn. State, Bridgewater State has grabbed the automatic qualifying bid to the 2019 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour.