The Varsity News has released Episode 34. This week’s show contains highlights of Bellevue, Seattle Prep, Lakeside and Eastside Catholic!

The Division I Stroll…

• Biggest stories from the week that was:
• Overlake was certainly one of the biggest winners of the week in terms of winning important games towards making the playoffs. First the Owls took a 15-10 decision over Lakeside before pulling out a one goal win over a much improved Eastlake squad. A shout out to Overlake’s defense for holding Lakeside’s Sten Jernudd without a point! Now sitting at 7-3, Overlake assured themselves of a .500 season and with two games left against sub .500 teams are in great position to clinch a playoff spot. The losses definitely hurt Lakeside and Eastlake’s chances. Eastlake would need to win out and get help and one of their remaining games is against Mercer Island. The Lions chances are better and they control their own fate with one of their remaining four games against the team that sits just above them, Northshore.
• Skyline made an impressive showing despite a 12-8 loss to Mercer. The Spartans led 5-4 at halftime after a super hot start, but couldn’t maintain it for 48 minutes. At 7-3, they sit tied with Overlake for 4^th place and still face the Owls. However, Overlake has a much more favorable remaining schedule while Skyline must contend with the likes of Bainbridge and Issaquah.
• King’s Way’s first season in Division I continues to sparkle. The Knights rebounded from a tough OT loss last week to beat the Curtis Vikings, 14-11 behind four goals from Jordan Goodspeed. The win puts them in excellent position to earn a first round bye in the playoffs and if they can handle Puyallup and Overlake in the next two weeks they can actually win the conference. Now, who would have predicted that back in February!
• Stadium was big winner #2 this week (after Overlake) for their win over Seattle Prep. The win gives the Tigers an essential two game lead over Prep as they now hold the tie-break. They also have very winnable games left on their schedule in Lake Tapps and Vashon and it looks like 5 wins would get them into the playoffs.

• Standout Stats:
• Parker Dotsey, SR, King’s Way – 3g,2a and 13 groundballs for the midfielder in the Knights biggest win of the year so far, over Curtis.
• Devon Schmidt, SR, Overlake – The diminutive attackman/midfielder tallied 8 goals, 2 assists and 11 groundballs in the 15-10 win over Lakeside.
• Dillon Cavanaugh,JR, Curtis – 3 goals vs Lake Tapps… doesn’t stand out that much until you realize that he finally broke the ice! Cavanaugh has over 20 points this season but all had been assists until he finally scored against Lake Tapps!

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
• 5/4 Bainbridge @ Skyline – Battle of the Spartans! The Green has never beaten the Blue. Got a feeling this could be a real good one!
• 5/6 Stadium @ Tacoma – Winner will sit in the driver’s seat in cruise control for a playoff spot.
• 5/7 Issaquah @ Bellevue – Wolverines looking to keep pace for 1^st place. Issaquah looking to take hold of 2^nd place and kick Bellevue to third.
• 5/8 Overlake @ Skyline – Winner takes charge of 4^th place in the Northeast.
• 5/8 King’s Way @ Puyallup – Knight’s next big hurdle to clinching top spot in the Southwest.

The D2 Stroll…

• Biggest stories from the week that was:
• Providence 11, Lynnwood 9. A slugfest up in Lynnwood as the Highlanders held off the Tigers. The outcome leads us to three conclusions: 1) Providence is not a club any higher seed wants to face in the playoffs, 2) the Tigers are still a top team, but can definitely be beaten and are no longer a favorite to win it all, 3) the Cascade Conference is the toughest conference in Division II. Snohomish still sits on top of the conference, but since Lynnwood has already beaten the Panthers this year the Tigers can still actually claim the top spot with a second win over them.
• Roosevelt fell from the top of the Metro with two one goal losses this week. First, the Garfield Bulldogs took a 9-8 decision, an impressive win when you consider the Bulldogs dropped the first match-up early season to the Roughriders 13-4. Then, Blanchet jumped on the opportunity to rise to the top by handing Roosevelt a 6-5 loss. The Braves now control their own destiny while Roosevelt hopes Garfield can knock them off and force a tie for first.
• San Juan and Wenatchee each won two games this week. Wenatchee’s wins clinched the Eastern Conference title and a home playoff game. San Juan also wrapped up the top spot in the Skagit in defeating Stanwood for a second time this season. They now hold the tie-break and what amounts to a two game lead, so regardless of the outcomes in their final two games they win the Skagit and a home playoff game in the first round. True signs that our league is growing: soon to be playoff games in Wenatchee and San Juan!

· As we roll into the final week of the Division II regular season 15 of the 16 playoff spots have already been clinched and little is left to be decided in terms of seeding. In case you are wondering, the Division II regular season ends a week earlier then Division I as Division II playoffs needed to start earlier and on a weekend due to the long travel that will occur with certain match ups. Here is the Conference breakdown in terms of what has been clinched and yet to be decided:

o CASCADE: Snohomish, Lynnwood and Providence have all clinched. If Lynnwood wins out (includes beating Snohomish) then Tigers finish #1, Panthers #2.

o SKAGIT: San Juan #1, Stanwood #2, Whatcom #3 – nothing left to decide

o EASTERN: Wenatchee will represent the East in the playoffs, still has shot at an unbeaten record as well

o METRO: Blanchet, Roosevelt and Garfield have all clinched but order is still to be decided. There is still a scenario in which they could end in a 3-way tie, but since that involves Franklin upsetting Blanchet it is highly unlikely. However, If Garfield can upset Blanchet and Roosevelt can win out, the Braves and Roughriders would be tied for first and since each defeated the other by one, it would go to tie-break #3, overall least goals allowed. Currently Blanchet has a slight edge (51) over Roosevelt (53).

o EVERGREEN: Sammamish must beat Lake Washington by four or more this week to claim top spot. Otherwise Kangs keep the #1 seed. Redmond is #3.

o OLYMPIC: Klahowya is #1. Port Angeles is #2. North Kitsap is still mathematically alive to challenge Gig Harbor for #3.

· If the playoffs started today:

• Standout Stats
• Jake and Cody Bernstein, Lake Washington – The brothers scored 5 and 6 goals respectively to prove they can hang with the big boys in a non-league overtime loss to Northshore.
• Caleb Moisant, FR, Providence – Just a FRESHMAN, the midfielder scored a season high 5 goals to spark the 11-9 upset of Lynnwood.
• Jordan Johnson, JR, Skagit Valley – recorded 16 saves in helping the Flyers to hold San Juan to their lowest scoring output of the season, just 6 goals against.

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week (the final week of the regular season in Division II):
• 5/4 Lynnwood @ Snohomish – Cascade title on the line… this one will definitely be worth watching!
• 5/5 Lake Washington @ Sammamish – Kangs don’t even have to win to win the Evergreen, but you know they are searching for 13-0!
• 5/6 Garfield @ Blanchet – Roosevelt just became Bulldog fans!

Lacrosse The Country…

Seeding was announced for the MCLA national club tournaments that will take place in Denver beginning May 11^th. Congratulations to several local products that will be competing in the tournament representing the following schools: BYU, Chapman, Colorado St. Oregon, Cal Poly, Westminster and Western Washington. The Western Washington roster is loaded with WHSBLA alumni.

Shane O’Neill (Seattle Prep) helped Cornell hold off Princeton with some solid defense (cross-check?).

Caldwell Rohrbach (Garfield) helped Saint Lawrence get back into the win column with a season high 3 goal performance vs Hamitlon. David Schoettler (Seattle Prep) also had an assist in the game.

Some late reporting as we missed telling you that last week, Adam Brazg (Mercer Island) notched his first point of his college career when the senior defenseman scored a goal in a win over Pace.

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who are your candidates for player of the year in the WHSBLA?

With the success of King’s Way, when will more teams pop up down south?

Why are the Washington Stealth going to play at Key Arena this weekend?

Which of the likely Division II playoff match-ups (above) are you most excited to see?

Parting Shots…

Sound Lacrosse has decided to donate 100% of its proceeds to Seattle’s Youth Care, an outstanding organization that helps to end homelessness amongst our local youth. All proceeds from every picture purchased from Sound Lacrosse will be donated to Youth Care on behalf of the entire lacrosse community, including all schools, parents, players and fans that make purchases. So jump on to SoundLacrosse.com, find your favorite picture and make a purchase for a good cause. Here is a direct link to Sound Lacrosse’s page that includes more details.

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