November 8, 2011
Division II and B Division - Mid-Season Recap
Picking up on yesterday's article, here's some information on Division II and the B Division at the mid-season point:
Division II
- Chico State continued on their success from San Jose, going 4-1 in Huntington Beach. Their only loss at this point in the season was against UC Santa Cruz by a score of 8-6. Chico State led early and did not give up that lead until mid-way through the 3rd period. 4 goals by UC Santa Cruz in the last 7 minutes of the game, 2 by Richard Newens, were the reason for the comeback win by Santa Cruz.
- Other than an early-season loss to Santa Barbara City College, UC Santa Cruz has not lost a game. In fact, only 2 games have been within 1-2 goals. Their defeat of Chico State (8-6 as mentioned above) and UC Irvine (4-3) show that these 3 teams are the "Top 3" in Division II. I am sure that the other Division II teams sitting below Chico, UCI and UC Santa Cruz will try to change all that come next semester.
- UC Irvine has only lost to Chico State (4-1 and 5-2) and UC Santa Cruz (4-3) so far this season. UCI is competitive with the 2 teams above them, but have not cracked them yet. Also there is not much room between UCI and USC, currently sitting in 5th place.
- UC Davis, USC and UC San Diego all sit within 1-2 games of each other, with UC Davis playing 1 more game so far than USC and UCSD.
- CSUN currently sits in the cellar, but have tied Claremont (5-5) in San Jose, and lost to UC Davis and UCSD by scores of 5-0 and 4-1, showing that they are within striking distance and could try to sneak their way into the post-season.
B Division
- The story of the B Division is simply Arizona State. Can they be stopped? The Maroon team has outscored opponents 90-11 in 9 games and the Gold team 67-15. Maroon is undefeated, Gold is 7-1-1, losing to UC Santa Barbara B Gold and tying Cal Poly SLO B Gold.
- UC Santa Barbara B Gold and Saddleback B are currently the 2nd tier of teams, followed closely by Cal Poly SLO B Gold, Arizona B, Cal Poly SLO B Green and UCSB B Blue. Arizona B has played 3 more games than those surrounding them, and UCSB B Gold, Saddleback B, Cal Poly SLO B Gold, and Cal Poly SLO B Green have almost identical goal differentials.
- Santa Barbara CC B, UC Irvine B and UC Davis B round out the division. I think it is interesting that UC Davis B has 4 female players on their team. Couple that with the fact that no other team is currently rostering a female player in any WCRHL Division. UCI B and UC Davis B, despite their records, seem to have some of the most positive attitudes on the West Coast.