This
week’s Varsity News
(Episode #37) includes highlights of the big Bellevue @ Mercer Island game as
well as Curtis @ Issaquah.
The Division I Stroll…
- Biggest stories from the week that was:
- Best game of the first round was played in University Place as Curtis held on to overcome a game Overlake squad 7-6. Taylor Dean and Colby Carr each had hat-tricks and Mitchell Homeyer made 12 saves for the Vikings. Overlake scored with just 4 seconds on the clock to pull within one but wasn’t enough time left to notch an equalizer. An interesting end to Overlake’s successful Division I season as they dropped a chance to potentially host Tacoma in the first round and instead got sent packing by the Vikings.
- Northshore proved they belonged in the playoffs and that their win over Puyallup to get in was no fluke. They took the rematch handily 17-9 to advance to the quarters.
- No surprises though in the quarterfinals as no game was decide by less than 9 goals. The top 4 teams are clearly above the second tier and despite Bainbridge’s supposed “down” year, the Spartans are right back in the semifinals and playing extremely well. Mercer Island appears the heavy favorite after destroying Curtis 19-1 and keeping their overall unbeaten season alive.
- Standout Stats:
- Taylor Wisman, SR, Northshore – The All-American’s year came to an end but not due to his efforts. Taylor recorded 5 goals, 1 assists and 14 groundballs to help Northshore advance to the quarterfinals with a win over Puyallup. Against Bellevue, Taylor did his part with 6 goals and 10 more groundballs but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Wolverines.
- Kevin Powers, JR, Issaquah – The recently names, second team All-State midfielder (and Team Sweden member) tallied 5 goals and 1 assist while winning 11 groundballs to lead Issaquah past Stadium. In the quarters, he followed with a 3 goal, 2 assist, 11 groundball performance to help the Eagles fly past the upstart King’s Way Knights, 13-4.
WHSBLA Division I – Final Regular Season Stat Leaders
- State Semifinals
- 5/26 Issaquah @ Mercer Island – Rematch of last year’s State Championship… this is a don’t miss game for sure!
- 5/26 Bellevue @ Bainbridge – Wolverines haven’t been to a final since 1992. Is this their year?
- 5/29 Division I All-State Game – 2:30pm @ Memorial Stadium
- 5/29 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP – 7:30pm @ Memorial Stadium
The D2 Stroll…
- Biggest stories from the week that was:
- Wenatchee will host a semifinal match up after defeating the Metro champs, Blanchet! Cameron Hoey scored less than a minute into the 4th quarter to give Wenatchee a 5-2 advantage and they held on. Blanchet scored two goals in the final two minutes, the last with 14 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough. Wenatchee beat the braves for the second time this season and will now host Lynnwood in the semifinals.
- Forest Dayton returned from injury (he last played April 24th) to lead San Juan past Roosevelt and into the semis. Dayton registered 2 goals and 3 assists while Calen Mehrer saved 10 shots.
- Lynnwood advanced after an 11-7 win over Sammamish. A game that was deadlocked 6-6 in the third took a huge turn when Sammamish was called for a 3-minute stick penalty. The penalty sparked Lynnwood to a 4-0 run, extending to 10-6, which ultimately proved to be the final margin.
- Lake Washington continued its run in just its first year as a program. The Kangs are benefitting from the playoff experience of the Bernstein boys and Michael Ericson, all members of Redmond’s 2009 Division II semifinal team. The Bernsteins scored 8 of Lake Washington’s goals in their 10-9 win over Snohomish.
- Standout Stats
- Jake Bernstein, JR, Lake Washington – The midfielder dropped 4 goals, dished an assist and scooped 10 groundballs to lead the Kangs past many people’s favorite, Snohomish.
- Thomas Bass, JR, Wenatchee – 10 saves isn’t unheard of, but in a low scoring, one goal playoff game, every save is huge and Bass made 10 big ones!
- Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
- 5/26 Lynnwood@ Wenatchee – A DII Semifinal over the mountains…gotta love it!
- 5/26 San Juan @ Lake Washington – Dragons or the Kangs? This might be the best mascot match-up off the year.
- 5/29 Division II All-Conference Game – 1:00pm @ Memorial Stadium
- 5/29 DII STATE CHAMPIONSHIP – 5:00pm @ Memorial Stadium
Lacrosse The Country…
Dylan Holmes (Lakeside) earned North Coast Athletic Conference honors for Division III Oberlin College.
Alex Jacques (Bainbridge) was named MCLA Division I, Third Team All-American playing in goal for Colorado St.
Adam Extine (Tahoma) was named MCLA Division II, Third Team All-American playing defense for Western Washington University.
Lacrosse Four Thought…
Which Division II Quarterfinal result surprised you the most?
Who was the first player from Washington to be on the field Memorial Day weekend for an NCAA DI Final Four, DII Final or DIII Final?
What programs will be throwing victory parties come Saturday, May 29th?
Where will Mercer Island finish in the LaxPower West Regional Ratings and the Inside Lacrosse Under Armour Regional Ratings?
Parting Shots…
·
“I think the All-State
selections were bang on. I'm so proud they recognized Brett Menella, who,
except for a broken ankle last year, would have had an amazing two-year run for
Bellevue. It's impossible to argue against Wisman's or Wettack's
selection, but Hap Giraud was deserving of All-American as well. He gets hurt
because his team is so good and the level of competition so....uh...not yet
good...that he doesn't get to showcase his talent. That is, few people
make it past MI's defense to attempt a shot on Hap, so people don't understand
how good he is.” – Patrick Boyd
·
“When Tacoma last faced Skyline in '07, Skyline was D1
while Tacoma was still in D2. The 11-9 loss to Skyline was one of two
losses for that Tacoma squad all year (the other being to D1 Curtis).” – Jimmy
Twining
·
“The Cascade Conference is loaded with talented middies,
so I guess someone great has to be left off the list. Oliver Thomas from
Providence is 5th in the state in assists, 6th in the
state in ground balls, and 12th in the state in PPG (more than 6
games). He would be the first or second best middie in any other
conference. Admittedly, stats don’t say it all but I would argue that
Oliver Thomas adds even more to his team than his stats demonstrate.” – Nathan
Morris
·
“San Juan midfielder Forest Dayton suffered a shoulder
injury in the beginning of the 4th quarter of their game against Snohomish.
He has had an amazing career for the Dragons as their leading scorer
since his freshman year. The team has looked within itself during his
absence and everyone has found a way to contribute. Forest will likely be
back to face Roosevelt this weekend. He is a tough kid and we will
welcome him back with open arms.” – Rob Cuomo
·
“Sam Chapman Jr. Defenseman from Sammamish got
snubbed. Sam was a dominant force and leader of a defense that allowed
only 43 goals in 13 games this year. His 75 gb’s ranked 3rd in
the conference while marking the top player in each contest. With all due
respect to the Evergreen team (including very good defenseman in Bowman,
Clement, Ericson, and Bomberry), there is no better shut down defenseman in the
Evergreen than Sam Chapman.” - DII guy
·
“It seems a little odd to me that Providence did
not get at least one defender on the all-conference team. After all, they
have the least number of goals against in the conference, which would arguably
make them the best defenders in the league. In all the other conferences except
Skagit, the team with the lowest points against got two defenders on the
all-conference list. Luke Morris is did a great job on the field, slowing down
those attackers named all-conference, namely Cameron Girgus, Nick Hund, and JD
Chapman. I think Luke is probably the best defender in the league, and will
only get better.” -Byron Heyward
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