SDSULAX wrote:I think everyone is making too much out of a 1 goal victory, sure it is a win and for some a big win, but it is not a lower ranked team putting up 3 or 4 goals or doubling up on a higher ranked team. USD won, they got a shot off in the last seconds of the game, I watched it, they were truly inspired and played great, but if there was another 30 seconds on the clock, there is no telling what would of happened, they just ran out of time,we have all been there. I don't mean to or intend to diminish the victory, but it isn't like somebody was getting kicked around.
And that is partially the point. Folks are making such a big deal about UCSD getting beaten by what many percieve as a much lesser team. They tend to overlook San Diego's accomplishments and focus solely on the fact that they are a "B team" as if that were a bad thing. Yes they are a B team, capable of playing very good A teams and possibly beating them. If they were playing in the A division they would probably be in the middle of the pack, much like schools like Chapman, Utah or UMD who can throw a monkeywrench into the upper echelon's rankings by upsetting them. It's not consistent, but they do win the occasional match up with the big boys. They also tend to overlook the fact that this is a long-standing rivalry that has been around since before the A and B divisions were put into place. It's always been a fight to the end and hopefully the grudge match will continue to be played in the future.
USD has had a club team for twenty years and has been playing in the WCLL for quite some time. The same is true with Claremont who was one of the league's founding members way back in 1978. There are a lot of long-standing traditions and rivalries associated with the A and B teams in this league, probably more so than other younger leagues. Some of the traditional games played between the larger and smaller schools have been falling by the wayside, though, as A teams grow more and more reluctant to play the B teams due to the percieved stigma of a possible loss to a school in the "lesser" division and the effect that will have on their national rankings.
That's another large part of the problem--people's expectations of A teams versus B teams. As Bluevelvet stated the B division was not meant to be a developmental league. It was meant to serve as a competitive arena for schools who don't have the larger student base to draw from. They are capable of pulling in quality recruits, even recruits from the traditional hotbeds of Eastern lacrosse, though not to the extent of the larger powerhouse schools like UCSB, Michigan, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado...I think you get the picture. It was believed that eventually the top teams in the B division would be able toUnfortunately you also have the newest large-school teams joining the leagues (such as Oklahoma, Alabama and UNLV) having to play in the B division for a year before moving up, thus fueling the perception of it being a "feeder" division.
There is as much variability in the B division teams as there is in the A division teams. I don't think the top teams in either division should be faulted for trying to line up as competitive a schedule as they can. Playing a top team in the B division shouldn't be as big of a deal as folks make it out to be.
One thing I find very interesting is that the top two teams in the B division (USD and Claremont) find it necessary to take on opponents like UCSD and NDNU to prepare themselves for their next matchup in the divisional championships. Or that others in the top ten also line up games with the top A teams, like UVSC playing Utah, Arizona and Oregon; Northern Colorado taking on Colorado State; or St. John going up against UMD. Those top teams in the A division should be commended for trying to improve the quality of play in the B division not be crucified if the team they are playing gets the upper hand because they are playing an inspired game as SDSULAX so succinctly puts it. They are at the top of the B division for a reason--they are darned good ballers.
Pinball's right, the main objective is to play as competitively as you can, no matter what division you are in. Rivalries that cross divisional lines are also an important part of the various leagues. Teams should not be faulted for maintaining the cross-divisional games that have been a long-standing tradition.
Oh and Pinball, just a bit of a heads-up on the San Diego defense--since your visit in February they've found their happy place so watch out when next you meet in Texas!
