Weekend Watch: Goodbye, Charlie

(Photo by Robert White)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Goodbye, Charlie.

Gone way too soon. Love you Charlie. Dang. He gave a lot to the MCLA as a player and coach. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Jackson family. https://t.co/gUu9P3AwMV
— Chapman Lacrosse (@chapmanlaxcoach) February 12, 2020

Lacrosse lost a great asset for the sport. RIP Coach.
— Mark (@ILikelax99) February 12, 2020

Calling for all @mcla teams to hold a moment of silence in remembrance of a true “MCLA Man”, Coach Charlie Jackson, during all weekend games. We’ll start at SDSU Thurs. night when @uolacrosse visits the Aztecs.… https://t.co/KNTqraztwO
— Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (@SLCLacrosse) February 12, 2020

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THANK YOU. We have only felt an overwhelming amount of love and support from our community. We appreciate all of the kindness that has been sent our way. . More information about Charlie’s memorial service will be provided in the coming days. For now, we’re ready to play & fight hard in his memory. . Once a Duck, always a Duck #oregonstrong
A post shared by Oregon Men's Lacrosse (@uolacrosse) on Feb 13, 2020 at 11:58am PST

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It started with an honorary coin toss with Coach Jackson’s “Grandpa Tom”. Full story to come... @uolacrosse @sdsumenslacrosse

A post shared by Southwestern Lax Conference (@slc_lax) on Feb 13, 2020 at 10:35pm PST

Would also like to thank the @SLCLacrosse for helping orchestrate tonight’s proceedings. And lastly, the donations that have been made to assist the Jackson family as they begin their healing process and prepare for Charlie’s services. https://t.co/1fecyoj50m
— Coach Zingali (@Coach_Zingali) February 14, 2020

SHOOTOUT
The Pac-12 Shootout would have been the story of the week, and still is to some extent with Oregon’s participation, but it certainly doesn’t have the vibrancy with Charlie Jackson’s passing.

Most eyes will be on No. 2 Cal this weekend as the Bears face No. 11 Concordia-Irvine on Saturday followed by No. 7 Arizona State on Sunday (which will streamed on the OfficialMCLA YouTube page).

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY

Others will be watching the Sun Devils and how they respond to the opening season loss to Dominican at home. They play USC on Saturday, which will be no easy task. In addition, ASU has No. 10 Cal Poly, No. 17 Santa Clara and No. 4 Georgia Tech to close out February.

Keep an eye on Washington. The Huskies have a pair of winnable contests (SDSU, Stanford) that could springboard them into a successful campaign.

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Three games from the Pac-12 Shootout will be streamed live on @laxsportsnet on Saturday. Get the app and watch the action. #mcla20
A post shared by The MCLA (@the_mcla) on Feb 14, 2020 at 6:11am PST

WHY NOT MINOT?
It’s always a grind for the top D-II program to fill the schedule with quality non-conference opponents, that’s why all eyes will be on Minot, N.D., this weekend as Montana and Montana State meet up with St. Thomas and Minn.-Duluth.

Where is Minot? Well, it’s about 57 miles from the Canadian border in the central part of the state. It’s best known for its eponymous U.S. Air Force Base and for being very, very cold.

This weekend, it’ll be about lacrosse as the two UMLC teams hope to keep their boot on the necks of the rest of the MCLA. Montana (PNCLL) and Montana State (RMLC) will be in the hunt for nationals regardless of the outcome, but if either picks up a win, you can pretty much book them for Salt Lax City.

As for the Tommies and Bulldogs, it’s about getting ready for the UMLC grind.


SLIDES & RIDES
- In the few weeks that we’ve had in this season, the most pleasant surprise has been UC Irvine. The Anteaters were 3-11 and 0-4 in the SLC South last spring, but are 2-1 so far this year and have a ranked win under their belt after downing No. 17 Loyola Marymount. The one loss was in overtime to Claremont.

Now they square up with Cal State San Marcos in the first of four subdivisional games that will hold the key to Irvine’s path to the postseason. In fact, the next three games are against SLC South outfits. The Eaters are good. Now they have to prove it.

- Texas A&M can put a stranglehold on the top seed this weekend when the Aggies travel to Fort Worth and Dallas to take on TCU and SMU. A sweep and A&M is a season-ending win over Texas Tech away from grabbing team-to-beat status in the LSA. Alas, TCU looks like a rugged defensive team ready to grind one out with the Aggies while we don’t know anything about the Mustangs at this point. Worth keeping an eye on.

What's the Division I Game of the Week for the period ending Feb. 16? #mcla20
— MCLA Tournament '20 (@MCLA_Tournament) February 11, 2020

- Missouri State commences its run at three-straight LSA championship when faces subdivisional foe Creighton in Lincoln, Neb…Temple starts its MCLA adventure against D-II Central Conn. State at home…two weeks ago the Cal Poly-Dominican game looked like a run-of-the-mill WCLL contest. Now it’s a moster…same can be said about Santa Clara at Chico, as well.

What's the MCLA Division II Game of the Week for the period ending Feb. 16? #mcla20
— MCLA (@MCLA) February 10, 2020

- As always, get your nominations in for Dominant Performance of the Week presented by Warrior and the PEARL Goalie of the Week to info@mcla.us by noon on Monday.