by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Why wait?

That seems to be Northeastern’s motto heading into this season. At least judging by its schedule anyway.

The No. 11 Huskies open their account in a way that most contenders for a national bid would not have the courage to do – play the top two teams in the country on back-to-back days on the road.

That’s exactly what Tom Duca’s squad is undertaking this weekend when it clashes with No. 2 Liberty in Lynchburg on Saturday before tangling with top-ranked Virginia Tech on Sunday in Blacksburg.

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The Dawgs understood what they were getting into.

“We knew both of these teams would be Top 5, so seeing them No. 1 and No. 2 was not a surprise,” said Duca, who has been the head man in Boston since 2019. “The boys embraced it all preseason.

“We have set the bar high for ourselves and are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against the best. The team has embraced a ‘road dogs’ mentality, as we have been traveling a lot over the last couple seasons.”

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Northeastern had exactly one Division I non-conference home game in ’23 when Temple made the journey up I-95. Meanwhile, the Huskies played in Minnesota, Arizona, Alabama and Georgia, going 4-3 combined on those road trips.

And they didn’t have the advantage of practicing outside until nearly April.

“We are fortunate to have a bubble on campus and added a couple outdoor practices this preseason to prepare,” Duca said. “It’s tough to level the playing field without having the game reps, however the in-house competition has been strong and the team is ready to face some challenges.”

Opening the season with the 1-2 gauntlet makes a little more sense when considering Northeastern’s biggest obstacle: the Huskies will be operating without a net.

With the expiration of the pandemic waiver that allowed conferences to retain an automatic qualifying berth even if it dipped below the mandated six programs, the CLC won’t have that luxury this spring.

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The Huskies only avenue to Round Rock is via an at-large selection.

“Our mindset is to focus on one game at a time, and not having the AQ increases the pressure on each game in order to build our resume for nationals,” said Duca. “Regardless, our philosophy is always to play a complete 60 minutes. If we can do that, we will get the results we want.”

They’ll be aided in that cause by a veteran roster. There are three grad students, eight seniors and a monster, 19-man junior class to lead the way. They are a savvy group that gave Concordia it’s only real game in last year’s tournament before bowing, 12-11.

Sam Bellomy is one of the best goalies in the country and will have a stingy defense in front of him, led by Mark Sauerland. The midfield unit, anchored by Christopher Wilk (50 points) and Ryan McCarthy (40), gives opposing teams big matchup problems. The attack is deep and talented.

“The upperclassmen are the ones leading by example,” Duca said. “They all have big roles on and off the field in the decisions of the program. They set the tone for all new guys and will hold them accountable to a high standard, because they have been building something since their freshman year.”

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GAMES I’M FOLLOWING

Utah at No. 16 San Diego State, 7:30 p.m. – Friday
The Aztecs are on a bit of a heater to start the season, rolling past the top two favorites in the WCLL in comfortable fashion. One would think they’d be overdogs playing at home, but Utah appears to be deeper than last year and still has talented holdovers from the Utes’ D-II championship team. I’m guessing this will be a hotly contested night game at the beach.

Loyola Marymount at Tulane, 8 p.m. – Friday
After playing all of its games in the SLC footprint last spring, LMU is spreading its wings in ’24 with this trip to the bayou. The Lions have outscored their first two opponents by a combined 67-1, so the Green Wave will be a considerable step up in weight class. Curious to see if Tulane rookie Austin Dulay, a Loyola Blakefield product, can drop another 10-spot like he did on Rice.

No. 10 Missouri State vs. No. 3 Air Force, 9:45 p.m. – Friday
It’s the season opener for both teams in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Rumble, so we’ll see how much rust has accumulated since last year in Round Rock. It shouldn’t be much, honestly, as both teams bring back some quality product all over the field. Mark Tang will probably be in the national Player of the Year discussion this spring for the Falcons.

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No. 3 Cal State San Marcos vs. No. 8 Montana State, 10:45 a.m. - Saturday
Kobe Brown once again leads the Cougars into a season holding plenty of promise, and hopes of another run to at least the semifinals. They’ll open the season against the Bobcats, who were also ousted by St. Thomas at nationals. Montana State clearly has high aspirations with the schedule they put together. We’ll find out if they’re ready for the load.

No. 9 Boston College vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. – Saturday
This neutral site affair in Nashville is a big one for the Eagles. After getting swept in their opening weekend, BC can’t afford to fall too far behind the pack, especially without the luxury of an AQ at the end of the season. We’ll see if the Yellow Jackets can handle the mild desperation.

No. 8 Florida at No. 12 South Carolina, 7 p.m. – Saturday
This is the second game for the Gators on the weekend after battling top-ranked Virginia Tech on Friday night and the only game on the docket for the Gamecocks. Plus Florida has to make the four-hour trek from Blacksburg to Columbia in between. It’s a pretty significant logistical disadvantage for the Gators, but will show a lot about this team’s grit.

No. 16 North Dakota State vs. No. 11 UC San Diego – 11:45 a.m. Sunday
The beauty of the Rocky Mountain Rumble is the unlikely regular season pairings, including this odd couple. Both were bounced rather harshly from nationals in the first round in ’23 and will be eyeing a deeper run this spring. They’ll both have another challenging game on the weekend, but the winner of this one will have a nice chip in their pocket on Selection Sunday.

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No. 17 Cal Poly at No. 18 Arizona State, 1 p.m. – Sunday
The Sun Devils opted to step away from the Pac-12 Shootout this spring and take this Sunday home game with the WCLL favorites. The Mustangs are coming off a stinging loss to San Diego State and will have played Grand Canyon the previous morning. An Arizona State win would allow the Devils to put last year’s slow start behind them.

No. 15 Minn.-Duluth at No. 22 St. John’s, 2 p.m. – Sunday
The conference race in the deepest D-II league in the country commences on Sunday when these long-time rivals lace them up in Collegeville. After owning the longest consecutive streak of qualifying for nationals, the Johnnies have missed the last two. They’ll start their quest for a return against a UMD squad that beat them 12-2 in the ’23 regular season. The Bulldogs (1-1) have a pair of games under their belt, which is a mild advantage.

SLIDES & RIDES
- While Northeastern is certainly opening with a bang, this is no breezy weekend for Virginia Tech. In addition to playing the Huskies on Sunday, the Hokies are entertaining No. 8 on Friday evening. Tech will almost certainly solidify its preseason status as the top dog when the first regular season poll drops on Wednesday.

- SELC and ALC teams head west with some frequency, but you don’t see them trek northward. That’s what Georgia is doing this weekend when they head to the Steel City to face host Pittsburgh and James Madison in Pitt Dome. When was the last time the Bulldogs played in a dome?

- On Sunday, the two teams tied for No. 2 in the Division II New Balance Preseason Poll – Cal State San Marcos and Air Force – battle at the Rocky Mountain Rumble in Denver. The two met early last season, with the Cougars handing the Falcons their only loss of the regular season, 11-7.

- As usual, nominations for Player/Goalie of the Week are due to [email protected] by noon on Monday…scores are on MCLA.us within an hour after the completion of a game by the home team.