And so it begins…. The 2010 season is officially underway as 13 of 20 Division I teams took the field this weekend as well as 16 of the 29 Division II teams.

 

The Division I Stroll…

 

·         Three league games right off the bat as Overlake defeated Lake Tapps 14-6, Mukilteo was rudely welcomed to Division I to the tune of a 15-1 beat down from Mercer Island and Northshore managed to get by Skyline 13-10.  In the Nortshore @ Skyline matchup, the Wisman brothers scored 12 of the 13 goals including an 8 goal performance from senior Taylor.  Sounds like his campaign for 2010 All-American is off to a great start.

 

·         Issaquah and Bellevue each posted opening game wins over Jesuit of Portland.  All the names you would expect did damage.  In fact, Bellevue’s Cole Nordstrom and Brett Mennella and Issaquah’s Todd Jones, Jake Fritz and Kevin Powers each recorded hat-tricks.

 

·         Tahoma opened their season in Oregon, dropping a pair of non-league contests to Sheldon and Churchill.

 

·         Eastside Catholic once again hosted the Kateri Jamboree.  Providence and Tacoma (Bellarmine Prep) participated locally as well as out of towners Gonzaga Prep (Spokane), Bishop Kelly (Idaho) and Central Catholic (Portland).

 

·         Eastlake and King’s Way also competed in jamborees to open their seasons off in Idaho and Oregon respectively.

 

·         Rumor has it Lakeside’s Sten Jernudd is once again battling injuries and may be out the first 5-6 weeks of the season.

 

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

·         Sammamish and Klahowya played the only DII league game of the opening weekend and the Totems showed they are once again a playoff contender.  Tyler Wright and Matt Young each finished with 3 goals while Brian Headland chipped in with 2g,2a to help Sammamish dispatch of the Eagles, 13-2.

 

·         North County hosted the Cavalier Invitational for the 5th year running.  Whatcom, Stanwood, Roosevelt, Skagit Valley, Mt. Si, Wenatchee and San Juan all participated in the jamboree event.  New program Mt. Si brought 13 players, mostly freshman but showed promise as they competed hard in all three games.  Stanwood proved that even with a new coach, they can still play hard physical lacrosse.  Skagit Valley was much improved over last season and could make some moves up the ladder.  Roosevelt showed a strong defense and good goalie play.  North County was athletic and energetic.  Whatcom was big and physical, and going deep into a 33 man roster to help them make the semi-finals.  San Juan played great and showed poise and a solid offense, losing to an Overlake group in the semi's by one.  Wenatchee beat Whatcom 4-3 in the other semi final and showed what a difference one year could make.

 

·         Nathan Hale also hosted Garfield, Woodinville and Lake Washington in a Saturday jamboree.

 

 

Lacrosse The Country…

Some continued coverage of WHSBLA alumns in the NCAA ranks

·         Sam Snow (Bainbridge) only scored one this time, but a huge one it was in helping Fairfield pull a huge upset of #3 ranked Notre Dame.

 

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who will be the first 2009 DII team to knock of a 2009 DI team here in 2010?

Where are WHSBLA alumns playing MCLA club ball this spring?

Which WHSBLA alumn has the best chance to become Washington’s first NCAA Division I All-American?

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

 

 

Parting Shots…

 

·         In addition to those listed on our Division I Preseason All-State teams, “Pat Keogh, a junior middie at Eastlake, will also make some noise.” – Graham Abbot

 

·         “Providence Highlanders’ best middie this season is probably Oliver Thomas.  And his brother Hayden Thomas could also make the second or third team all-league at the attack position”

 

And the best email of the week…

·          “You mentioned that HS basketball players are playing lacrosse. You might want to look at the link between HS wrestlers and lacrosse.  I have seen that many HS wrestlers love the physical play and hard work involved with lacrosse.  Lacrosse is a great off-season game for HS wrestlers.  For Klahowya, 2010 STATE wrestlersNeil Sell, Nehemiah Salo, Jared Sell and Jeff Haga are all lacrosse players. Two more wrestlers on the Klahowya lax team are Josh Wilson and John Wolfram.” – Greg Salo, Silverdale

 

**It should be noted that Klahowya Head Coach, Rob Hawley was also at one time a boy’s wrestling coach J

 

We’ll give a shot to the best emails of the week and include your comments/quotes/etc in next week’s Sunday Stroll.

Time to hear from you!  Feed us your thoughts, edits, questions… bring it!          EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com