MERCER ISLAND-The monsoon downpour parted just in time for the face-off of one of the biggest rivalries in the state.  It was complete with  high energized teams and the fans to compliment. Connor Bernal opened up the scoring with a nice individual effort, as he dodged past several stick chasing defenders and snuck a shot past Austin Boyd.  After the next face-off it was the Wolverines turn on offense.  Bellevue utilized long possessions used midfield isolation sweeps to pull the Islander slides.  With that Wolverine freshman Eric Haehl scored off a nice bouncer to even up the score.

Sammamish drops Blanchet to earn first state lacrosse title berth

BELLEVUE – Tyvan Schmidt and Tyler Wright netted hat tricks to send Sammamish to its first state championship berth in a 16 – 4 boys Division II semifinal playoff win over Blanchet, Wednesday at Newport High School in Bellevue. Playing in its third playoff appearance in their fifth year of high school lacrosse play, the win elevated Sammamish to a boys Division II title matchup with upstart Woodinville, which also won its semifinal. Sammamish jumped out to a 4 – 1 lead in the first before matching the Braves 2 – 2 in the second to take a 6 – 3 lead into the intermission.  In the third, the two squads held each other to solo goals before Sammamish exploded for 9 fourth-quarter goals to break the game open. Nine Sammamish players scored for Sammamish including Brian Headland, Neil Hones, Cooper Horton and Riley Martin, who each netted a  pair of goals.  Blanchet’s Zane Zielke scored 2 goals, while David Van Der Hoff, Connor Black and Tyler Schmutz all netted solo goals.  Zach Traynor had 12 saves in goal for the Braves. Blanchet, the second place Metro Conference finisher, wrapped up its season with a 12-5-0 record.   On the way to the playoffs, the Braves defeated Ballard and Nathan Hale in the final two games of the regular season before dropping Redmond in the opening round and Skagit Valley in the semifinals. Sammamish enters the title game having won their final 10 games of the regular season to finish 16-1-0 on top of the Evergreen Conference.  In the playoffs, Sammamish defeated Three Rivers and Providence before taking care of Blanchet in the semifinals.

Out of the division I semi-finalists, Bainbridge, Issaquah, Mercer Island, and Bellevue, these two teams are the most dynamic- for better or worse.  Bainbridge’s potent offense has been hot and cold this year, but when they are hot, look out.  Issaquah has been passionate all year, consistently delivering 3 quarters of Lacrosse, and some of the best transition around.  What we don’t know, is how these two really match up.  It is different, any given Sunday.  13 seniors playing a band of brothers, both playing for something this season. It started off slow, but like gunpowder, it exploded with a slow fuse.

Welcome back to our second to last Rundown of the 2011 season.  The boy's DI and DII state semi-finals are this Wednesday May 25th with the winners advancing to Championship Saturday May 28th at Memorial Stadium.  This week we have the previews for these up coming semi-final match-ups.  We are going to have game-write ups for all the games this week and full coverage of Championship Saturday. In Division I, it came as no surprise to which the four semi-final teams were going to be.  Both of the Division I games have grudge match written all over them. In Division II, it will be a different story, but the storylines are just as impressive.

Who would have thought we would see stalwart powerhouse UVA matched up against relative upstart, Denver?  Bill Tierney, thats who.  Since his arrival out west, Tierney has built an arsenal of weapons to unload on the East Coast.  Hist stockpile includes a recent Bellevue graduate, Cole Nordstrom.  Though a freshman at Denver, Cole has seen playing time throughout the season, though we may not get to see him as the games progress.  If you haven't seen the brackets for Division I, have a look HERE.  He isn't the only one though - The Maryland Terrapins have come to collect a debt...

The Division II Quarters produced some of the best games of the year.  Sammamish will match up with Blanchet, and Woodinville will Look to Garfield for the semi-finals as the State Championships are just two games away...Sammamish vs. Providence, Woodinville vs. North County, Garfield vs. Wenatchee coming

Here are the write-ups and results of the DI quarterfinals: The Verdict is in - the usual suspects will vie for a birth to The Show next Wednesday night.  Bellevue vs. Mercer Island in a blood feud from Last year's championship game, Issaquah vs. Bainbridge battle between two storied teams with powerful reasons to win.  Look out, the usual suspects may have unusual results!

Mercer Island v. King's Way, Bainbridge v. Eastside Catholic, Bellevue v. Curtis, Issaquah v. Tacoma