May 8, 2011

The Division I Stroll…

• Biggest stories from the week that was:
• Mercer Island made a huge statement as to who is number one in the league right now by simply crushing Bainbridge in the Island War. Almost everything Mercer shot in the first quarter went in and before all the fans had even arrived the game was 10-0. The 18-3 final marks the first time Bainbridge has given up 18 goals since 2005 when they lost a much closer 18-11 contest to Mercer Island. Fans are still trying to determine which is more shocking, the most recent drubbing or the 13-0 shutout a year ago?
• Issaquah clinched the #2 seed in the Northeast by holding off Bellevue in a low scoring, 6-2 affair. Unlike Mercer Island’s barrage vs Bainbridge, Issaquah could get almost nothing to find the net in the first half despite dominating time of possession and heavily outshooting the Wolverines. Bellevue made a run to tie the game in the third quarter before Issaquah was able to pull away late.
• A big week for Curtis; the Vikings appear to be turning the corner at just the right time. They essentially clinched a first round bye and at least the #2 seed in the Southwest if Bainbridge can knock off Tacoma. They can still earn the #1 seed but only if Bainbridge falls twice in their last three games (Tacoma, Seattle Prep and Puyallup). They started the week with a 5 goal performance from Carson Stewart to knock off the previous conference unbeaten, Tacoma squad. On Saturday they hosted King’s Way and got 5 spots from four different players to knock off the Knights. The 5 point performances came from Colby Carr (4g,1a), Brandon Dean (5g), Quinn Moody (5a) and Carson Stewart (5g).
• Lake Washington vaulted themselves right back into the playoff picture with a mild upset win over Eastside Catholic. The Bernstein boys were simply too much for the Crusaders too handle as the brother has a hand in 15 of the Kangs 18 goals.
• Despite the loss to LW, Eastside Catholic rebounded with a win over Eastlake to clinch a playoff berth as they now hold wins over Eastlake, Northshore and Skyline. Congratulations to the Crusaders on earning a playoff spot in only their second year at the Division I level!
• Stadium and Tahoma each won a pair of games to keep both in the playoff mix in the Southwest.

• Playoff Picture:
• NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

· Barring some absolute craziness, Mercer Island is #1, Issaquah is #2 and Bellevue is #3

· Eastside Catholic should be #4 assuming they beat Mukilteo

· Again, assuming no crazy upsets of the top three teams the Skyline @ Lake Washington game on Monday and the Eastlake @ Northshore game on Wednesday will determine the final two spots. Here are the scenarios:

1. Skyline wins, Northshore wins – Skyline #5, Northshore #6

2. Skyline wins, Eastlake wins – Eastlake #5, Skyline #6

3. LW wins, Northshore wins – Northshore #5, LW #6

4. LW wins, Eastlake wins – LW #5, Eastlake #6

• SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE

· Despite their recent struggles Bainbridge should claim the top spot here, but if Tacoma can pull an upset there could be a three-way scenario with Bainbridge, Tacoma and Curtis that would need sorting out.

· Assuming Bainbridge beats Tacoma, Curtis is #2 having only lost to Bainbridge.

· If Tacoma loses to Bainbridge and beats Lakeside and Seattle Prep they are #3

· King’s Way is #4 at best having lost to the top three. However Tahoma still has a shot at #4 as well. If Tahoma can win on Tuesday (Vashon) and Thursday (Puyallup) it would set up a Saturday night showdown between the Bears and King’s Way for the #4 spot. The loser would then be #5

· Seattle Prep is mathematically still alive, but the Panthers would need to upset both Bainbridge and Tacoma to get to 5-5 as any 4-6 scenario has them out having already lost to Stadium and Lake Tapps.

· Assuming Seattle Prep loses at least one of their two remaining, Wednesday’s game between Lake Tapps and Stadium will decide the #6 spot.

• Standout Stats:
• Jake Bernstein, SR, and Cody Bernstein, JR, Lake Washington – The brothers each had an assist while scoring 6 and 7 goals respectively to lead the Kangaroos to a huge win over Eastside Catholic. The dynamic pair has had a hand in 95 of the 140 goals Lake Washington has scored this season.
• Carson Stewart, JR, Curtis – The attackman picked a great time to step up. Stewart had back-to-back 5 goal games this week. Most impressive is that neither came in a blowout win; instead they both came in hotly contested conference games against the teams closest to them in the standings (Tacoma and King’s Way).
• Austin Boyd, JR, Bellevue – Despite the loss, the goaltender kept Bellevue in the game with a season-high 16 saves against Issaquah.
• Doug Mahony, SR, Mercer Island – Mahony’s have always scored plenty of goals for Mercer Island and Doug is no different, but this week Doug recorded his first career sock trick. And he did so against the ultimate prime time opponent in Bainbridge registering 6 goals and 1 assist in the big win over the Spartans.

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
• 5/9 Skyline @ Lake Washington –Kangs capture a playoff berth in their first year in Division I or Skyline makes it 4 straight playoff appearances?
• 5/11 Eastlake @ Northsore – Wolves magical 2^nd half of the season could end in a playoff berth if they can contain Foster Wisman.
• 5/11 Stadium @ Lake Tapps – Can Titans go from 0-14 to the playoffs?

The D2 Stroll…

• Biggest stories from the week that was:
• Woodinville held off Snohomish once again to remain unbeaten. Now appears we will most likely start the Division II playoffs with three teams unbeaten in league (Woodinville, Sammamish and Wenatchee).
• North Kitsap’s 4-2 victory over Port Angeles has created a super interesting situation in the Olympic conference. Due to early season scheduling conflicts, these two teams moved one of their games creating a situation where they will play twice in a week. North Kitsap now holds a one game lead and if they can defeat Port Angles again this Tuesday they will capture their first ever playoff berth. However, if Port Angeles can pull it out, the two teams would be tied and forced to turn right around and play it off on Thursday. So, there is potential they could play 3 times in 10 days!
• Skagit Valley’s big overtime win over Stanwood put them in position to win the Skagit #1 seed by beating Everett on Tuesday. A win guarantees the Flyers the #1 seed because they hold the tie-break in head-to-head goal differential over Whatcom.
• Whatcom and North County are in a similar situation to North Kitsap and Port Angeles. If Whatcom wins, they are in. If North County wins, the two squads must play it off on Thursday for the #2 seed out of the Skagit.
• Garfield tuned up for the playoffs by beating Blanchet handily and demonstrated that they are in fact the class of the Metro Conference. A trio of Bulldogs (Carl Barnes, Jackson Lanning and Nico Van der Muelen) each scored 4 goals while Reid Kenney posted 6 assists in leading Garfield to the 16-4 win.

• Playoff Picture:
• OLYMPIC CONFERENCE

· Klahowya is #1 and will host Cascade #2 (Providence or Snohomish) in the 1^st Round

· Gig Harbor is #2 and will travel to Wenatchee in the 1^st Round

· North Kitsap or Port Angles will be #3 as before mentioned and must travel to Skagit #1 (most likely Skagit Valley)

• EVERGREEN CONFERENCE

· Sammamish is #1 and will host Three Rivers in the 1^st Round

· Highline is #2 and will host whomever surfaces as #2 from the Skagit (should be Whatcom or North County)

· Redmond is #3 and must travel to Blanchet for an all green and gold match-up in round one

• METRO CONFERENCE

· Garfield is #1 and will host Cascade #3 (providence or Snohomish) in 1^st Round

· Blanchet #2 and will host Redmond in the 1^st Round

· The third spot looks to be Roosevelt’s but Nathan Hale is still alive. Hale needs Roosevelt to either lose both of their remaining games or they need to beat Blanchet and hope Roosevelt still loses one. Either of those scenarios create a tie and force Roosevelt and Nathan Hale to play it off.

• EASTERN CONFERENCE

· Wenatchee is #1 and will host Gig Harbor in the 1^st Round

· Three Rivers is #2 and will travel to Sammamish

• CASCADE CONFERENCE

· Woodinville is #1 and will host Metro #3 (Roosevelt or Nathan Hale) in the 1^st Round

· Snohomish must beat Providence by 8 or more to earn Cascade #2. Otherwise, Providence will travel to Klahowya.

· #3 will travel to Garfield

• SKAGIT CONFERENCE

· Skagit Valley in line to finish #1 and host the North Kitsap/Port Angles winner

· #2 is most likely the North County or Whatcom. Whomever surfaces must travel to Highline.

• Standout Stats
• Ryan Morris, SR, Providence – The midfielder scored 6 goals, dished 2 assists and gobbled 17 groundballs in leading the Highlanders to an impressive, shutout victory over Whatcom. He followed that with a 4 goal, 2 assist, 10 groundball afternoon in a win over Stanwood.
• Trevin Salminen, SO, North County – The midfielder scored 9 goals, including a career best 6 goals against Everett, in helping the Cavaliers keep their playoff hopes alive with two wins this week.

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
• 5/10 Whatcom @ North County – A Whatcom win simplifies the playoff situation. Cavaliers prefer to muck it up and make it interesting!
• 5/10 Port Angles @ North Kitsap – Can NK do it again and stay away from a tie-break game?
• 5/13 and 5/14 – WHSBLA DIVISION II PLAYOFFS BEGIN

Lacrosse The Country…

· Sam Snow (Bainbridge) scored a big goal in helping Fairfield upset Loyola in the ECAC semifinals. Snow scored again in the final, but the Stags fell to Denver to conclude their season.

· NCAA Tournament Fields will be announced Sunday evening (May 8^th). Several WHSBLA alumns will be participating in the NCAA Division I and NCAA Division III tourneys including Drew Snider (Garfield) and Landon Carr (Curtis) for Maryland, Taylor Wisman (Northshore) for RIT, and Zach Steedman (Puyallup) for Colorado College.

· Several WHSBLA alumns will be also be taking part in this year’s MCLA Tournament. Seedings are to be announced late Sunday as well and the brackets can be found here.

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Which conference will have the most exciting finish?

What are your predictions for the soon to be announced Division I All-State and Division II All-Conference teams?

Will the Stealth repeat as NLL champions?

Would you be in favor of a WHBSLA final four weekend where all semifinal games were played at one location?

Parting Shots…

o “How about another young player from Wenatchee, Connor Christensen (soph) with 11 goals and 11 assists in 3 games last week. His totals are 32 goals and 17 assists on the year, putting him 10th in PPG.” – Dylan Hummel

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