(Photo by Lance Wendt)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Back several years ago, maybe not quite a decade, there was a story splashed all over the front of the USA Lacrosse website about how an NCAA Division I team had to drive 10 hours on a bus to play a game.

It was all about the sacrifice that these hard-scrabble student-athletes had to make sitting on a bus for that long. As you can imagine, it drew a collective chuckle from our membership.

Why? Because those kinds of trips, especially during the non-conference season, are pretty standard for a large swath of association members.

In trying to emphasize the absurd homily about coddled scholarship athletes for this piece, it took me about 10 seconds to find a 10-hour trip in the MCLA just this weekend.

RESULTS: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

It is partly because I led out the weekend with Northeastern’s trip to Virginia of the same duration, but also because of a drama-fueled Thursday when the Huskies were informed 24 hours before their trip that there were no available buses, despite a contract.

Always nice.

Northeastern showed its resiliency – a necessary trait for MCLA coaches, student leadership and players – by booking several vans, shoehorning the players and equipment in, and then heading out on a fun-filled adventure.

The Huskies knew they had to find a way, or – with the new, stiff non-conference cancellation sanctions – they’d be in a world of hurt for the remainder of this season and next.

Making trips happen is an MCLA tradition, however. Sure, plenty of programs will take a jet airliner instead of a long slog in a coach bus. Georgia hopped on a bird from Atlanta to Pittsburgh this very weekend.

Others have to cope with bus legs, stiff backs and ornery knees. Grand Valley State famously buses everywhere – California, Texas, you name it. But they have the science perfected.

It’s next level. https://t.co/tSRxCnqF76
— GVSU Men's Lacrosse (@GVSULAX) April 22, 2022

On one of the Lakers’ road trips, their bus broke down. Instead of sitting on the curb, crying into their gloves, the Lakers flagged down local public transportation to get them to church on time.

Mass transit.

Too. Much. Grit. pic.twitter.com/SnIzntRLof
— MCLA Road Trip (@MclaRoad) March 19, 2023

If you go back to 2016, Purdue captured its conference AQ bid, earning a trip to Irvine, Calif., for nationals. With plane and bus fare too expensive for the program's budget, the aptly-named Boilermakers took a bus to Union Station in Chicago and then spent the next three days – and 2,200 miles – on a train.

It’s an example of what MCLA teams do to get things done. Heck, all of those teams had it pretty sweet compared to what Montana State had to endure a couple of years ago on their way home from a road trip.

Over the weekend the Montana State University men's lacrosse team bus suffered an engine failure and caught fire two hours outside of Bozeman. https://t.co/D55uZVKGxA pic.twitter.com/cEyAzIbb3O
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) April 11, 2022

Nothing but love and respect for all our programs getting it done, week in and week out, to make sure our great league keeps on trucking.

MILE HIGH MASTERY
After three days at the Rocky Mountain Rumble – there are still a pair of games on Monday – the two big winners were No. 3 Air Force and No. 8 Montana State. The Falcons dismissed No. 10 Missouri State, No. 16 North Dakota State and fellow No. 3 Cal State San Marcos in dominating fashion while the Bobcats toppled San Marcos before shutting down MoState.

UC San Diego had a fruitful trip to the Denver Broncos practice facility while also showing its grit, as the Tritons pulled off a pair of one-goal victories. UCSD edged Missouri State, 12-11, before taking down NDSU in overtime, 6-5.

Even though Missouri State, NDSU and San Marcos all have the potential to finish winless on the weekend, it was worth. Everyone who attended the Rumble will receive bonus points from the committee for taking on a stacked field in a single weekend.

MY TOP FIVES

Division I
1. South Carolina (4-0) – Cocks run the VT-Liberty gauntlet next weekend.
2. Virginia Tech (4-0) – Two businesslike wins over a pair of ranked teams.
3. San Diego State (4-0) – Two UMLC teams visit the beach over the next two weeks.
4. Georgia Tech (5-0) – Three-game homestand before the Left Coast beckons.
5. Northeastern (1-1) – You open the season against Nos. 1 & 2 and split? Not bad.

Division II
1. Air Force (3-0) – The schedule softens up considerably, so they can enjoy it now.
2. Montana State (2-0) – Something special brewing in Bozeman?
3. UNC-Charlotte (4-0) – Tough not looking forward to the Kennesaw clash.
4. St. Thomas (2-0) – The battle with the Bobcats in Minot will be a dandy.
5. Wake Forest (5-1) – One-goal loss to Charlotte looking better and better.

SNEAK PEEK AHEAD
Northeastern managed to split against the (current) No. 1-2 combo of Virginia Tech and Liberty, and South Carolina will get a crack at the duo this weekend (although it won’t be 1-2). Georgia will attempt to get back on the good foot with roadies at Florida and FSU.

Simon Fraser snaps out of its hibernation with a three-day, three-game gauntlet against Cal, Santa Clara and Nevada. The Red Leafs haven’t lost a regular season game since April 12, 2022. Michigan State opens up with three games in four days during a trip to SoCal.

It’s a Minnesota-Montana clash in North Dakota when St. Thomas and Duluth meet up with Montana and Montana State. Grand Valley State uncorks the ’24 campaign by hosting a pair of UMLC Division I outfits.

SLIDES & RIDES
- After getting beat by top-ranked Virginia Tech to start the season, 18-10, the prospects for James Madison seemed bland, but what a difference a weekend makes. After traveling to Pittsburgh and defeating No. 5 Georgia and the host Panthers, the Dukes have a little buzz to them. If JMU remains focused, it could head on a nice little run leading into the season finale against Liberty.

- Ned Webster will likely tell you there are no such thing as a good loss, and that may be true, but California pushing No. 3 Chapman to the brink, 12-11, on the road certainly shows us the Bears are trending in the right direction. After dismembering USC, 20-10, on Sunday in the Pac-12 Shootout, Cal is 2-2 heading into a Friday night home tilt against No. 10 Simon Fraser.

- Congrats to Arizona Christian and coach Jake Landon for winning their first two games in the Firestorm’s first full MCLA season. ACU beat Fullerton, 13-4, before tacking on a 14-7 win over Claremont the following day, both on the road. With two divisional wins under their belt, the Firestorm could be thinking conference playoffs.

D-I NOTES: Tennessee is now 4-0 after a tidy home sweep of LSU and West Virginia…Texas and Texas A&M are both out to 2-0 starts to conference play…Oregon had no trouble scoring, posting a combined 38 goals against UCLA and Stanford…Indiana starts the year 3-0 after a successful business trip to Oxford, Miss….the leader for Grinder of the Year is Oklahoma’s 4-2 victory over Purdue on Friday night.

D-II NOTES: Kennesaw State handed Miami its first loss of the campaign, 19-7…Loyola Marymount took care of business in The Big Easy, rolling past Tulane and Washington (Mo.). The Lions will get points from the committee for that trip… William & Mary registered its first victory as an MCLA program, downing Charleston, 17-6…Minn.-Duluth kicked off the UMLC-II season with an 11-3 win over St. John’s.

- This week will be the first regular season New Balance MCLA Poll, so if you’re a pollster, get those ballots in. As always, Warrior Player and PEARL Goalie of the Week awards go to [email protected] by noon on Monday. Head coach nominations only.