Reverb: Semifinal Sentiments

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

ROUND ROCK, Texas – We’re down to four teams in each division for Thursday’s day-long extravaganza at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex championship field at the 2025 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance.

Neither of the top seeds have won a national championship while their semifinal opponents have at least four rings. The other two semifinals look like they could be lopsided. Let’s take a look.

On to the games…

No. 4 St. Thomas v. No. 1 Florida Atlantic, 10 a.m. (UST -2.5 | 26)
I’m not on the All-America committee nor the awards junta, but Ryan Kerr would likely get my vote for national player of the year. He’s produced on so-so South Florida teams and he’s produced on good FAU squads. He’s at the top of every scout sheet and he is still nearly unstoppable, whether it’s feeding or scoring. Kerr (51g, 52a) also has the luxury of running with seven guys with at least 30 points, led by Drake Summers (33g, 27a).

St. Thomas goalie Gunner Arens has been around and is as good as they get, but when he touches gloves with FAU netminder Alex Acker at the start of the game, he’ll be looking at himself from his freshman year. Acker deflated Charlotte so quickly in the quarterfinals that the Niners could never recover as the Owls rolled. That’s one of Arens specialties. The goalie duel will be a huge storyline.

I was literally heckled last year after I referred to the Tommies as a bunch of “interchangeable nameless, faceless drones” heading into the championship game with Montana State. I meant it as a compliment, believe it or not, but it was not received as such. So I will readjust and write that Cam Gelling (39g, 16a), Joseph Torborg (33g, 21a) and Layne Kology (41g, 6a) are unique, handsome, upstanding young men with the world at their feet. Same for Kiernan Holmes, Will Juncker and Leif Benson.

Florida Atlantic showed me something with the beatdown of Charlotte and St. Thomas’ victory over San Marcos was as predictable as the rain (too soon?). Experience means a lot in the semifinals.

No. 5 Brigham Young v. No. 1 Liberty, 12:45 p.m. (LIB -1.5 | 25)
I’m not a coach or a master motivator – none of my five kids listen to me – but I’m curious how, or even if, Liberty coach Kyle McQuillan and his staff are going to use the 20-12 bludgeoning the Flames suffered at the hands of the Cougars in last year’s semifinal. Do you just burn the tape and never speak of it again? Do you put the score above the door heading to practice so the kids get motivated every day? Not sure how you handle that.

Alas, when you’ve won 17-straight games and you’ve cracked the 20-goal threshold in seven of your last 11 games – including both tourney games so far – maybe you don’t worry about such things. Having two 100-point guys in Keaton Mohs and Braden Landry is probably an effective soporific for McQuillan when his trendy haircut hits the pillow every night.

Unlike last year, Matt Schneck has the luxury of playing the underdog as he and his Cougs drag the highest remaining seed into the semifinals. There used to be a time in the MCLA when even the best teams would have one or two losses to their name coming to nationals, but BYU gets to play the role of plucky, Mighty Ducks-like grinders hoping to pull off a miracle. Other than, you know, the roster dripping with All-Americans and those soon to be one.

As the oft-quoted saying goes, if you come at the king, you best not miss. If Liberty doesn’t get it done, we might be talking dynasty on Sunday.

No. 11 Air Force v. No. 2 Grand Valley State, 3:45 p.m. (GVSU -2.5 | 22)
Air Force becomes the third-highest seed to make it to the semifinals since the Falcons trip in 2023 as a 13th seed and No. 12 Western Washington's run in 2015 (ironically, the Vikings started their run with an upset of defending champion GVSU in the first round). The only thing higher than the Falcons’ seed on Thursday will be Robert Koehler’s blood pressure after a defensive middie makes a sloppy ground ball attempt. Coach Koehler will let you know! As noted before, Air Force’s seed is artificial thanks to three RMLC teams being in the same band during the seeding process, but it clearly has worked as a nice motivator so far.

There is a certain symmetry between the two teams. Both are efficient, clinical, talented and well-coached. They are physical, but not dirty. Confident, but not flashy. And they win a lot more than they lose. One will have to on Thursday, but it’s tough figuring out who.

After my quarterfinal write-up, I received an email from GVSU offensive coordinator Bryan Larocque, who is at home taking care of his newborn. Larocque – a Davenport legend (276 career genos) and a dead-ringer for Val Kilmer in Tombstone – took umbrage with my assertion that Charlotte has the most stacked offensive unit in D-II. And he brought receipts. He’s not wrong. Bryce Gordon (53g, 45a), Luke Tardich (45g, 44a) and Caleb Lowell (62g, 13a) have delivered the heat all year.

Air Force has Mark Tang and Sam Gee, whose numbers aren’t quite as gaudy, but they can run with anyone. This is the most intriguing game of the day for me.

No. 3 Georgia Tech v. No. 2 Utah Valley, 6:30 p.m. (UVU -6 | 28)
David-Goliath and Miracle on Ice allusions are probably a little too much, but let’s just say the Ramblin’ Wreck are going to be paddling upstream in the Thursday nightcap. Tech needed triple overtime to sneak past No. 14 Tennessee – the last at-large in the field – and were up against it for most of the night versus the LSA rep. Survive and advance? Sure, but expectations are typically a little higher for the standard SELC champion and No. 3 seed.

Utah Valley, meanwhile, is on a heater. They are averaging 16 goals per game over the last four, which includes smoking both BYU and a stingy Northeastern team. Max Sturgill is playing as well as any goalie in the country right now and Blake Yates (51g, 26a), a First Team All-America cinch, needed just one marker in the nine-goal rout of the Huskies. Jacob Lundin is going to control the dot for the Wolverines.

Brooks Baro (82 points), Pierce Quarles (73) and Joseph Rose (67) lead a contingent of capable scorers that will test the UVU backline, but the Wreck’s goalie platoon has been just good enough to push the Jackets through. I’ve mentioned it before – and it’s undoubtedly true – that Georgia Tech operates better as an underdog. Maybe it’s part of the left-brain, engineer approach that permeates the program, but it’ll be a good thing on Thursday. They’ll be the furthest thing from favorites.