by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Resiliency. Poise. Perseverance.

Those are the traits that come in real handy in May when the stakes are at their largest. After this week, it would appear Colorado has those characteristics by the bucketful.

In a neutral site game against No. 8 Virginia Tech and true road games against No. 19 Liberty and No. 11 Georgia Tech, the Buffaloes either needed overtime to pull out the victory or rally from a significant early deficit.

Or both.

Last Sunday in Santa Ana, Calif., Carter Esqueda scored three goals and set up another while Jensen Makarov turned away 22 shots to edge the Hokies in overtime.

Good game @LibertyLax! Final 17-15 Buffs, good luck against @ASULacrosse tomorrow. Buffs are back at it on Sunday against @GaTechLAX #SkoBuffs #Playingwithfire pic.twitter.com/20kAwM92R4
— CU Men's Lacrosse (@CUMensLacrosse) March 10, 2018

A trip to the other coast on Friday saw the Buffs cede a 4-0 lead to the Flames to start the game only to have Ben Wharton (3g, 2a) and Makarov (24 saves) lead CU to a 17-15 victory.

The road trip concluded on Sunday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech and again the Buffs were in an early hole, trailing 7-2 in the first half.

Despite the Colorado goaltending crew making a combined one save, the Buffs ground their way back to tie the game in regulation before John Roach buried the game-winner late in the first overtime.

That’s quite a stressful week for the fifth-ranked team in the land. But it should pay dividends down the stretch because they learned a lot about themselves – even a couple of painful lessons – without having to an endure a loss.

SATURDAY RECAP

It’s the perfect scenario.

Even better news for the Buffs? They don’t have to leave campus until the RMLC playoffs in late April.

The schedule is brutal – all seven teams visiting Kittredge Field is currently ranked in the Top 17, including No. 1 Utah – but having home field advantage is always key.

I’m sure John Galvin and his staff took a deep sigh of relief when they returned to campus considering what their team was able to accomplish.

They can’t enjoy it for long, however, as a desperate Arizona State teams rolls in on Friday.

At least the Buffs know they have the goods to deal with any situation.

* * *

Nice team win for the Bulldogs!
UMD- 16
CSU- 3

The Dogs go 4-0 on their Spring Break trip, 3-0 at the Music City Tournament against some great teams.

Huge THANKS go out to all the parents, alumni and supporters of the UMD Bulldogs lacrosse team

See you in California

— UMD Men's Lacrosse (@Duluthlacrosse) March 10, 2018

Music City Fallout
Judgement 3 is in the books and the pollsters will have plenty of results to guide them in this week's rankings.

Here’s a quick look at how each team did before departing Nashville:

As you can see, the three Minnesota teams fared quite well, combining to go 10-0 on the trip. Dayton and Grand Valley picked up losses, but nothing they can’t make up for later in the season within the conference.

The SELC contingent obviously didn’t fare quite as well, but there are silver linings. FGCU’s upset of No. 2 Grand Valley is the type of win that can get you an at-large on its own.

FRIDAY RECAP

As for Columbus State and Kennesaw, they aren’t going to see another D-II opponent on their schedule as good as what they just faced. That should set them up for a conference tournament run.

The PCLL duo went 0-6, but Bridgewater was in just about every game and playing in Nashville beats riding out a blizzard at home. This was Central Conn’s first big step in rolling with the big boys and now they know what it takes.

A great event overall and I’m already looking forward to Judgement 4.

welp, another one in the books. push on, lads. #TorerosTogether
A post shared by USD Men's Lacrosse (@usdmenslacrosse) on Mar 11, 2018 at 10:57pm PDT

My Top Fives

Division I
1. Utah (6-0) – Add another lifeless body to the pile.
2. Chapman (7-0) – Panthers are through the meat of their schedule unblemished.
3. Grand Canyon (5-0) – Lopes played well for three quarters against SDSU.
4. Michigan State (7-0) – Huge one with Davenport on Friday night.
5. South Carolina (8-0) – How will the Gamecocks handle a three-week hiatus?

Division II
1. North Dakota State (4-0) – Took down Montana in a grinder.
2. Minn.-Duluth (6-2) – Streamroller churns on.
3. St. John’s (5-0) – Nice four-wins-in-three-days performance.
4. St. Thomas (4-1) – Workmanlike effort in Nashville boosts the Tommies.
5. Sierra Nevada (2-0) – Give the Eagles this spot with NDSU today.

After a hard fought game today vs the Griz, the Herd has a quick turnaround and takes on #6 Sierra Nevada College tomorrow for our second of a three game series at 1PM (Mountain Standard Time). Follow us LIVE on Twitter for game updates. #LetsGoBison #raceforsaltlake
A post shared by North Dakota State U Lacrosse (@ndsumensclublax) on Mar 11, 2018 at 6:21pm PDT

DIVISION I NOTES: Despite a setback to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, Cal’s win over Cal Poly on Saturday keeps them on the inside track in the WCLL. Only league teams left for the Bears…rough Texas swing for Florida State, losing to BYU and the Longhorns in overtime. Next big mission is to beat UCF and remain in the SELC tourney hunt…Santa Clara remains perfect in the WCLL after downing Nevada, 16-14.

The Gauchos pulled off the UC sweep this weekend with a Friday night win on the road over UCLA and a Sunday win at home over Cal-Berkeley.
A post shared by UCSB Men's Lacrosse (@ucsblacrosse) on Mar 11, 2018 at 7:48pm PDT

DIVISION II NOTES: Tulane knocking off No. 24 Louisiana on Saturday, 8-7, might bounce the Ragin’ Cajuns out of the poll this week…bittersweet weekend for both No. 15 Northern Arizona and No. 20 San Diego. The Lumberjacks stunned No. 8 Fullerton on Saturday, but then lost to USD on Sunday. The Toreros’ win over NAU was great, but they lost to No. 17 Cal State San Marcos on Saturday…San Marcos is 4-0 and with a pair of ranked wins now. The Cougars should be 7-0 heading into the big game with No. 21 UC Davis…No. 14 College of Idaho got swept on their NorCal venture.

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