Will Westminster Remain #1 For the Rest of the Season?

by **LacrosseHub** on Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:38 pm

Today, Westminster beat Utah State, 15-3. Utah State did not have a chance against Westminster. They only had 15 players for a full lacrosse game. At one point, Utah State had a long pole playing attack. I understand that Westminster is competing against new teams, but I see these games being detrimental when it comes to the playoffs. Westminster is very disciplined and smart with the ball. I think they may be the most athletic team in MCLA Division II. Their transition and EMO offense was very potent. These blowout games allow Coach Goodhand to play deep into the roster. Throughout the second half, Westminster played second and third line players.

Does anyone see Westminster falling from #1 this season? Will these blow out games hurt them in the playoffs?

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by **culax** on Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:13 pm

Westminster played Utah State because both are in the RMLC Division 2.

Playing Utah State today will in no way hurt Westminster's chances in the playoffs.

I enjoyed your website.

by **Dan Wishengrad** on Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:46 pm

Worth noting that Westminster barely lost to Simon Fraser by a single goal. This is the same SFU who has beaten Lindenwood, Texas A&M, Illinois, Washington and now Sonoma State in their past five games. I'd say if Westminster can play that tough against a Top-10 D1 team they will prove to be very difficult for any D2 team to defeat in '08.

by **ineedmorecowbell** on Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:51 pm

had it not been for an illegal substitution call in the last minute of play that negated a go ahead goal, westminny would have won that sfu game.

how simon fraser beat sonoma, i have no idea. utah beat westminster. utah is terrible.

this is a weird year.

by **Dan Wishengrad** on Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:55 pm

ineedmorecowbell wrote:how simon fraser beat sonoma, i have no idea.

SFU is pretty damn good. Ask 'Noma if you have any doubt. After watching these two play today I have a feeling they both might be serious contenders in Dallas.

by **Brandon Carlson** on Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:09 am

I have no doubt that Westminster will be ready come playoff time, and I see them running the table going into the national tournament. I do look forward to seeing them in Dallas.

by **ineedmorecowbell** on Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:34 am

Dan Wishengrad wrote:
ineedmorecowbell wrote:how simon fraser beat sonoma, i have no idea.

SFU is pretty damn good. Ask 'Noma if you have any doubt. After watching these two play today I have a feeling they both might be serious contenders in Dallas.

yeah, i saw them play at westminster. i hope they got better since then, because they were not by any means pretty damn good. they looked about the same as when we played them my senior year--pretty damn awful.

i don't mean to rag on sfu, but i just don't understand it. i feel like the talent in the mcla is just not there this year. i understand chapman is pretty legit. other than that though, it's like every team is under achieving.

utah is. that's for sure.

anyways, i digress. all the more power to sfu for winning. beating sonoma is/was a great feeling.

by **AndyP** on Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:36 am

Not being at the westminster/sfu game take my opinion for what it's worth. I think their rapid improvement can be attributed to the fact that out of 26 players on their roster, 20 are underclassmen, and they have 0 seniors.

There is bound to be a steep learning curve when half your roster hasn't played a single collegiate game before.

by **Kyle Berggren** on Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:57 pm

Also an early february game... I'll doubt many teams haven't improved leaps & bounds over their early season performance. I know you wouldn't recognize my team from tape early in the season.

by **Ballin'** on Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:26 pm

i don't mean to rag on sfu, but i just don't understand it. i feel like the talent in the mcla is just not there this year. i understand chapman is pretty legit. other than that though, it's like every team is under achieving.

cowbell that has to be one of the more ignorant things i have read on this board! how can you say that the talent in the mcla is not there or that teams are just under achieving? have you seen every team play? yea i didnt think so. just cause there is no team that is sticking out as a clear cut #1 doesnt mean things are going down hill but rather things are finally starting to balance out in the mcla, which IMO makes it more exciting to watch and keep up with

by **ineedmorecowbell** on Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:50 pm

ignorant eh?

i've seen plenty of teams play this year. i'm not talking about parity. parity is great for the mcla. i'm talking about the ball being on the ground for half the game. i'm talking about skills you would learn in middle school not being displayed during games. there are plenty of athletes, but that doesn't matter if you don't know that it's dumb to dodge on a zone or while subbing or that you can't catch a pass or clear the ball. i don't care that sonoma lost to simon fraser. i care that when i watched simon fraser play, a vast majority of their team wouldn't even play for my summer league team.

granted, my summer league team is the bomb, but still.

i am simply surprised that simon fraser beat sonoma. i haven't seen sonoma play this year, but if their skill level is even remotely close to what it's been in past years, simon fraser must have gotten A LOT better in those couple of weeks.

by **AndyP** on Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:23 pm

Looks like they did. Beating Lindenwood, Sonoma, A&M, and Illinois is no fluke.

by **Laxfan87** on Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:41 am

ineedmorecowbell wrote:
Dan Wishengrad wrote:
ineedmorecowbell wrote:how simon fraser beat sonoma, i have no idea.

SFU is pretty damn good. Ask 'Noma if you have any doubt. After watching these two play today I have a feeling they both might be serious contenders in Dallas.

yeah, i saw them play at westminster. i hope they got better since then, because they were not by any means pretty damn good. they looked about the same as when we played them my senior year--pretty damn awful.

You beat a "pretty awful" team 14-8 at home? I wonder what your definition of awful is...a 3 goal victory?

Also, looking at the archival stats, it looks like that was SFU's 4th game in 6 nights...in two different states.