Week Ten

Week in Review:

And down the stretch they come….Plenty of excitement in week 10 as things sort themselves out heading into the playoffs.

Someone forgot to tell Bellevue they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago.  Forget their first win in 2 years.  Bellevue has decided to play the role of spoiler and has now won two straight to move out of the basement in the A division!!!  An exciting double overtime victory over Overlake has knocked the Owls out of the playoff race.  Check below for the recap!!!

A two win week for Maple Valley has the Vandals sitting pretty for the 4th spot, but Eastside stayed alive with a big win over Overlake as well.

Bainbridge and Port Angeles remained undefeated respectively.

Mercer Island scored one of its biggest victories to date with an impressive 15-12 triumph over Lakeside.  Luckily for the Islanders they seem to be clicking at just the right time.  The win pushes Mercer Island into 2^nd place all alone as they look to host a semi-final match-up.

Things seem pretty set in the B league playoff situation with Port Angeles and Panthers Lacrosse Club winning the Island League and City League respectively and Bainbridge B and Franklin clinching the runner up spots.

On a bit of a down note, the Burien Lacrosse Club unfortunately had to fold this past week.  Kudos to Coach Todd McGuire for doing the best he could in a tough situation.  Hopefully for the growth of the sport here in Washington, the area can revive a program in the years to come.  But, as for now, Burien lacrosse is no more.

"Game of the Week" recap:

We’ve got two great ones for you this week…and no need to recap Bellevue’s first win, they WON AGAIN!!!  And it was even better the second time around!

Here we go…

Overlake @ Bellevue

Solid defense by both teams kept the first quarter scoreless. Overlake got on the scoreboard first by converting an illegal stick penalty man-up opportunity with seconds remaining before the release. Bellevue's Andy Young answered twice including an extra-man conversion before the Owls evened it just before half.   A low scoring first half found the teams deadlocked at 2-2.
The third quarter was a back and forth battle with Overlake getting balanced scoring and  the Wolverine's Young again involved in all three of Bellevue's goals by netting two and assisting one.  Overlake lead 6-5 at the end of three quarters. Freshman Joel Weber tied the game early in the 4^th.  Then both teams buckled down on defense and both keepers helped keep the remainder of the fourth quarter scoreless.

Overlake came out strong in the first 5 minutes of OT by forcing breakdowns in the Wolverine defense on two individual effort goals. Brandon Deal slotted a feed from Andy Young in for Bellevue in one of the few Bellevue opportunities. After switching ends, Brandon Deal made a superb dodge from behind and snuck the ball into the upper right corner to even the score. Neither team had another solid scoring opportunity.

In sudden-death, the ball went up and down the field twice, until Wes Frysztacki picked up the loose ball on the defensive end,  fired it to Brandon Moore-Walker in transition who found Andy Young on the crease. Andy finished the game 2:12 into sudden death!!! (this report is courtesy of Steve Corley)

Mercer Island @ Lakeside

This game was certainly one of the better high school lacrosse games witnessed in this area in years.  Both teams played solid defense, patient offense, good transitions, big saves…an entertaining game all the way around. 

Mercer Island came out fired up and jumped to a 4-0 lead.  Lakeside never lost composure though and managed to creep back.  The first quarter was filled with excitement.  Neither the keepers or the defense appeared to be playing poorly, but somehow both teams fit 10 goals into 12 minutes of action and Mercer lead 6-4 after one.

Things settled down a bit in the 2^nd and Lakeside battled back to take the lead 9-8 at half time.  So, right back came the Islanders.  Midway through the 3^rd saw Mercer score one of the prettiest goals of the day.  Picking up a loose ball in his own end, a Mercer defender made a heads up look and found Scott Pattison coming right out of the substitution box.  Pattison flew down the right side initiating the fast-break.  A look down to Biehn who fired across the face of the goal to Larson for an easy, empty net, quick stick finish.  The goal had the crowd fired up and seemed to swing momentum back in Mercer's favor.

In the 4^th quarter a well executed man-up put Mercer up for good.  The Islanders were able to fend off the Lions and pulled away at the end.  Lakeside had an opportunity going man-up under two minutes to get back even, but Mercer scored a man-down goal to all but end it.  A great game all-around and an impressive win for the Islanders. 

Top Performers of the Week:

Andy Young, Bellevue

• The junior attackman scored 7 points on 5 goals and 2 assists in leading the Wolverines to their 2^nd victory in as many games.  Young's performance included the game winner in sudden-death OT.

Geoff Thilo, Mercer Island

• The senior midfielder had his biggest scoring day of the year when it counted most.  Scoring on a few nice jumpshots, outside rockets and well executed man-up plays, Thilo finished the day with 6 goals in helping the Islanders defeat Lakeside and move into 2^nd place.

Check out league leaders page for list of all scorers!!

Preview of Upcoming Week:

One week left in the regular season!!

Several good match-ups this week, including Mercer vs Bainbridge and Lakeside vs Bainbridge.  Unfortunately these come a week before playoffs and therefore are a preview of rematches we will see again shortly.  Both Mercer and Lakeside will be looking to gain momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs while Bainbridge looks to keep their perfect season in tact.

Bainbridge Island B faces off against the Panthers in a playoff preview as well.

The big race is still for 4^th.  Maple Valley and Eastside have a huge showdown Tuesday night.  Eastside must win out and hope Maple Valley also loses one of their other two remaining games in order to grab the 4^th spot.

Keep an eye on Bellevue. Can they play spoiler again should Eastside get by Maple Valley??  

Check out league standings page for current standing in both divisions!!!