by Ravaging Beast on Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:17 pm
We had a very big week in the WCLL last week. I have a few thoughts about the games.
First, Texas A&M did a lot better than I had originally thought. They can definitely use their two wins and "close" loss to Sonoma in their hunt for Nationals. While they didn't play the best WCLL teams, they did beat two mid-level teams.
Cal Poly was the biggest surprise to me. I had talked with Coach Meyers in the off-season, and he seemed very excited about the team. Seth Kweller is making a big name for himself in the WCLL. It blows me a way that they were able to play ASU so close and beat Arizona in Arizona. That is no easy task.
UCSB didn't have their best week of the season, but losing to BYU shouldn't hurt them too much. I have seen the Gauchos three times this season, and they continue to get better every game. They have a lot of young players who see a considerable amount of playing time. The rookies are starting to figure out the fast pace of college lacrosse. The BYU game was a good wakeup call.
The PAC-10 shootout is a great idea. Hopefully they can get all 10 for next year. I didn't follow those games that closely, but Stanford seemed to make some noise and I think that is in large part due to the coaching change.
That brings me to my final point. Chapman has found that missing link that has been eluding them for the past 7 years. COACHING! No one has come out and said it, but that is the main change from last season. No offense to Chad Donnely. He is a great recruiter, but I couldn't figure out how they weren't more successful with the players they had. They just needed a better coach. Hopefully Coach Wood is the answer to that. As far as expectations for that game. I don't think Chapman was that much of an underdog. They were ranked way too low, they were fresh, and they have had ideal practicing conditions for the past two months. This is not meant to take away from their win. I just think they were improperly ranked to start the season. I also believe they can beat BYU again later in the season. In the past, they have had big wins like this and then forgotten that they have the rest of the season to play. They have a week off then they have to play "The New Chapman" (USC) then an improved and dangerous SDSU. Don't fall asleep Chapman.