It’s the final month of the 2016 lacrosse season in Washington and teams are a few short weeks away from ending their regular seasons. For some, the playoff picture is nearly painted while others are fighting to keep some skin in the game. There are a handful of games (and the last quarter of another) on the horizon that should cause some real changes both to the Division I and Division II lists.

Division I

#1 Bellevue (13-2)

#2 Issaquah (12-4)

#3 Mercer Island (12-4)

#4 Woodinville (10-6)

#5 Eastside Catholic (12-2)

#6 Skyline (12-5)

#7 Bainbridge (12-2)

#8 Eastlake (10-5)

#9 Kamiak (13-1)

#10 Gig Harbor (10-1)

It was a bold move to give #2 Issaquah the second spot on this week’s list, but an OT win over #3 Mercer Island made the seventh in-state win in a row for the XXXX since their 9-12 loss to #4 Woodinville in late March. Speaking of the Falcons, their recent loss to #8 Eastlake bumped them down a spot. They’ll look to climb the ladder again when they take on #3 Mercer Island next Tuesday (5/10). Without any monumental wins over ranked opponents and a loss to #2 Issaquah on Friday, the Islanders will drop a spot, for now, as they set their sights on the three conference games ahead, ending on the road at #4 Woodinville then #1 Bellevue.

#8 Eastlake’s gritty win over #4 Woodinville gave them room to move up. After cruising past competition to a 8-0 record, #10 Gig Harbor was finally served up a loss on their second outing against unranked Bellarmine Prep this season. A Stanwood loss to unranked Lakeside bumped them off the list this week, making room for #9 Kamiak to stake their claim. The Knights are 10-0 in confernece play and a near flawless 12-1 overall, they could be a darkhorse to make a splash in the postseason.

Division II

#1 Liberty (12-5)

#2 Klahowya (12-1)

#3 Vashon (8-3)

#4 White River (7-6)

#5 Union (11-4)

#6 Central Valley (8-4)

#7 Seattle Academy (6-4)

#8 West Seattle (6-4)

#9 Gonzaga Prep (11-2)

#10 Shorecrest (7-4)

It’s hard to justify any movement on the top half of the list. Both #1 Liberty and #2 Klahowya are undefeated in Division II and the teams have been playing fantastic lacrosse this season. Without a meeting scheduled between the two in the regular season, if they both win out they’ll have to wait until the playoffs to settle the score. It only seemed fitting to exchange #7 Seattle Academy and #8 West Seattle, although the latter won the first of two match-ups this season. SAAS recently took down a strong Overlake team, a unit that has topped the Titans twice already this season.

Two top-ranked games are on the docket this week. #3 Vashon will take the long trip around to #2 Klahowya on Wednesday before #9 Gonzaga Prep heads to #6 Central Valley on Thursday. These two battles mights could cause some real shakeup on the list for once. By Mark Donahue.