(Photo by Lance Wendt)

by Steven C. Haymomd | Special to MCLA.us

-Division I-

The RMLC had a big non-conference week, going 8-1 while outscoring opponents 137-69. Texas and Colorado State officially opened up conference play with a big win for the Longhorns. It looks like this could be a wild and competitive year in the RMLC.

Weekend Review

No. 2 Brigham Young: Beat No. 21 Cal Poly, 13-4; Beat No. 23 Dominican, 18-5; Beat No. 8 Santa Clara, 10-7.
The Cougars return to Provo after their sweep of a trio of WCLL squads. BYU beat both No. 21 Cal Poly and No.23 Dominican decisively before being tested by No. 8 Santa Clara on Saturday. The Cougars held a 6-4 halftime lead before Santa Clara would tie it up at sevens late in the third quarter. However, BYU would blank the Broncos in the fourth while putting in three of their own for a 10-7 victory.

Attackman Seth Garff had five of the Cougars 10 goals on the afternoon. BYU will gear up for a big match up with No. 3 Concordia-Irvine in a possible 1-2 matchup after this week's polls are released.

Colorado: Beat Texas Tech, 19-0; Beat Nevada, 18-7.
It was good to see the Buffs back in action after nearly a three week hiatus. CU made quick work of the Red Raiders Friday night with a 10-goal first quarter and an eventual 19-0 final. The Buffs also made quick work of the Wolfpack in an 18-7 victory. Freshman Becker Dienst, senior Luke Veratti and sophomore Jake McIntyre all had big days for the Buffaloes. CU welcomes No. 20 Florida State and unranked Washington next week.

No. 16 Colorado State: Beat Texas A&M, 14-9; Lost to Texas, 13-6.
The Rams split games on their Lone Star trip. CSU had a nice day in College Station, beating up on the Aggies, 14-9 Friday night. The Rams jumped to an 8-1 lead and kept the Aggies at bay for an 8-4 lead into the half. A&M was never able to close the gap and the Rams walked away with a 14-9 victory.

Texas A&M might as well join the RMLC at this point as they play all remaining members of the RMLC D-I this year. CSU opened up conference play on Sunday against Texas and the Rams struggled. The Longhorns were able to pull away in the second half and the Rams dropped their first RMLC game of the ‘22 season, 13-6.

Texas: Beat Colorado State, 13-6.
The Longhorns opened ‘22 conference play with a bang on Sunday, beating No. 16 CSU, 13-6. While this isn't their first official RMLC win, having beaten Oklahoma 25-6 back in 2020 before the season was shut down and OU bolted back to the Lone Star Alliance, this is their first win over an RMLC blue blood program. CSU went up early with a 2-0 lead before the Horns settled in and took a 7-4 lead into the half. That would be as close as the Rams got as UT put up three straight after the half. Christian Reno, Sterling Hupp and Wes Gilbert all had hat tricks for the Horns.

No. 19 Utah Valley: Beat No. 23 Dominican, 19-11; Lost to No. 8 Santa Clara, 15-14; Beat No. 21 Cal Poly, 12-11.
The Wolverines return to Orem 5-1 overall after a wild week in Northern California. UVU played back-to-back overtime games with the second going into triple overtime against Cal Poly. UVU started its week off with a 19-11 victory over No. 23 Dominican. Chad Renslow put up seven points and Preston Burbidge six as the Wolverines disposed of the Penguins.

The Wolverines turned right around and squared off in a hard-fought battle with No. 8 Santa Clara that saw multiple lead changes throughout. In overtime, UVU doubled out of a Santa Clara time-out and took the ball away but would fail to clear, leading to a loose ball and a Bronco goal - the Golden Bears of Cal can relate. The Wolverines bounced back Saturday against No. 21 Cal Poly taking three overtimes to settle the contest at 12-11 by a Nate Huntsman goal with a minute left in the third extra period. Max Sturgill, Nate Huntsman, Connor Boss, and Braydon Hudson all had big weeks for the Wolverines. UVU enters a bye week before heading into conference play.

Week Preview

No. 2 BYU (5-0; 0-0):
The Cougars return home this week to host Utah (1-2) on Wednesday night before a massive matchup with No. 3 Concordia-Irvine (6-0) Saturday afternoon. Depending on how this week's polls go we could see a No. 1 vs No. 2 battle of unbeatens on Saturday.

These two teams are no strangers, with BYU getting the better of CUI twice last year. However, CUI gave the Cougs their closest game of ‘21 with an 11-10 contest in Irvine. This should be a heavyweight bout with both fighters looking for a statement knockout and an early look at a possible late round matchup in May.

Colorado (2-1; 0-0):
The Buffs welcome two non-conference opponents into Boulder, No. 20 Florida State (4-2) Thursday and Washington (2-2) Saturday. The matchup with the Seminoles Thursday night will be an intriguing one. The Buffs are coming off a great week but will face its second ranked opponent of the year with the first matchup not going CU’s way. Great opportunity to get back in the rankings for the Buffs.

No. 16 Colorado State (5-2; 0-1):
CSU also hosts No. 20 Florida State (4-2) Saturday. The Rams need a big win to get things back on track. The Seminoles will get a full week of focus from the Rams. CSU also hosts Washington the following Monday.

Texas (4-2; 1-0): BYE
Texas gets a week off after a big conference win over No. 16 CSU. The Longhorns will face Oregon State and pseudo RMLC member Texas A&M the following week.

No. 17 Utah Valley (5-1; 0-0): BYE

Utah Valley enters a bye week before opening conference play against CU and CSU the following week.

-RMLC Game of the Week-
No. 2 BYU vs No. 3 Concordia-Irvine
Saturday | 1:00PM | Brigham Young University - Provo, Utah

-Division II-

Weekend Review

Northwest Division

No. 8t Montana State: Lost to College of Idaho, 8-3.
The Bobcats lost to No. 7 College of Idaho on Sunday morning. Despite the loss, Montana State showed that the Yotes are human after all, holding COI to their lowest goals scored this year.

No. 6 Utah State: BYE

Utah: BYE

Wyoming: Lost to East Texas Baptist, 16-14; Lost to Grand Valley State, 22-3.
The Cowboys dropped both matchups this week. They gave East Texas Baptist all they could handle but fell short in the end. The Pokes fall to 1-5 on the year.

Southeast Division

Air Force: Beat Fort Lewis, 16-3.
The Falcons opened conference play with a convincing win over Fort Lewis. The cadets could be a force in the Southeast.

Colorado Mines: BYE

Fort Lewis: Lost to Air Force, 16-3.
The Skyhawks dropped a second conference game. Losing to Air Force, 16-3.

MSU Denver: BYE

Week Preview

Northwest Division

No. 8t Montana State (5-3; 2-0):
The Bobcats enter a bye week before an important matchup with the Utes to decide the Northwest.

No. 16 Utah (1-2; 1-0):
The Utes head to Provo for a matchup with the Cougs. Can the Utes catch the Cougs looking past them at the big Div. I matchup on Saturday?

No. 6 Utah State (5-3; 0-2): BYE
The Aggies enter back-to-back bye weeks. Face Northwest Nazarene March 25th.

Wyoming (1-5; 1-0):
The Pokes enter a back-to-back bye weeks. Good time for the Cowboys to regroup before facing a gauntlet of conference foes.
Southeast Division

Air Force (1-1; 1-0):
The Falcons don’t play until April 8th.

Colorado Mines (0-2; 0-1):
Open conference play against MSU Denver (3-1) Tuesday in a rescheduled matchup.

Fort Lewis (0-3; 0-2):
Travel to California to play Biola (0-4) on Sunday. One of them will walk away with their first win of 2022.

MSU Denver (3-1; 1-1):
Travel to Golden to take on Colorado Mines (0-2) on Tuesday. Then head to North Carolina to face No. 22 Wake Forest (3-1), Central Conn. State (0-1) and No. 21 UNC-Charlotte (2-1). Big opportunity for the Roadrunners to notch a few non-conference wins. Four games in six day is doable as Utah State showed. These road trips can grab a lot of attention.

-RMLC Game of the Week-
MSU Denver vs No. 21 UNC-Charlotte
Friday | 5:30PM | Wake Forest - Water Tower Field

(Rankings based off polls available at the time)