MCLA’s Cream of the Crop: Colorado 2015 season preview

(Photo: Jodi Vosika/ASU Lacrosse)

Colorado took home the MCLA title in 2014, but can they repeat? There’s a lot of indication that it could be a slight down year on offense with so many departed stars, but defensively this team could shut other powerhouses out. This is part of an ongoing series during which we will focus on one of the MCLA’s top teams each day, counting down till Christmas to the true “cream of the crop.”

Last year

Record: 12-2

Postseason finish: MCLA Champions

Quick season recap: After discarding Chapman and Boston College in its opening two games, it was clear that Colorado wasn’t messing around. From there, the Buffaloes ran into a stretch of four straight home games versus tournament teams, coming up with blowout wins in the first two (against Texas and BYU, each won by eight or more goals) before struggling and dropping back-to-back games against Michigan State and Arizona State. From then on, CU didn’t struggle at all, with only two games decided by fewer than five goals in the final eight games of the year, albeit against lesser competition. The conference games were the only ones that the Buffaloes had any difficulty with, as the Westminster and Colorado State wins were only three-goal differentials. Once into the RMLC Tournament, though, Colorado breezed by Westminster and BYU, winning both games by seven. This would send the Buffaloes flying into the MCLA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the field, and incidentally it was the first round that gave them the most trouble until the championship. Minnesota-Duluth led the tournament’s opener at halftime, 4-3, before Colorado would come back to win it by two. After that point, the Buffs struck down Michigan State in the second round to take on UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals, in a close game that required CU to break away late in order to advance to the title game against top-seeded Arizona State. In an epic championship, the Buffaloes staved off the Sun Devils’ last-ditch efforts and held on for the one goal victory to take their first-ever MCLA Championship.

Roster losses: Colorado may be losing more talent than any team in the country, with two of the MCLA’s top five points leaders departing. Attackmen Riley Seidel and Jack Cranston, who combined for a phenomenal 177 points in 2014 (the most of any two teammates in the country), are going to be sorely missed for the defending champs. The Buffs’ four leaders in points (Seidel, Cranson, attackman Tyler Dougherty, and midfielder Greg Kelsic) are all gone, leaving this offense with a lot to address in terms of who its go-to options are going to be this spring. Also missing of the team’s stars in 2014 is All-American goalie Mitchell Fenton, whose efforts last season included a 13-game streak during which he only allowed one double-digit performance to an opponent, an impressive feat considering the toughness of the Buffaloes’ schedule. Defensively the team is primarily losing depth, with two senior defensemen in Sean Crane and Conor Byrnes graduated, although one of the more important losses on this half of the field is going to be that of long-stick midfielder Hayden McClain, a three-time All-RMLC player and two-time All American at the position. Possibly the most significant of the team’s hits beyond Cranston, Seidel, and Fenton is the graduation of a top-notch short-stick defender in Christian Wilson. His career accolades include two First Team All-American awards, as one of the premier players in the country at his position. On the whole, the starting defense for this unit will be the same for the most part, but there’s a lot that’s changing elsewhere, notably a face-lift from last year’s offense.

This year

Who to watch for: Jace Gan, senior midfielder

While Gan was something of a role player in last year’s championship run, his 32-point season is nothing to scoff at. He had a nice balance of scoring and distributing with 13 assists to accompany his 19 goals, and that wasn’t even the best season of his career (after slashing 25-17-42 two seasons ago). This offense will need the experienced midfielder to step up and try to fill the shoes of the incredible stars that led this powerhouse a year ago. Gan is capable of being a key player in big situations. Take last year’s RMLC Championship game, for example, in which he notched a hat trick to help propel the Buffaloes past BYU. In fact, all five of his career hat tricks have come against ranked opponents. Those hat tricks should start adding up as he heads into his senior year ready to embrace an expanding role on the offense and take the reigns for a team in need of star power on the offensive side of things. It will be interested to see what position he plays, as he played at midfield last season but was listed as an attackman on the roster (and attack is where Colorado will need the most help after losing its entire starting unit there).

They’re dangerous if the defense progresses into an every-play shutdown unit. The offense will be in a transitional period, and even if that goes well, this will still be a team regarded for its defensive strengths. Two of its starting defensemen last season, junior Connor Ervin and senior Rowan Sloss, were named All-Americans. Assuming these potential stars are able to capitalize on last year’s success, this defense could feature two excellent, top-of-the-line defenders ready to dispatch against any team’s No. 1 and No. 2 offensive threats. No matter who wins of the three current candidates (Riley Rose, Sam Arthur, Nick Lowary) currently fighting for the starting goalie gig, there will be an adjustment period and a reliance on the experience of the defense around him. Taking a stand as a unit in the RMLC can be difficult, with the progression of Westminster and the perennial powerhouses of Colorado State and BYU, but this is a defense that can do it.

Achilles’ heel: Offensive changeover. The changing of the guard can be a tough break for teams that find a near-perfect blend of offensive skills and ability, and unfortunately for Colorado that dynamic offensive cocktail arrived in the form of four players in their final year with the program (although the team certainly can’t complain about the result). Aside from Clark Salamie at face-off specialist, who will be crucial to this team’s success in ’15 with his ability to keep possessions in the sticks of There is talent in this team’s depth, and this is still a perennial powerhouse that has restocked time after time in the past, but a lot of things will need to go in the Buffs’ favor in terms of player development in order for the losses to be mitigated. According to head coach John Galvin, some young names on the CU roster could become crucial pieces to the puzzle in 2015. “We have some younger sophomores who are ready to step into roles,” Galvin said. “All of the guys who were around (last year), they were really able to lead the group and make sure that the guys that were behind them were up to speed.” If these new fill-ins do live up to their predecessors, there’s almost no doubt that the Buffaloes are the favorite for the 2015 MCLA title and a repeat championship run.

Trey Lanthier is a lacrosse reporter and editor at WCSN, as well as a contributor for Inside Lacrosse. You can reach him at treylanthier@gmail.com or on Twitter, @TreyLanthier.

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