I know I don’t give enough love to the MCLA Division-2 squads in the State of Michigan in this space, but thanks to awesome reader Doug, who contributed this report from the CCLA D2 Championship weekend:
Cam Holding is Superman. Photo via 412Lax
The top teams in the CCLA division 2 met this weekend in Saline with a berth in the national tournament on the line. Four Top 25 teams with high-powered offenses battled it out to decide who would be crowned conference champion.
The first semi-final on Friday featured the #13 Hope Flying Dutchmen (10-1) taking on the top-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers (15-0). Entering the game averaging 23 goals a game, the high-powered GVSU offense continued to roll against Hope, posting 27 goals in a 27-14 win. After a tight first quarter, the Lakers pulled away in the second and never looked back. The Lakers were once again led by Cam Holding [pictured at right getting his superman on], the nation’s leader in goals and points, who poured in 10 goals. Jack Dumsa and Jeremy Pouba each added four goals. Led by two-time All-America Eric Weber, who scored nine goals, Hope became only the third team this season to post more than 10 goals against the Lakers.
The late game on Saturday featured a rematch between #5 Davenport (13-4) and #7 Dayton (10-3). The Panthers took the regular season matchup and once again had the Flyers’ number, winning 18-13. Dayton held a goal advantage at the half and after three quarters, but the Panthers rallied and exploded with seven fourth-quarter goals to take the game. Shawn Beer led Davenport with six goals, while Oliver Wade and Sam Carlson added four and three, respectively. Jordan Richmeister made a living feeding the Panthers shooters, finishing the game with eight assists. Freshman goalie Jose Buque came into the game late in the third and sparked the Panther rally, saving seven of eight shots he faced.
The division 2 championship featured two of the top five teams in the nation and the game did not disappoint. Rivals Grand Valley State (16-0) and Davenport (14-4) battled for an automatic berth in the national tournament, with the Lakers coming out on top 12-9. The teams found themselves tied at the half, but GVSU grabbed the lead in the third and held off a Davenport comeback to claim the championship. Freshman Dominic Boggiano lead Davenport with six goals, while the Lakers received balanced scoring featuring four players scoring two goals each. Despite being severely outshot, the Panthers found a way to slow down the vaunted GVSU offense, limiting the Lakers to the fewest goals they have scored all season.
Heading into selection Sunday, Grand Valley State can relax knowing they have secured a bid to the national tournament as well the top seed. Davenport, after an impressive showing against the Lakers, should receive an at-large bid and one of the top seeds. The one team that will be sweating it out will be Hope, who features a 10-2 record and a potent offense, but with no quality wins the Flying Dutchmen find themselves on the bubble.
Grand Valley ultimately earned the #1 see din the national tournament, as expected. They’ll face #16 Sam Houston State on Tuesday the 17th at 10AM MDT in Denver. Davenport is the #5 seed, and will take on #12 Utah Valley at 1PM on Tuesday. Hope managed to end up on the right side of the bubble, as the #13 seed against #4 Briarcliffe.
Thanks again to Doug for the report.