Bellevue & Snohomish win WA State Championsips (D1 & D2)

Bellevue boys down Eastside Catholic to win Washington prep lacrosse crown: SEATTLE — After a year on the state championship sideline, Bellevue regained its Washington Boys Division I prep lacrosse crown with a 13 - 4 defeat of Eastside Catholic, Saturday at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. The win, a decisive victory that avenged a regular season loss to Crusaders in March, put the Wolverines back on the podium for the first time since 2010 and just the second since 1992.

Boys Division I State Championship

It’s Bellevue’s 13 overall boys and girls state lacrosse title since beginning high school play in 1980. “We took a lesson from the loss (to Eastside Catholic in March) and our trip to NY (where the Wolverines won three straight),” said Bellevue senior midfielder Andrew Gulrajani, who matched a season’s best scoring performance with four goals.  “We had something to prove.  From that point on, we were a different team.  We grew up.”

Bellevue opened scoring at 7:45 of the first on a Gulrajani shot past Crusader goalkeeper Colin Schriever.  After Eastside Catholic’s Colin MacIlvennie evened the contest at 1 – 1 with 4:07 left, it was all Bellevue, as Cole Johnson and Gulrajani closed out the quarter to make it 3 – 1.

In the second, Gulrajani netted his third of night, answering  an opening goal in the second by Eastside Catholic’s  Peter Kimball.  The senior captain’s goal was the first of six unanswered scores through the 3:32 mark of the third and nine of the next 10 through the midway point of the final quarter that broke-down an inexperienced Eastside Catholic squad.

As the clock wound down, Eastside Catholic’s Peter Kimball scored his second of the day, and the Crusader’s fourth, to make it 12 – 4 with 5:16 remaining.  Bellevue’s Cole Johnson completed a hat trick just a minute later to close out the scoring.

“Bellevue has exceptional, talent, leadership and experience,” said first year Eastside Catholic coach Lewis Ratcliff.  “We’re not used to this platform and didn’t come to play aggressively. We will definitely learn something from this,” said Ratcliff.  “That – is where we want to be.”

“Winning the faceoffs was important in this win,” said Bellevue head coach John Baumann, whose squad controlled 12 of 19 faceoffs to dominate possession for most of the game.  “Ground balls and faceoffs win games.”

Bellevue won 14 straight games to close-out the season including three straight victories over difficult New York opponents in an April East Coast road swing.  The Wolverines’ last and only defeats came back-to-back, first at home on March 30 in overtime to Issaquah 7 – 6, and four days a 12 – 11 road loss to the Crusaders. 

“The thing that worked to our advantage was losing to (Eastside Catholic) in March, said Baumann.  “These guys were determined to win it.  I think we can make it back here.”

Bellevue completed its season with a 19-2-0 overall record (17-2-0  in regular season play), muscled its way back to the Washington Lacrosse Boys State Championship with a unlikely road semifinal win over defending state champion Mercer Island, Wednesday at Islander Stadium on Mercer Island.

In the 34-year history of lacrosse play at Bellevue High School, the Wolverines’ Division I squad won it all in 2010, won three straight from 1989 to 1991 and four straight between 1983 and 1986. Bellevue’s boys Division II squad won it all in 1998 and 1995.  For the girls, Bellevue’s  Division II squad won it all in 2003 and 1993.

Eastside Catholic, 14-4-0 (11-3-0 in the regular season), was making its first appearance in the boys Division I Washington state lacrosse title game.  Winners of their last four straight, the Crusaders chalked up victories in 13 of their last 14 games to get to the title matchup.

Gulrajani had four goals, while Cole Johnson had three and Simon Jenkin grabbed nine ground balls to lead Bellevue.  Eastside Catholic was led by MacIlvennie and Kimball each with two goals.  Goaltender Colin Schriever had 16 saves in the Crusader nets.

Scoring

Bellevue                              3  4  2  4 -- 13

Eastside Catholic              1  1  1  1 --  4

Bellevue 13, Eastside Catholic 4 (Andrew Gulrajani, B, 4 goals, 1 ground ball; Cole Johnson, B, 3 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls; Drew Douglas, B, 2 goals, 3 ground balls; Simon Jenkin, B, 2 goals, 9 ground balls; Sam Leggett, B, 1 goal, 2 ground balls; Nick Hutson, B, 1 goal; Hank Bethke, B, 1 assist, 4 ground balls; Dakota Jones, B, 1 assist, 4 ground balls; Blake Samuel, B, 1 assist; Clayton Federspeil, B, 2 ground balls; Austin Boyd, B, 4 saves, 2 ground balls; Hunter Lien, B, 1 ground ball; Andrew Mathews, B, 2 gound balls; Colin MacIlvennie, EC, 2 goals, 1 ground ball; Peter Kimball, EC, 2 goals; Ross Komenda, EC, 1 assist, 1 ground ball; Henry Jarvis, EC, 7 ground balls; John Breed, EC, 3 ground balls; Drew Beggs, EC, 21 ground balls; Arend Broekmate, EC, 2 ground balls; Scott Bowman, EC, 2 ground balls; Will Bassetti, EC, 1 ground ball; Blake Lee, EC, 1 ground ball; Colin Schriever, EC, 16 saves; Cameron Cronk, EC, 9 saves)

Boys Division II State Championship

Snohomish brings first boys prep lacrosse title north sound with 7-5 defeat of Garfield

SEATTLE – Snohomish captured its first Washington Lacrosse Boys State Championship with a 7 – 4 defeat of Garfield High School, Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.  The Division II state title is the third overall since the program’s inaugural year in 2002.  Snohomish won the girls Division II state title in 2008 and 2005.

Snohomish conceded its faceoff game while taking advantage of its depth along with strong goaltending by Glacier Peak senior goaltender Tucker Cooper to shut down the #3 seed Bulldogs, which had won seven of their last eight games overcoming three top seeds in the post season; Gig Harbor, Overlake and Seattle Prep, to earn a berth in Saturday’s title game.

After battling goal-for-goal in the first half, Snohomish emerged from the intermission with a 3 – 3 tie to frustrate the Garfield offense and steadily pull away for their 16^th straight win.  The Panthers last lost on the road to Division I Lake Washington 17 – 10 on March 22.  The loss is their only blemish this season.

“This is pretty intense.  I always thought Snohomish was considered a bunch of ruffians. Now we’re state champions,” said Cooper, who had 12 saves on the day.  “This team really came together.  We bonded.  I never thought we would get here.”

Following a goal by Glacier Peak freshman Miles Russon to put Snohomish up 4 – 3 just 1:09 into the game, Cooper went  to work turning away five Bulldog shots to hand on to the slim one-goal advantage.  With just 34 seconds remaining in the third, Snohomish junior Harrison Wartes scored his second of the day to make it  5 – 3 heading into the final quarter.

In the end, flanked by two more goals of its own, Austin Tippett goals at 5:45 and :15 of the fourth, Snohomish would hold Garfield to just one more goal, a solo shot by Seattle Academy’s Jackson Lanning, at 4:22 of the fourth.

Snohomish coach Chris Cote conceded the face-off game and moved the ball quickly in the offensive zone to take advantage of the Bulldogs.  “I told our guys we were going to give up our faceoffs to beat (Jackson) Lanning,” said Snohomish coach Chris Cote, whose squad won just five of fourteen faceoffs with Garfield’s Jackson prevailing for most.

“This is the most important win for high school lacrosse in the North Sound community,” said Cote.  “Seven years from now, the kids playing on our youth teams will look to this championship.”

In the opening half, Garfield’s Cedric Rhodes, a Seattle Academy junior, struck first giving the Bulldogs a 1 – 0 lead.   Throughout the first both squads were tentative until Glacier Peak’s Gabe Girgus  wound up in front of the Garfield net to beat Danny Strick to give Snohomish its first goal and knot the game at 1 – 1.   Montana Reed, a Bush School sophomore, answered for the Bulldogs just a minute later to put Garfield back on top 2 – 1 closing out the quarter.

In the second, Girgus tallied his second of the night to knot the game at 2 – 2.  Harrison Wartes added his first of the day to give the Panthers a 3 – 2 lead.  With just 1:25 remaining in the half, Garfield senior Carl Barnes knotted the game for the third time to close out the half at 3 – 3.

Tippett led Snohomish scoring with three goals and two assists, while Girgus and Wartes each had two.  Cooper finished with12 saves in goal.

For Garfield, Charlie Phelps, Barnes, Reed, and Lanning all scored, while Danny Strick had four saves.

Snohomish finishes its season with a 19-1-0 overall record (15-1-0 in the regular season), while Garfield, finished 13-7-0 (11-6-0 in the regular season).

Scoring

Snohomish         1  2  2  2 -- 7

Garfield                2  1  0  1 -- 4

Snohomish 7, Garfield 4 (Austin Tippett, SNO, 3 goals, 2 assists, 3 ground balls; Gabe Girgus, SNO, 2 goals, 1 assist; Harrison Wartes, SNO, 2 goals, 4 ground balls, 3 ground balls; Brandon Todd, SNO, 1 assist; Jared Booth, SNO, 3 ground balls; Tucker Cooper, SNO, 12 saves; Cedric Rhodes, G, 1 goal, 1 assist; 3 ground balls; Charlie Phelps, G, 1 goal, 1 assist; Carl Barnes, G, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 ground balls ; Montana Reed, G,  1 goal, 2 ground balls; Jackson Lanning, G, 1 goal, 7 ground balls; Elliott Voss, G, 2 ground balls; Danny Strick, G, 4 saves)