by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – What’s your definition of success?

Obviously, a national championship is the benchmark, but what if you come up short of that? Is there a way to walk away from the season content without the ultimate prize?

The last two years, Florida has been nearly perfect in the regular season. The 2022-23 editions combined to produce a 25-2 regular season record. It’s a sterling accomplishment that most teams would be quite content with.

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When the calendar flipped to tournament time, however, Florida went from a gator to a tadpole, going 0-4 in the SELCs and nationals during the same timeframe.

Why?

“We have actually discussed this point a few times as a team throughout our season, even as recently as the week of practice leading into our SELC quarterfinal victory against Georgia,” said Florida coach Garrett Hanrahan. “Retrospectively, the lack of postseason success took some of the shine off the regular season success.

“Perhaps we were not tested frequently enough in either of those regular season campaigns to be sufficiently prepared for win-or-go-home-type games.”

Everything is relative, I suppose, but Florida played quality schedules the last two years. Last spring, the Gators fell to Boston College in an early February game and the year before it was a road tilt against Liberty. That’s it. They won everything else.

In the regular season, anyway.

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— 2024 MCLA National Tourney (@MCLA_Tournament) April 15, 2024

There is no question that Florida’s schedule was ramped up considerably in '24. If you were to rattle off your top five contenders for the national championship this spring, they are likely to be found on the Gators’ slate.

As such, the record isn’t nearly as pretty. Florida lugs an 8-6 record into this weekend’s SELC semifinal matchup against South Carolina in Jacksonville.

“Losing forces you to confront your deficiencies, and I think this group has embraced a win-or-learn mentality,” said Hanrahan. “As a result, we have continued to improve week after week, regardless of the prior week's game results.

“I give our guys a ton of credit for their persistence through the highs and lows of the season, and I especially complement our elder statesmen who have set the tone throughout this process. The vibe of the team right now is as good as any team I've been a part of.”

To continue the good vibes, Florida will have to tame South Carolina – a team that handled the Gators relatively easily in mid-February. A lot has changed for both teams since that game, but it’s tough not to see the Gamecocks as considerable favorites to not only ruin Florida’s SELC dreams, but also dismiss them from national consideration.

“South Carolina has an impressive culture of confidence and competitive spirit,” admitted Hanrahan. “They still have a handful of guys who are conference and national champions, and I think that experience and understanding of how to be successful this time of year is an asset for them.”

As daunting as the semifinals will be, you can tell that Hanrahan and the Gators relish this challenge. They understand they’ll have to subdue the top South Carolina offensive threats while dealing with the Gamecocks defense that is often impenetrable.

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But there is more than just Xs and Os when playoff season arrives.

“Beyond the tactical, this time of year favors those programs who can find a way to be elite competitors despite bumps, bruises, fatigue, etc.,” said Hanrahan. “It starts with ground balls, and it extends to a lot of the other fine details of the game. You've got to find another level mentally and emotionally in April and May, coaches included.”

How will things play out in Jacksonville on Saturday at the Bolles School? Is Florida’s arduous journey to this weekend going to payoff with an inspired run or is this the end of the line?

Hanrahan is ready to find out. And regardless of the outcome, he’s proud of what this year’s group of Gators has accomplished.

“I said in the fall that this team was the most bought-in group we'd ever put together – and we have had some truly excellent groups in prior seasons, so that's saying something,” he said. “Here we are, six months and six regular-season losses later, and my sense of their buy-in is no different. In fact, it's enhanced.

“I can never promise results, but, in my opinion, this group has as good a chance of hoisting the SELC trophy as any Florida team that has come before them.”

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GAMES I’M FOLLOWING

SELC Division II Tournament
With all due respect to Georgia Southern and Miami, this event appears to be a collision course between Florida Atlantic and Kennesaw State on Sunday. And if that does play out, it should be one of the best games of the weekend. The only thing that could temper this game is rust, as Kennesaw hasn’t played a game this month while it’ll be a solid two weeks since FAU took the field. Regardless, I think both are ticketed for Round Rock, with the winner grabbing a home seed.

SELC Division I Tournament
Conventional wisdom would say that Georgia Tech and South Carolina are through to Round Rock regardless of the outcome this weekend, which focuses the spotlight on Florida and Florida State. Can the SELC get a third team to Texas? Neither the Yellow Jackets or Gamecocks are operating at peak proficiency right now, so upsets are well with the realm of reason. If the Seminoles and Gators can both make the finals, it will throw a wrench into the committee’s machinery.

UMLC Division I Tournament
Who wants to play BYU?!? The AQ recipient out of the UMLC is going to get slotted as the No. 16 seed at Round Rock. We’ve just got to figure out who it is. This will be one of the more intriguing tournaments because I could see Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan State or Purdue all walking away with a ticket. Heck, Illinois and Iowa State have a puncher's chance. The Hoosiers are the favorite rankings-wise, but this could get silly.

UMLC Division II Tournament
The UMLC has the most powerful team in the country, but it’s a far cry from when this league was sending six teams to the quarterfinals. If we're going by ranking, St. Thomas and Grand Valley have a Sunday lunch date, but there is enough suspense because Minn.-Duluth and North Dakota State are playing solid ball to end the season. And Dayton will presumably not go down without a fight to defend its national title.

Northwest Nazarene at College of Idaho, Friday – 7 p.m.
The South subdivision of the PNCLL-II gets sorted out in this contest. Both are heading to Missoula for the conference playoffs, but the winner gets Western Washington and the loser likely will get Montana (although Central Washington will have a say in that matter). The Nighthawks and Yotes have already dispatched the Grizzlies and NNU walloped the Vikings, so this might actually be a conference title preview.

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Northeastern at Boston College, Friday – 7 p.m.
The Eagles have the only chance to slow down the Northeastern train, but it’s tough to envision. It would be better for the conference if Northeastern cruised as anything but a CLC title would be tremendously awkward for the committee when at-larges are handed out. This is the legendary Red Bandana Game along with being BC’s Super Bowl, so we might get something interesting.

Denver vs. Montana State, Saturday – 10 a.m.
The Pioneers need this win to stay in any kind of at-large discussion because the schedule just isn’t there. I believe Denver is a quality team – beating Utah State and Virginia Tech D-II means something – but this weekend is the first time they leave the state (they play the Bobcats in Sheridan, Wyo.). Unless, they make a run to the RMLC title game – certainly a possibility – they are firmly on the bubble.

Chapman at San Diego State, Saturday – 1 p.m.
Do you believe in the Aztecs? I do, but a win here will turn a lot of people into believers. SDSU’s defense is underrated and they have enough weapons to be problematic. My feeling is a single-digit slugfest that might even take extra time. Probably my game of the week.

Arizona at Arizona State, Saturday – 1 p.m.
The SDSU-Chapman game will determine the Nos. 1-2 seeds in the SLC tournament and this tilt will fill out the 3-4 seeds. Arizona probably has to get the AQ in order to get a Texas nod, but if Arizona State makes the finals, they might snag an at-large. The Sun Devils have proven they can hang with either the Aztecs or Panthers, but getting by the Wildcats will be no easy task.

UNC-Wilmington at Coastal Carolina, Saturday – 2 p.m.
The first round of the ALC-II tournament starts up this weekend and this first-round clash is a rematch from Feb. 3 when the Chanticleers beat the Seahawks, 14-9, thanks to a 6-1 third quarter. Wilmington has been playing very well of late. The ‘Hawks have won seven of their last eight and just crunched a then-ranked App State squad. Coastal’s the favorite at home, but the Chants will have to be sharp.

Brigham Young at Utah Valley, Saturday – 7 p.m.
A game so nice they’ll play it twice. Utah Valley salvaged the remnants of a once-promising season by knocking off Utah on Thursday, earning the final bid to the RMLC tourney where they will match up with the Cougars again. The Wolverines still have that Chapman road win in their pocket, but they handed a lot of street cred to the Colorado schools last weekend. They need another chip in their stack. A win here or next weekend against BYU would be a committee-pleaser.

Colorado State at Colorado, Saturday – 7 p.m.
A game so nice they’ll play it twice: Part Deux. The winner gets to wear their home whites next weekend in Provo while the loser hopefully saved enough surprises in the bag of tricks to potentially flip the script. Winner also gets a nice victory to impress the committee as at-large bids start drying up.

IT’S PLAYOFF TIME TOMMIE FANS!! The first round is set and what a better way to do it than a Tommie Johnnie rivalry game! The ball drops at 6:00pm tomorrow in Rockford Illinois!#rolltoms #brickbybrick pic.twitter.com/Meq7VCJnXT
— University of St. Thomas Men’s Lacrosse (@TommiesLacrosse) April 18, 2024

SLIDES & RIDES

- Typically, intra-divisional contests don’t move the needle for me because they are, in the committee’s eyes, glorified scrimmages. The Northeastern-Rhode Island contest on Saturday in Kingston will be of interest because it will let us know about both teams. The Huskies will be the favorite, but this is a great primer for the Rams as they head into the conference tournament and nationals.

- There will be four automatic qualifying bids to the 2024 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance given out this weekend. The following weekend we’ll hand out an additional 13 bids. April 28 is selection Sunday when the field is set and will be announced here on MCLA.us.

- Head coach nominations for the Warrior Player of the Week and the PEARL Goalie of the Week are due on Monday at noon. Just two more weeks to earn these awards!