Well….Happy Easter, Passover or any other traditions you may have celebrated this past week!  The lacrosse load was little light as many were on Spring Break, but we found some odds and ends you might be interested in.  Enjoy!

 

The Division I Stroll…

 

  • Bellevue split a pair of games in California dropping to Foothill OC before winning an OT thriller over Santa Margarita Catholic.  Then the Wolverines got stiffed by the California Interscholastic Federation as the CIF kept Bellevue’s final opponent from playing due to the fact that lacrosse is not a WIAA sanctioned sport.

 

  • Curtis had a fairly successful road trip in Utah splitting a pair of game including a 10-5 winner over perennial Utah power, Alta.  Their final game of the trip, scheduled versus Waterford was cancelled… no word yet as to why?  Hope it isn’t the same reason that Bellevue ran into.

 

 

 

 

  • Speaking of the slow department, here is another highlight…this one in slow motion… not sure why we need to see the first 15 seconds of this and the slowed down tape makes for an obnoxious intro, but the diving shot and unfortunate injury at the end are worth a look.

 

  • Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
    • 4/14  Bellevue @ Issaquah –  Rematch of last season’s quarterfinals
    • 4/16  Northshore @ Puyallup – This one could decide the final playoff spots late in the season
    • 4/18  Bainbridge @ Mercer Island – Best rivalry in the state has even been given attention from national lacrosse publications

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

·        Mukilteo proved it would be in the playoff mix if it were in Division I this year in barely falling to Northshore by a single goal.  Remember this is the same Northshore team that has already knocked off Curtis this year.  Even more impressive, the Knights did it without their top midfielder as John Linari continues to sit with a separated shoulder.  If they can stay healthy, Mukilteo definitely appears a strong candidate to take home the DII crown this season.

 

  • Eastside Catholic proved they could be Division I worthy as well in knocking of Tahoma.  True, the Bears are in a rebuilding year, but this is still a program that finished fifth in Division I a year ago and the Crusaders handled them easily by a 10-4 count.

 

  • Redmond came away with a hard earned 6-5 OT win over Snohomish to remain unbeaten.  A look at the game stats shows Redmond dominated the shots and Snohomish’s keeper, Daniel Loren, had to make 16 saves to keep the Panthers close.  But, the Mustangs prevailed, led by Tyler Dougherty’s 3 goals.

 

  • Same four teams remain unbeaten, but a look at the Division II standings provides insight on two other interesting developments in DII.  Granted, it is a long season, far from over… but each Division II team plays 12 league games counting toward the playoffs and most teams are right at or near the half way mark (5 or 6 games).  If the season ended today, two new teams from east of the mountains, Selah and Three Rivers, would both be in the playoffs!  Conversely, former Division I members, Lynnwood and Roosevelt, would both be out of the playoffs.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out!

 

  • Barn burner in the south end as Tacoma edged Stadium, 3-2, in the lowest scoring out put of the season thus far. 

 

  • Games to watch
    • 4/15 - Lynnwood @ Mukilteo – Mukilteo took round one handily… chatter on local forums promises this one will be different.
    • 4/17 - Roosevelt @ Redmond – Roughriders at Mustangs… lots of Green and Gold in this one

 

 

Lacrosse The Country…

  • Last week we looked at all those playing NCAA ball around the country.  There are also several WHSBLA alumns playing all over the country for MCLA club programs.  In case you are wondering about the level of play in the MCLA, Chapman beat NCAA Division III stalwart, Ithaca earlier this year.

We split our list into those playing out of state and those playing for Washington schools.

 

NAME

HIGH SCHOOL

COLLEGE

NOTES

JT Tungsvik

Puyallup

Arizona

10 groundballs, 1 assist in 7 games

Austin Rogers

Skyline

BYU

3 goals, 4 assists in 14 games

Derek Mills

Roosevelt

Chapman

18 g, 11a and 55 groundballs in 10 games

Drew Nordstrom

Bellevue

Chapman

1 goal, 1 assist in 7 games

Ben Lavigne

Issaquah

Idaho

6 games started at defense

Sam Cameron

Bainbridge

Montana

16 goals, 20 assists in 8 games

Henry Sulzbacher

Nathan Hale

Montana

8 games started at defense

Alex Craighead

Vashon

Oregon

15 goals, 5 assists in 11 games

Mike Gerrard

Issaquah

Oregon

36 groundballs in 11 starts at defense

Jon Matusiefsky

Issaquah

Oregon

Captain, 15 goals, 17 assists playing midfield

Corbin Root

Nathan Hale

Oregon

1 goal, 1 assist in 11 games

Ken Ankrom

Mercer Island

Portland

42 groundballs in 8 games on defense

Alex Bates

Issaquah

San Diego St.

Leads team with 31 goals in 10 games

Andrew Morris

Issaquah

UCLA

9 goals, 1 assist in 8 games

 

Washington State

Western Washington

Evan Addair

Maple Valley

Cody Bludorn

Bainbridge

Alex Garabedian

Vashon

Russ Chiupka

Mukilteo

Kevin Weitz

Nathan Hale

Willy Delius

Bainbridge

Nick Dotsie

Port Angeles

Adam Extine

Maple Valley

 

 

Kian Farahani

Skyline

Washington

Colin Gaddy

Issaquah

Jake Bos

Snohomish

Jeff Gillies

Eastlake

Steve Duras

Curtis

Brandon Morris

Maple Valley

Drew Fleming

Curtis

Curtis Wisser

Lynnwood

Sean Forsyth

Bainbridge

Hill Zahradnik

Maple Valley

Steve Frankel

Mercer Island

Ian LaBelle

Skyline

Scott Gilson

Tacoma

 

Ian LeCerf

Mercer Island

Central Washington

Nick Losh

Mercer Island

Kellen Gallacher

Eastside

Tanner Means

Vashon

Jeremy Higuchi

Franklin

Evan Ruff

Roosevelt

Chris Howe

Eastlake

Harrison Shoff

Issaquah

Jake Mehl

Maple Valley

Jacob Sonkin

Mercer Island

Joe Michels

Maple Valley

Nick Tierney

Issaquah

Jason Yergler

Curtis

Casey Weisner

Bainbridge

Joe Hodge

Curtis

Cam Moore

Garfield

 

 

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who did we miss on our MCLA list?

What do you feel is the best rivalry in the WHSBLA?

When was the last time you witnessed a lacrosse game that saw five goals or less combined?

Why are there so many talented WHSBLA alumns attending in state schools and NOT playing lacrosse?

 

Fans Sound Off…

(The best comments from the past week)

 

“Additional D1 player…Mark Jackson at St. Johns.  Has not appeared in a game yet (injured early in the season).” – David West

  • David is correct!  We missed Mark on our list last week.  Jackson is an Overlake grad and is currently on the Red Storm roster.

On a related note, the latest Lacrosse Magazine lists Washington as tied for 17th with 13 players from the state currently on Division I rosters. 

In case you missed it, take a look back at page 28.  And if you go purely by statistics, New York has almost 500 more Division I players then Maryland.

 

“Looks like Yergler is back in the Curtis lineup.  He scored in games in Utah.”

 

“You missed Dylan Holmes.  He is the second leading scorer for Oberlin.” – Jeff Pattison

 

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

EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com