Everybody’s spring break’s are now over and as we enter the second half of the season the playoff races begin to take shape… and we’re actually starting to get some sun!

 

The Division I Stroll…

 

  • The Island War lived up to the hype… well sort of.  The first six minutes of the game were super fast paced, saw both keepers make several saves and Bainbridge bolted to a 4-0 lead.  Then the game slowed way down and Mercer slowly chipped away… 5-3 at halftime.  Bainbridge began taking several penalties in an attempt to stop Daniel Shields, but just couldn’t do it.  The mighty might Aussie just doesn’t lose the ball and he led the Islanders all the way back…6-6 at the end of regulation.  Both teams had several chances in the first overtime, but the game would go to a second.  Nearing the end of the second OT, Shields picked up a rebound and fired home the game winner… and the Mercer Island student section stormed the field…quite a scene!  So the Islanders took the Island war 7-6 in a slow, low scoring game with a dramatic ending.

 

  • Vashon was brought back down to earth.  After starting the season 4-0, Vashon has dropped their last two.  However, the Vultures were tied 3-3 at half with Bainbridge before getting run in the third quarter.  Vashon also fell to Bellevue.

 

 

  • Looks like it could be a six team race (Vashon, Northshore, Seattle Prep, Skyline, Puyallup, Lakeside) for the final three playoff spots.  Of this group, Northshore has the most quality win in having beaten Curtis already.

 

  • Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
    • 4/21  Seattle Prep @ Northshore –  Rematch of last season’s DII championship in which Northshore upset the unbeaten Panthers
    • 4/22  Mercer Island @ Bellevue – The MIB summer group faces off against each other.  Bellevue hasn’t beaten Mercer since 4/26/02 in OT.
    • 4/24  Issaquah @ Mercer Island – At least one of these two teams has been in the state final the past four years.

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

·        No big news or upsets in Division II this week as everything sort of rolled along as expected.

 

  • Mukilteo is without John Linari for what could be the rest of the season.  “No problem” says Chas Stringfellow, scoring 6 goals in the 9-6 victory over Lynnwood. 

 

  • Redmond continues to roll with a big victory over Nathan Hale, followed by a win over Roosevelt.

 

  • San Juan has won 5 straight games after falling to Lynnwood and Mukilteo early in the season.  Dragon midfielder, Forest Dayton has proven to be one of the top scorers in all of Division II, sitting tied for 2nd in goals scored with 22 and tied for 3rd in overall pts with 30.

 

  • King's Way continues to roll and remains unbeaten within the state of Washington.

 

  • Games to watch
    • 4/21 - Overlake @ Snohomish – Battle for second place in the Evergreen Conference.  Owls took the early season match up a month ago.
    • 4/22 – Skagit Valley @ North County – Someone is going to earn win #1 on the season
    • 4/23 – Whatcom @ Lynnwood – Warriors took round one by a single goal.  Tigers need this one to get back into the playoff mix.
    • 4/24 - Redmond @ Roosevelt – They had so much on Friday they decided to do again a week later… this time at Roosevelt

Lacrosse The Country…

  • Each of the Gilbreath brother’s (former Bainbridge Spartans) registered points for Air Force in a 13-6 win over Detroit Mercry.  Bryan Gilbreath also had an assist in the Falcons’ 9-6 upset of Ohio State the day prior.  Bryan now has 9 goals and 2 assists on the year and remains the Falcons sixth leading scorer as a defender!

 

  • Former Islander (Mercer Island), Greg Mahony recorded his first career hat-trick, finishing with 4 goals in Yale’s narrow loss to Dartmouth this week.  Greg is now the Bulldogs top midfield scorer and the fifth leading scorer on the team overall.

 

  • One time Issaquah standout, Alex Bates graces the cover of the most current MCLA magazine.  Alex leads San Diego St. in scoring with 36 goals and 53 points.

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who do you think will earn the last 3 playoff spots in Division I?

What program has the best sub-varsity teams (JV and Frosh/Soph)?

When will Lakeside’s standout midfielder, Sten Jernudd, step back on the field?

Why has Roosevelt’s standout attackman, David Madsen played games in goal?

 

Fans Sound Off…

(The best comments from the past week)

 

“You missed a few kids playing NCAA Division II Lacrosse, who I'm fairly certain are WHSBLA alums.  Bryce Sheldon(Curtis HS) has started 10 of 11 games, has 4 pts, 65 gbs, and has gone 103-117 on faceoffs to date. Isaiah Stanley’s (Stadium HS) best game was against Biola where he scored twice.”

- Adam Marshall, Head Men's Lacrosse Coach, Grand Canyon University.

 

“We also have Curtis Holcombe from Tacoma playing defense (he played attack in high school) for Gonzaga… Kyle Kors from Tacoma playing defense for Montana State.” – Jimmy Twining

 

“Y’all missed Bryan Thomas on the WWU lax roster.  Bryan graduated from Ferndale High School and played for the Whatcom Warriors.” –Greg Hill

 

“Some more Maple Valley players playing local college club ball: Justin Whitehead-WWU, Max Tooley-CWU, Bryce Murdoch-CWU, Kurt Geige-WSU and Alex Carpenter-WSU.” – Vern Smith

 

“Noah Goldsmith from Satdium is playing for Cal-Poly.” – Christy Lineweaver

 

“Missed names on the MCLA list- James Tupper from North County and Andrew Ratzke of Snohomish play at Pacific Lutheran.  James Tupper was named to the all league team last season as a freshman” – Peter White

 

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

EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com