The support sections showed up in droves for the WHSBLA Division I Semifinal between the Issaquah Eagles and the host, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders. By the time the Star Spangled Banner and pregame prayer had come to an end, the stands were nearly packed with a sea of orange and blue, separated at the 50 yard line from a mass of purple and gold. Before the goalies could shake hands, the crowd was already on its feet and roaring as one; the way Final Four lacrosse on a brisk night in May should be.

Issaquah’s James Rauch came out successful on the first three face-offs, yet regardless of which guy was pulling the ball out from the scrum, excellent wing play by the Crusaders had the possessions going to Eastside Catholic more often than not. That’s not to say face-off man Joey Matte wasn’t doing his part and it didn’t take long for the sophomore to get on the board with the game’s first goal. Moments later, Matte would strike again, followed quickly by freshman Eric Prologo, putting the Crusaders up 3-0 with less than 3 minutes missing from the game clock. The Eagles would have their their looks at the cage, and even fought off a few uneven situations, but unfortunately nothing was resulting in points on the scoreboard. It would be Prologo stepping up again for the home team, registering the final goal of the quarter, putting Eastside Catholic up, 4-0.

The Crusader’s streak would continue when James Wehe would come out firing for the 5th goal of the run. Right before the Eagles’ frustration boiled over from being consistently turned away by senior goaltender Josh Matte, the elusive Cody Klansnic buried a timely shot to scratch in Issaquah’s first points in the book. Not wasting any time, Joey Matte put the ball back into the net to complete his hat trick in the middle of the quarter. Trying to prevent another scoring run, Jake Gonzalez fought through the defense to force in another goal for Issaquah, cutting the deficit back to four. Before the half would close, attackman Max Peters would send the ball past goaltender Jordan Dondoyano to separate to game a 7-2 for halftime.

Up by five goals out of the break, Eastside Catholic began to play a slower, more methodical game on offense while their opponents were consistently forced into making ill-fated decisions with the ball. Strong goaltending on both ends and aggressive defense kept the ball out of each net until Joey Matte would break the ice again, tallying the only goal of the entire third quarter, putting the Crusaders up 8-2 heading into the final frame.

The fourth quarter looked to be a copy of the third until senior Riley Richards attempted to start a late rally, burying the first Eagle goal of the second half. Face-off athlete James Rauch quickly followed suit, punching in another goal for Issaquah, cutting the difference to six. The noble efforts appeared to be too little too late right when Joey Matte buried his fifth goal, knocking the wind out of the Issaquah sails. Matte’s goal would stand as the last point of the night, before the offense would successfully run off the last 2 minutes, sending the Crusader bench in a frenzy to tackle their goalie upon the final whistles, winning the semifinal by a score of 9 to 4.

From between the pipes, captain Josh Matte led his Crusaders for a spectacular four quarters. Keeping 19 on-target shots out of the goal, Matte posted an impressive .789 save percentage when his team needed him the most.

The only thing now standing between the Crusaders and their first State Championship is the ever-talented Bellevue Wolverines. While Eastside Catholic was working their way past Issaquah, Bellevue played host to Bainbridge and cruised away with a clean 14-6 victory. The Wolverines and the Crusaders have yet to meet in 2016, their last meeting coming just last season when Eastside Catholic came out on top, 12-6. Close to wrapping up his first season at the helm, Coach Chuck Goodman looks to lead his Crusaders to their very first WHSBLA title, while Coach John Baumann and the Wolverines look to bring the 13th State Championship back to Bellevue subsequently losing the big game in 2015 for the first time in three-consecutive seasons.

It could just be the year of Crusader, after winning titles in football and cheerleading, both lacrosse teams also took the spring by storm. The Lady Crusaders brought home the girls lacrosse title just a week ago, setting the boys up for the opportunity to win the school’s fourth championship in one calendar year. They will have their shot on Saturday evening at the Starfire Complex in Tukwila, with the first face-off scheduled for 6 p.m. By Mark Donahue.