Okay, we have come to grips with the fact that it is never going to happen… Sunday mornings just aren’t going to work.  So, we’ve admitted our faults, explored our options and are set to make adjustments… well, really we will just continue with what has become the status quo… Sunday evenings.  Think of The Sunday Stroll being to all you WHSBLA fans what ESPN’s Primetime was to NFL fans.

 

The Division I Stroll…

 

  • 19 Division I league games have been played so far this season and over half (ten) of those games have resulted in lopsided victories of 10 goals or more.  In eight of these games, the winning team scored at least 14 goals, where as in nine of these games, the losing teams scored just 13 goals COMBINED…

a bit mind blowing for you stats geeks.  The only anomaly was a 23-11 shootout between Bainbridge and Northshore.

 

  • There has only been one game closer then a 3 goal margin and that came in Vashon’s 6-5 victory over Eastlake this past week.

 

  • Though he still trails Mercer’s Daniel Shields in overall league points, Bellevue senior attackman, Kyle Mutzel took over the point per game lead with a

9-point performance against Garfield this week.  Mutzel now leads Division I with 7.50 pts/game.  However, Shields leads the league in assists with 14, as

he is the only one with double digit assists.

 

  • Only five players in Division I currently have more then 20 groundballs, led by Northshore junior midfielder, Taylor Wisman.  Interesting to note though that three of the top five all share two things in common: 1) they are all poles AND 2) they are all share the same first name, though each is spelled differently…Conner Beckwith of Mercer Island, Connor McClain of Issaquah and Conor Carrol of Seattle Prep.

 

  • Who is the only team with four double digit point scorers?  Bainbridge… nope… Mercer Island…try again…okay, gotta be Issaquah… wrong again… Would you believe the correct answer is Northshore?  Foster Wisman, Taylor Wisman, Bowen Hadley and Jake Dossett are the only quartet in Division I to each have registered at least 10 pts!

 

  • Despite having yet to win a game, Puyallup’s junior netminder, Zach Steedman is being noticed as one of the better keeper’s in the league.  This week he posted a 24 save performance against Mercer Island and now leads the league with 47 saves in just 3 games.  He also became the first keeper in recent memory to score in a Division I league game as he notched a goal against Issaquah.  Check out the video footage!

 

  • There have been several references amongst the high school lacrosse fanatics here in Washington to the “big three” in reference to the Bainbridge, Issaquah and Mercer Island programs.  Might be due to the fact that no other team has played in a Division I State Championship game since 2000 when Lakeside reached the title game.

 

  • Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
    • 3/31  Bellevue @ Curtis –  No love lost here…Vikings eliminated Wolverines in ’06 and teams haven’t liked each other since
    • 4/2  Mercer Island @ West Genesee – Washington’s perennial power versus a NATIONAL perennial power
    • 4/3  Mukilteo @ Issaquah – Purple Haze anyone? An unbeaten of Division II meets an unbeaten of Division I

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

  • Redmond 12, Overlake 7 - Overlake spots Redmond seven goals in the first half and attempts a late comeback led by George Dolack and Scout Tweedie-Yates.  But Redmond controlled the clock, possessions and the score.  Jake Bernstein led all scorers with 4 goals and 2 assists, while Tyler Dougherty added 4 goals.  The rematch is on May12th, the last regular season game of the season. 

 

  • King's Way 9, Tacoma 8 - King's Way improves their record to 4-0, and sits on top of the Olympic Conference.  Jordon Goodspeed had 2 goals and 3 assists for King's Way who started the game off with a three goal lead.  Tacoma wouldn't go away and scored two late goals to get within one, but King's Way held off the final chances for Tacoma.  The Lions were led by Matt Hilger's 3 goals and 2 assists. 

 

  • Eastside Catholic 18, Lake Tapps 14 - In what may be the highest scoring game all season, it seemed offense was the name of the game.  Lake Tapps scored early and often to start with a 6-4 first quarter lead.  Only to watch David Carlton and Eastside Catholic score nine straight goals in the second quarter to go into halftime up 13-6.  The Titans scored eight second half goals but couldn't keep Eastside Catholic off the scoreboard, giving up another five.  David Carlton led all scorers with 4 goals and 4 assists for EC, while Corey Carson scored 4 goals and added 2 assists for Lake Tapps. 

 

  • Games to watch
    • 3/30/09 - Snohomish @ Mukilteo – The Rivalry must continue now that they are in different conferences.
    • 3/31/09 - Eastside Catholic @ Sammamish - Can anyone stop EC's recent scoring attack?
    • 4/04/09 - Tacoma @ Port Angeles - Tacoma will be looking to bounce back, can PA step to the challenge?

 

 

Lacrosse The Country…

 

  • If you had something to do Saturday morning you missed an incredible college lacrosse game and in fact, you missed a bit of history.

Virginia defeated Maryland in SEVEN overtimes, the longest game in NCAA men’s lacrosse history.  Mixed emotions for the Terps as they were given a gift in regulation when Will Yeatman’s double pipe shot was counted as a goal, yet had the apparent game winning goal disallowed to start overtime because the referees blew an inadvertent whistle.   

 

  • Former Mercer Island All-American, Greg Mahony scored a goal for Yale in a narrow loss to Princeton.  This gave Mahony 10 pts in this just his first season of NCAA Division I play.

 

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who will be the next program outside of the big three to reach the Division I State Championship game?

What is the longest overtime game you have played in or heard of in Washington High School lacrosse?

Where will the next new high school program form in the coming years?

When will a team from Washington be ranked in the National Top 25? 

 

Feed us your thoughts.  We’ll include the best comments/quotes in next week’s Sunday Stroll. 

Speak your mind concerning anything you have read or any ideas you might have for future stories.               

EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com

 

Fans Sound Off…

(The best comments from the past week)

 

“I see a freshman scored five goals for Issaquah and I know freshman attacker Connor Bernal is already one of Mercer Island’s top scorers.”

 

“I keep hearing rumors that Vashon’s Gregor Davidheiser is going to head east just like his brother did?  Any truth to the rumor?”