PNCLL Week #6 (3/5-3/11) -- Predict/Report Scores/Discuss

by **Dan Wishengrad** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:58 pm

Friday, March 7th
Simon Fraser at Lindenwood 6:00pm

Saturday, March 8th
Gonzaga at Oregon State 1:00pm
Montana at Oregon 1:00pm
Western Washington at Pacific Lutheran 1:00pm
Central Washington at Puget Sound 1:00pm
Western Oregon at Southern Oregon 1:00pm
Willamette at Lewis & Clark 1:00pm
Simon Fraser vs Texas A&M (at Lindenwood) 6:00pm

Sunday, March 9th
Montana at Oregon State 12:00pm
Gonzaga at Oregon 12:00pm
Western Washington at Puget Sound 12:00pm
Central Washington at Pacific Lutheran 12:00pm
Western Oregon at Lewis & Clark 12:00pm
Simon Fraser vs Illinois (at Lindenwood) 4:00pm

Preview article:

http://www.collegelax.us/news/2008/03/0 ... 6-preview/

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by **Timbalaned** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:06 pm

as much as I don't want to say it, Good luck to SFU this weekend. Make the PNCLL proud. Got some big games to show if they really deserve their ranking and can maybe even get higher if they do some damage

by **Car RamRod21** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:34 pm

3 huge D2 games on saturday and 2 on sunday. should be very interesting to see who comes out on top this weekend, or if the mess will continue in D2

by **primetime21** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:42 pm

its to say it, but i think after this weekend we will FINALLY get a good look at how the d2 will turn out. with western and central both coming to tacoma will we get an idea as to where each team will start to assert themselves in the division, and with WOU playing SOU this will help solidify where each team will be.

although i am not assuming who is or will be the clear cut favorite i think that the division will stay very close(within 1 game of each other) all year, i am merely pointing out that we will get an idea as to who could be the playoff teams 1-6

by **Laxfan87** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:23 pm

It's unfortunate for SFU that Illinois lost its ranking on the most recent poll, but Texas A&M (18th) and Lindenwood (14th) are still big games.

Some key games in the DII and DI ranks that should give a more concrete idea of positioning in the standings. I'm very interested in seeing how the Montana vs Oregon State game goes.

by **nhoskins** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:26 pm

Timbalaned wrote:as much as I don't want to say it, Good luck to SFU this weekend. Make the PNCLL proud. Got some big games to show if they really deserve their ranking and can maybe even get higher if they do some damage

Its kind of funny that Oregon and SFU find themselves cheering for eachother this year, as they will likely play twice (season and playoffs), and both would benefit from the other being a high ranking in the result of a win or a loss. It sure would be nice to see two PNCLL teams go to the D1 nationals this year as well...

by **primetime21** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:30 pm

not sure if this is place for this or not but i was wondering:

with last weekends two close losses for montana, is it more beneficial to play up knowing a national title is still a few years away? and is the past success and reputation from the B division causing more pressure to succeed at the higher level?

in the A division montana is not as scary and teams are not "afraid" of their very talented attack, i'm just wondering if this is having an adverse effect on the program and is it affecting future recruiting with the "setback" of losses this year?

by **Timbalaned** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:50 pm

primetime21 wrote:not sure if this is place for this or not but i was wondering:

with last weekends two close losses for montana, is it more beneficial to play up knowing a national title is still a few years away? and is the past success and reputation from the B division causing more pressure to succeed at the higher level?

in the A division montana is not as scary and teams are not "afraid" of their very talented attack, i'm just wondering if this is having an adverse effect on the program and is it affecting future recruiting with the "setback" of losses this year?

After this year there shouldn't really be that mind set. It is now been established that the D1 and D2 are supposed to be the exact same, just one league for smaller schools. Shouldn't be a developmental league and shouldn't have to look at if teams "want to move up" to get better competition or change their mindset. If Montana and other schools fit into the qualifications of being a D1 school, then that is where they should be, whether or not they continue to dominate.

Edit - that being said, I may be a little off, but I don't think guys come from the east coast to go to Montana for lacrosse. I think it has to do a little more with the ridiculous beauty and outdoor activities and the lacrosse is a bonus. So their recruiting probably won't hurt much.

by **Kyle Berggren** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:57 pm

I think Montana is fine. They start playing late & getting going about playoff time. You can look at last year's schedule to confirm, it's their MO. It's also an adjustment to bring it each & every game. They'll be just fine under Kevin, it's still early in the season. They're a team I definitely wouldn't want to play in the playoffs.

Big weekend in D2. I'll guess the conference still looks like a mess come Monday. It will be interesting for us. CWU will probably have more fans at our game than us, as most of their players played at the HS. Overall, I expect all the teams to be roughly equal. Hopefully we can fend off both teams, but realistically, we'll probably face one of them again in the playoffs, even if we're the 6 seed.

by **Hi-Line Lax** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:27 pm

the one thing that every player said on the bus coming home was that they would rather go out and lose to a good team than beat up on a weaker team (no offense to anybody). I'm not regretting our decision at all. We are where we belong now and I'd have to agree with Kyle about our MO. As far as recruiting goes... we had over 40 out of state players try out this fall, I'm not too worried.

we still have a lot to work on as a team, especially on defense where we have 3 new starters, but we're having a lot of fun this year competing at a higher level every week and we still hope to shake up things in the PNCLL-1... not to mention how interesting and exciting its been seeing how much our absence has shaken things up in the PNCLL-2.

I think this season has been the most "action packed" that I've seen in our conference and I'm getting very excited for the playoffs in Missoula... it's looking like there should be some very competitive games coming to town.

by **Dr. Jason Stockton** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:57 pm

Kyle Berggren wrote:They're a team I definitely wouldn't want to play in the playoffs.

If Montana hopes to be playing in the playoff weekend they're hosting, this game vs. OSU this weekend is absolutely huge! If they lose it, they'll have to run the table in the division to make the playoffs (in all likelihood), including beating the Ducks.

by **TheBearcatHimself** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:17 pm

Kyle Berggren wrote:I think Montana is fine. They start playing late & getting going about playoff time. You can look at last year's schedule to confirm, it's their MO. It's also an adjustment to bring it each & every game. They'll be just fine under Kevin, it's still early in the season. They're a team I definitely wouldn't want to play in the playoffs.

To respond to primetime's question I would go off what Kyle said, and ask how can they not be loving this?? While W's are always better, they just had a 1 and 3 goal loss to two top-notch teams on the road. Remember, that Montana has a massive home-field advantage being out in the middle of god know's where. They just took UW to the wire and gave SFU a game up in Canada. I don't think Montana is disappointed at all and I think they both belong in D1 and will find plenty of success there as well. But yes this weekend's game at OSU is HUGE.

Timbalaned wrote:Edit - that being said, I may be a little off, but I don't think guys come from the east coast to go to Montana for lacrosse. I think it has to do a little more with the ridiculous beauty and outdoor activities and the lacrosse is a bonus. So their recruiting probably won't hurt much.

This is dead on. The Montana program is unique being off the lacrosse grid, but what gives it the huge advantage is that it offers everything that the East coast doesn't: mountains, skiing, flyfishing, general beauty, lack of East Coasters, etc. There will be no problems in terms of recruiting in the near future, especially since Kevin has laid a solid foundation and precedent of East coast kids coming out and succeeding.

by **Dr. Jason Stockton** on Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:01 pm

Now they just need to sign Kevin to a long-term contract. . .

by **Dan Wishengrad** on Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:45 am

Dr. Jason Stockton wrote:
Kyle Berggren wrote:They're a team I definitely wouldn't want to play in the playoffs.

If Montana hopes to be playing in the playoff weekend they're hosting, this game vs. OSU this weekend is absolutely huge! If they lose it, they'll have to run the table in the division to make the playoffs (in all likelihood), including beating the Ducks.

I'm not sure what W-L record a team will need to get the 4th and final seed in DI this season. The #3 seed might not be any better than 5-3, and it's possible we could have a log-jam of teams at 4-4 with a tie-breaker needed among three, four or even five teams! UW may have squeaked past GU and UM and are in a better position in week #6, but we have tough games upcoming with SFU, OSU and UO and could easily fall to 3-3 if we don't step up. The truth is that the Huskies, Griz, Beavers and Zags are all playing at nearly the same competitive level right now. With a few more games under their belt the Vandals could well be in the mix, too. It looks like a rebuilding year for BSU and WSU, but neither team is out of contention yet either if they get hot and start pulling off some upsets down the stretch.

Oregon is clearly still the team to beat, and until someone finds a way to upset the Ducks they have to be considered the heavy favorites for yet another PNCLL title. SFU is deservedly ranked and the odds-on choice to capture the #2 seed behind the Ducks. But SFU struggled at home to put the Grizzlies away. Conceding second-place to the Clansmen is no "slam dunk" at this point, the rest of us have closed the gap somewhat. In any case this will all get decided on the field and I am excited about the state of Division I in 2008. I just wish that six teams would be playing in the post-season, which I lobbied for at the AGM but got ultimately out-voted on. Maybe next season, folks?

by **Ryan Hanavan** on Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:28 pm

Dan Wishengrad wrote:In any case this will all get decided on the field and I am excited about the state of Division I in 2008.

As early as it still is, I agree that our Division I is starting to get pretty exciting. Having our SFU/UW games postponed kind of pushed things back until April for the Vandals but we'll get a week in California/Nevada and a few OOC games to prepare for that 6 conference games in 3 weekends stretch.