Big NorCal weekend occurs in Sacramento /// Photo: Jackie Finlan •
The warm-weather leagues around the country start picking up this weekend. Here’s a look at what’s playing out Saturday and Sunday …
HIGH SCHOOL
NorCal reconvenes in Rancho Cordova, Calif., as the co-ed Sacramento Kickoff Tournament sees 100 sides over two days compete. The girls play on Saturday. The Rugby Breakdown was on site for last weekend’s girls-only kickoff event and noted some early-season parity among the top teams – and one newcomer: read more. Click here for photos.
COLLEGE
California comes alive on Saturday, as the Gold Coast and Pacific Mountain West contest their opening DI weekends. The SoCal-based conference sees in-state rivals Arizona and Arizona State play each; leader UC San Diego host UC Santa Barbara; and CSU Northridge travel to UCLA. Pacific Mountain West (previewed here) sees DI newcomer Humboldt play Cal for the first of several games unfurling on Treasure Island Saturday, and conference champion UC Davis head to Chico State. On the opposite coast, DI Florida leader Central Florida, which got good push-back from Florida International last year, opens up against the University of Florida.
In Division II, the game to watch is UC Irvine vs. USC in the Gold Coast. The former has consistently finished in the top half of the league and was supposed to open last weekend, but UC Riverside canceled. The Trojans featured in the 2016 DII spring championship, and it’s always interesting to see how a program responds to that exposure. Another USC – this one, the Gamecocks – take on UNC Charlotte, and both teams have placed strong teams onto the pitch in recent years. Saturday’s game will be a good test for the DII Carolinas contenders.
Also in California, Santa Clara plays St. Mary’s in a West Coast crossover. The conference has reshaped, combining its DII and DIII ranks and then dividing into two pools of four. The pools play home and away, and contested the first half of the season in the fall. Santa Clara (2-1) leads the Blue pool, while St. Mary’s (1-2) sits in third in the Red pool. The league will culminate in a West Coast championship – with Cup and Plate trophies – on March 11.
CLUB
NorCal is up and running this weekend, and the DII league welcomes newcomer Colusa County to the competition. Stay tuned for more on the revived team, which plays San Jose on Saturday. Life West is participating in the DII competition and playing the Sacramento Amazons Saturday, but will pursue the DI post-season. That’s good news for San Francisco Golden Gate, which finished second to the Gladiatrix last year, and who play Berkeley in the season-opener.
On the East Coast, Florida rivals Orlando and Fort Miami kick off their DII season.