Cal Poly vs Chico State Rivalry
Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:13 amI suppose I have been involved with lacrosse in the WCLL for far too long now, but as I was thinking about our playoff game coming up this weekend against Chico I got a little nostalgic. So forgive me if this seems overly narcissistic, but I thought people might find this interesting.
The playoff game between Cal Poly and Chico State this Saturday in San Luis Obispo will mark the 16th meeting between the two teams in the past ten years. Admittedly, I am rather biased, but I think the rivalry that has developed between our two squads is one of the best in the WCLL and maybe the USLIA. It may not be at the level of BYU vs CSU, but it has a lot of unique qualities that make it interesting. First, the two schools have essentially no history of competition. About the only thing that Cal Poly and Chico compete for is the title of most epic parties cancelled due to rioting; so far that's two apiece (Pioneer Days and Halloween for Chico, Poly Royal and Mardi Gras for SLO town). Unlike natural rivalries like Cal vs Stanford and UCLA vs USC, which are rivalries simply because everything the two schools do are competetive, this is a lacrosse only rivalry that developed in the early 90's.
Second, the rivalry developed when the two teams were hard-nosed but fairly inexperienced Division B teams, and has grown into a matchup against two teams routinely ranked in the USLIA Top 25. In the old days, both teams were in the WCLL Division B North and we often faced each other twice per year, once during the regular season and then again in the playoffs. When this rivalry developed, the WCLL landscape was a vastly different place. The high school lacrosse scene in California was just about to begin its tremendous growth spurt, and there were only a handful of HS teams in the Bay Area, the private school Condor League, and another handful of teams in SD. Cal and Santa Clara were the dominant teams in the north (as well as Sonoma), and teams like Cal Poly and Chico played with a majority of guys who had never picked up a stick before arriving at college.
The annual grudge match rose to a new level when the teams began playing for "the boot" in the mid-1990s, which is our own special trophy along the lines of "the axe" that Cal and Stanford fight over each year.
Here's the results since 1995
Regular Season: 7-4 CP
Playoffs: 3-1 CP
Overall: 10-5 CP
Games Played in Chico: 4-3 Chico (4-2 Chico reg season)
Games Played in SLO: 7-1 CP (5-0 CP reg season)
In the last three playoff matchups between the two squads (1997, 1998, and 2003), the game was decided by one goal including two overtime contests. I am guessing that this Saturday's game will be just as tight, and we are looking forward to hosting our long-time rivals here in SLO Town.
The playoff game between Cal Poly and Chico State this Saturday in San Luis Obispo will mark the 16th meeting between the two teams in the past ten years. Admittedly, I am rather biased, but I think the rivalry that has developed between our two squads is one of the best in the WCLL and maybe the USLIA. It may not be at the level of BYU vs CSU, but it has a lot of unique qualities that make it interesting. First, the two schools have essentially no history of competition. About the only thing that Cal Poly and Chico compete for is the title of most epic parties cancelled due to rioting; so far that's two apiece (Pioneer Days and Halloween for Chico, Poly Royal and Mardi Gras for SLO town). Unlike natural rivalries like Cal vs Stanford and UCLA vs USC, which are rivalries simply because everything the two schools do are competetive, this is a lacrosse only rivalry that developed in the early 90's.
Second, the rivalry developed when the two teams were hard-nosed but fairly inexperienced Division B teams, and has grown into a matchup against two teams routinely ranked in the USLIA Top 25. In the old days, both teams were in the WCLL Division B North and we often faced each other twice per year, once during the regular season and then again in the playoffs. When this rivalry developed, the WCLL landscape was a vastly different place. The high school lacrosse scene in California was just about to begin its tremendous growth spurt, and there were only a handful of HS teams in the Bay Area, the private school Condor League, and another handful of teams in SD. Cal and Santa Clara were the dominant teams in the north (as well as Sonoma), and teams like Cal Poly and Chico played with a majority of guys who had never picked up a stick before arriving at college.
The annual grudge match rose to a new level when the teams began playing for "the boot" in the mid-1990s, which is our own special trophy along the lines of "the axe" that Cal and Stanford fight over each year.
Here's the results since 1995
Regular Season: 7-4 CP
Playoffs: 3-1 CP
Overall: 10-5 CP
Games Played in Chico: 4-3 Chico (4-2 Chico reg season)
Games Played in SLO: 7-1 CP (5-0 CP reg season)
In the last three playoff matchups between the two squads (1997, 1998, and 2003), the game was decided by one goal including two overtime contests. I am guessing that this Saturday's game will be just as tight, and we are looking forward to hosting our long-time rivals here in SLO Town.
Although I definitely remember losing to you 9-8 in OT but I couldn't remember if that was 92 or 93.