We apologize for the delay… and hope that like us you weren’t caught in that crazy I-90 traffic as you returned home from your Memorial Day activities!  And we hope that whatever you did, you took some time to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day.  If you have never seen or heard the story of Army lacrosse player John Fernandez, we encourage you to take a look here.

 

The Division I Stroll…

 

  • Mercer Island needed only one of their Shields to turn away Vashon.  The Islanders absolutely hammered the Vultures to the tune of 18-0.
  • Déjà vu all over again… same teams, same field, even the same refs!  And yes, the same result, as Issaqauh eliminated Skyline 13-5.
  • Bainbridge tuned up for a run at the title with a dismantling of one Wisman down Northshore squad…21-4.
  • Best game of the quarterfianls came down at Curtis High School.  Taylor Dean broke a 7-7 tie in the 4th and added one for insurance as the Vikings proved the regular season victory was no fluke and took down Bellevue, 9-7.

 

  • Oddly, several top players missed out on Quarterfinal action, including Mercer’s Daniel Shields, Issaquah’s Riley Goodman and Northshore’s Foster Wisman.

 

  • SemiFinals, Wednesday, May 27th:
    • Bainbridge @ Issaquah –  Doesn’t get much bigger then this… last year’s final takes place a round earlier… only room for one in the final
    • Curtis @ Mercer Island – Islanders are heavy favorite to return to the title game after an ’08 absence

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

  • Dougherty’s 4 pts (3g,1a) and 4 goals from the Bernstein brothers (2 each) led the Redmond to a 9-1 win over Tacoma.
  • Eastside Catholic silenced all those upset minded folks picking Stadium as the Crusaders raced to an 11-1 halftime lead and never looked back.  Freshman, Max Saffle went for 6 goals and 1 assist to lead the charge.
  • Brock Beall’s 5 goals, 1 assist and Parker Dotsey’s 2 goal, 2 assist and 14 groundball performance carried King’s Way into the semis.
  • Overlake took out preseason favorite Mukilteo the Tweedie-Yates brothers.  Not to be confused with the Looney Tunes character, Tweety Bird, Scout and Sky combined for 8 goals and 1 assist.

 

  • SemiFinals, Wednesday, May 27th:
    • Overlake @ King’s Way –  Owls flying high… can they soar to Vancouver and back with a ticket to the final?
    • Redmond @ Eastside Catholic – Redmond took last year’s playoff game in a defensive struggle (2-1).  Our money says each team scores more then 3 goals this time around.

 

Lacrosse The Country… 

 

 

  • Not sure how you could miss it, but in case you did, Syracuse took down Cornell in an absolutely stunning finish to capture the NCAA Division I crown.  Down three goals with 4 minutes left, Syracuse came all the way back and tied the game on remarkable sequence of events inside the last 25 seconds, scoring the game tying goal with just 4 seconds left.  The Orange would then go on to win in Overtime to claim their second consecutive championship.

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who will make it to the finals?

What do you think accounts for so many lopsided scores in big playoff games at the high school and college level?

When will the Final Four be held somewhere other then the east coast?

Why did so many key players miss important do or die playoff games?

 

Fans Sound Off…

“Geoffrey Hersch (#11, Snohomish, Sr.) absolutely got looked over.  He is as fundamentally sound on defense and as good at bringing the ball up the field as any defenseman in the Evergreen Conference.” – anonymous

 

“Why aren’t the first/second/ and HM team’s limited to actual roster spots? I would think each “team” selection would contain 3 attack, 3 mids, 1 lsm, 3 poles and a goalie.  This is how it is done in College conferences.  Why is it not done that way here?” –Chris Bergin

  • 1st and 2nd Team are in a sense limited to 12 roster spots-3 Att, 4 Mids, 4 Def (includes LSM) and 1 goal.  However, voting is conducted in a rank order point system.  There are 5 second team mids because the last two tied in votes and points.  HM is simply reserved for guys that coaches feel were close and thus deserving... last year there was only 1 HM at all... this year there just happened to be 2 at each position... these guys finished just points behind the last 2nd team guy but in some cases were actually on more ballots.

 

“I have had questions for many years and no one seems to have answers for me.  What criteria are used for the High School Lacrosse All American selection process?  Is it a uniform process across the country? Who is responsible for the selection? Is there a limit as to how many can be chosen each? Is there a “governing body” for All American? Is it an objective or subjective process (political)?  What is the history of an “All American” athlete?  Are All Americans chosen for every sport?” – Laura Davidheiser

  • You came to the right place… because we’ve got answers!  Players must be a first team all league selection, must have good standing in his school and demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship on and off the field. The guidelines are set down by US Lacrosse National Headquarters and HS Area Representatives - Kris Snider is Washington State's USL rep - make sure the process is carried out and guidelines are followed.  All High School varsity lacrosse coaches in our league are eligible to vote on the All American candidates.  Each area is allotted a specific amount based on the quantity of funded varsity teams in its league.  US Lacrosse is the governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse in the US and therefore governs the All American selection process.  No voting process is completely free of subjectivity, but here in Washington we have a very collaborative and fair group of coaches who recognize the need to be objective in their voting. The voting takes place in a coaches meeting so there is lots of open discussion about our selections.  Other sports do have various All-American selections…such as basketball and the selection of McDonald’s All-Americans.

 

Any thoughts? Ideas for future stories? Feeling the need to comment or vent?

EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com