The Division I Stroll…

 

  • Biggest stories from the week that was:
    • Once again,  the Seattle Times People’s Choice Game of the Week was a lacrosse game for the third straight week, which prompted the announce to state that us lacrosse people are just too much and there will be no lacrosse game to vote on next week.  What kind of junk is that?   Check out the video!  
    • In case you missed it, the Seattle Times also posted an article discussing the impending WIAA vote on whether or not to sanction our great sport.  Check out the Blog.
    • The Wolverines did it!  For the first time in nearly 20 years, Bellevue defeated Bainbridge and had to hold on tight to do so.  Bellevue led 8-3 before the Spartans mounted a comeback to cut the lead to one with 50 seconds to play.  A costly procedure call on the ensuing face-off gave the ball to Bellevue and the Wolverines were able to hold on.
    • Northshore established itself as a playoff team this week with two big wins by identical 12-7 scores.  The bigger of the two came in a cross-conference victory over Curtis.  This sends a strong message that come playoff time higher seeds from the Southwest may not be able to find comfort in hosting a lower seeded team from the Northeast.
    • Maybe the biggest story of the week came from Maple Valley because of the multiple story lines involved.  First, Lakeside senior, Sten Jernudd made his long awaited 2010 debut returning from an injury and he did not disappoint.  The burly midfielder scored 6 goals and dished 2 assists.  Jernudd’s return also freed up fellow midfielder Hector Rhodes to do his thing and Rhodes posted 5 points.  13 points from the duo is what we had been expecting to be the norm.  So, the Lions won easily right?  Wrong!  In even bigger news, Tahoma had a 6 goal scorer of its own in senior attackman, Josh Horne and the Bears pulled out their first win of the season in an epic 15-14 overtime thriller!

 

  • Standout Stats:
    • Tahoma Bears – Brody Lundquist 2g,5a,13gb, Desmond Decker 1g,1a,12gb, Justin Hanson 14 saves – all in effort to earn win #1 on the year!
    • Wisman Brothers, Northshore – Taylor’s week: 6g,6a,23gb AND Foster’s week: 6g,3a,18gb – all in two big victories over Mukilteo and Curtis
    • Kevin Park, JR, Stadium – The defenseman recorded a goal and 17 groundballs in a win over Eastside Catholic

 

  • Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
    • 4/19  Northshore @ Bainbridge – The Wisman boys knocked off Curtis but they have never beaten the mighty Spartans!
    • 4/21  Skyline @ Curtis – Like Northshore, the other Spartans are trying to position themselves as a solid playoff team while the Vikings are looking to rebound.
    • 4/23  Issaquah @ Bainbridge – This has been one of the top 4 rivalry games for the past 3-4 years!

 

 

The D2 Stroll…

 

  • Biggest stories from the week that was:
    • An exciting week of surprises in Division II!  Stanwood vs Lynnwood was an after thought… didn’t even have it listed as a game to watch.  After all, Lynnwood disposed of San Juan easy enough early in the season and Stanwood had lost to San Juan.  Somebody forgot to tell the Spartans that they weren’t “supposed to beat the Tigers!  Oddly enough, they did so without shutting down any of Lynnwood’s big 3.  Gurgus, Knowles and Tindall each registered at least 3 points, but the Tigers got only one other contribution, an assist from Devan Hardwick and Stanwood pulled out the hard fought 10-9 victory. 
    • On the heels of the Spartan’s upset, San Juan followed by blasting Providence.  Just last week we were all talking about the Cascade Conference as being the strongest, but slow down!  It appears the Skagit will definitely have a say in things over the last half of the season which should make for an exciting stretch run and jockeying for playoff position.
    • Wenatchee changed the phrase “might be a contender” to “is a contender” by posting two solid wins over teams at the top of the Metro Conference.  The boys from the other side of the Mountains showed that someone might be traveling to them come playoff time as they remain one of now only two unbeaten teams (Lake Washington is the other).
    • Heading into this week, Liberty had struggled to say the least, scoring just 4 goals in 5 losses and being shutout twice.  This week the Patriots scored 15 goals in earning the program’s first ever victory, a 7-6 defeat of Mt. Si and falling just short to South Kitsap, 8-7 in overtime!  Congratulations to first year club on a much deserved first win. 

 

  • Standout Stats
    • Jesse Aldapa, SR, Stanwood – The midfielder scored 4 goals and gathered 13 groundballs in helping hand Lynnwood its first defeat
    • Ryan Guard, SR, San Juan -  7 goals and 2 assists in helping flatten Providence.
    • Nico Shewey, SO, Redmond – This one is a week late but we had to include it since we failed to mention last week.  The sophomore goaltender recorded 18 saves in a tough 6-2 loss to rival Lake Washington, but the more impressive stat is that he scored one of the Mustangs two goals!

 

  • Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
    • 4/20 Stanwood @ Snohomish – Last week Stanwood wasn’t even on our radar.  Now this is one of the bigger games of the year!
    • 4/23 Blanchet @ Garfield – Big Metro match up as Garfield looks to stay in the race for first.
    • 4/23 Silver Lake @ North County – Another team will get a season first win!  Always good to have teams lose the goose egg from the win column!
    • 4/24 San Juan @ Snohomish – San Juan’s win over Providence prompted Providence to say that San Juan might be the best team they have played yet.

 

Lacrosse The Country…

 

·         Thanks to the few of you that sent us notes to help set us straight.  Last week we incorrectly listed Oberlin and SUNY-Geneseo as NCAA Division II schools when in fact, both school are NCAA Division III institutions.

 

  • In other NCAA Division III news, Northshore’s Taylor Wisman has committed to take his game to RIT in upstate New York next spring.

 

  • WHSBLA alumns and former teammates faced off this week when Fairfield battled Air Force.  A trio of former Bainbridge boys met up and Sam Snow’s Stags got the better of the Gilbreath brothers and Falcons in low scoring 4-3 decision.  Snow registered a goal in the victory.

 

  • Drew Snider (Garfield) and Greg Mahony (Mercer Island) each posted goals this weekend to help Maryland and Yale to victories this weekend.  Lax.com has several pics of each.  (Click on their names to check them out)

 

 

Lacrosse Four Thought…

What is the best developing storyline in the league this season?

Which program has the best uniforms in the WHSBLA?

When will Spokane area teams join the WHSBLA?

How legitimate/accurate do you think the stats are that are being posted this season for some players (especially assists and saves)?

 

Parting Shots…

 

In response to one “Why don’t more teams head out of state during Spring Break?”

  • “With many teams in our state still consisting of multiple school districts, this results in having multiple spring break weeks.  Vast majority of teams in the state still have trouble filling their roster with depth due to cost, let alone the added cost of airfare, hotel, ground transportation, and food.” – Anonymous

 

·         “Planning a team trip or something along those lines is a great way to encourage spring break continuity, but unfortunately many coaches' work schedules don't allow for this kind of time off.” – Dan Aas  

 

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