Greenville, SC – After spotting the #4 Brigham Young Cougars the first three goals of the game, the #1 Colorado State University Rams battled back in an emotional and physical MCLA semifinal contest to earn a 9-7 win and a berth in the MCLA championship game for the second year in a row. Nothing came easy for the Rams on a hot and humid day at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, SC as BYU and CSU squared off for the third consecutive year in the tournament semifinals.
The game was nip and tuck throughout and featured four ties and four lead changes as the two perennial MCLA heavyweights duked it out with their seasons on the line.
Brigham Young came out firing in the first quarter, scoring the first three goals of the game as CSU struggled to gain its footing against their RMLC rivals. But CSU bounced back in the second quarter, scoring three of their own goals to tie the game headed into halftime. Braxton Campbell (Summit HS / Silverthorne, CO) scored the first of his two goals to jumpstart CSU’s offense, which had been otherwise held in check by the Cougars for the first 21 minutes of the game.
Headed into the second half, CSU took their first lead of the game at 4-3 when senior Alex Devlin (Langley HS / Langley, VA) spun and ripped home a shot with 10:54 remaining in the third. But the Cougars would not go quietly, going on a two-goal run of their own to retake the lead just two minutes later. After some furious back and forth action, sophomore Mike Wolff (Don Bosco Prep / Ramsey, NJ) tied the score at 5-5 with 1:03 remaining in the third as the teams went to the decisive fourth quarter all tied up.
BYU took the lead again at 6-5 when Jake Ferrin blasted one home, but the Rams were about to go on a decisive three-goal run over about seven minutes of game-time. The run was punctuated when freshman Eric Uhl (The Masters School / Simsbury, CT) tore down the alley and slammed one home to put the Rams up by two. Jake Arbon answered right back for the Cougars, but junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY) got topside on his defender and stuck a shot nearside against BYU goalkeeper Rob Ostler to put the finishing touches on the scoring.
BYU outshot CSU on the evening, taking 30 to the Rams 27. Clearing was a relative struggle for both teams, who failed on five different occasions each throughout the game. CSU’s man-up unit, which had been running at a 50% clip going into the game, didn’t register a goal in its three chances while BYU went 1-4 with the man advantage.
Colorado State (20-0 overall) moves to the MCLA championship game for the second year in a row and the ninth time in school history. The win over the Cougars was the second this season and made the all-time MCLA playoff series 5-3 in favor of the Rams after CSU eliminated BYU in the 2012 semifinals as well. The Cougars finish the season at 16-5 and with their sixth trip to the MCLA semifinals in the last seven seasons.
The Rams will face a familiar opponent on Saturday evening at Sirrine Stadium. Waiting for them on the other end of the bracket are the #2 Colorado Buffaloes, who advanced to the championship game via wins over Texas, Michigan State and a 5-4 semifinal win against #3 Arizona State. The Buffs and Rams have met twice in the 2013 season with CSU taking both contests. The first was a 9-3 triumph in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown at Hughes Stadium and the second was a 9-6 win in the RMLC championship game just two weeks ago in Grand Junction, CO.
It’s also the second time in history that the two teams have met in the MCLA championship game, with the Rams winning a thrilling 8-7 game over the Buffs in 2006.