Bellevue goes down to MI 11-2, Mercer is Back
Submitted by walax on Thu, 2006-03-23 08:57.
Features
The Mercer Island Bellevue game felt like the calm before a huge storm last night before the game began. Only a few people showed up for pre-game except for the two very focused teams on the carpet.
The whistle blew game started with such intensity; I thought something was going to explode when the first face-off finally happened. Mahony wins the first face-off possession battle followed by a couple of MI passes, then a shot and save by Schmidt for easy clear with Schmidt running up the field to clear the ball. He would do this at least five times in the night.
Spangler would possess the ball against Brant Howell and he was stripped right away, something that would happen a few times on the night as well.
MI moves the ball up, and turns it over in a first quarter test of defense and nerves, in Spencer Schmidt’s stick. Again, a complete shut-off ride by MI ending in a Spencer Schmidt shot on goalie John Schwartz into his stick. Six minutes into the game, MI begins their first offensive push with a settled offense using a few new offensive tricks. Ian Kaminski pulled out the defense from the left wing attack, and drove for the first Mercer Island goal by beating his man and the slide for a solo shot on Schmidt who had no chance of saving the shot- Mercer Island 1-0 with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
After winning another face-off, MI draws a 30 second push leading to a difficult 1-on-1 shot that Schmidt snuffs on the crease. Another possession for either team bearing no fruit; at the end of the first quarter, the score was 1-0 Mercer.
Almost four minutes into the second quarter, Brant Howell clears the ball starting an MI transition and hooks up Bowker on the crease for another doorstep goal on Schmidt. The Wolverines motion for a timeout down 2-0 to Mercer Island with 10:53 left in the half. After another round of offensive transition and defensive stands, Jonah Crollard sweeps right up top and splits his defensemen while letting a shot fly five-holing Jon Schwartz to make the score 2-1 with 5:28 left.
Mercer sets up a drive from behind, feeding Taylor Dawson on the wing for a strong shot that finds its way to the back of the net giving Mercer Island a 3-1 lead. During the play, both Taylor Platt and Taylor Dawson were injured, but the Bellevue coaches came on the field earning a penalty, which MI again, exploited. With 2:56 left, Mahony breaks his silence with a hard shot across the crease on a completely screened Spencer Schmidt. It looks like momentum shifts here until Brazg is called for a push which allows Drew Nordstrom to find Jonah Crollard open for a shot and scoring with under a minute left. At half time, Mercer Island is up 4-2 at Bellevue, and there is a clear battle underway.
At the start of the second half, Bellevue has an opportunity to get on the board right away. MI kills their slash penalty and takes possession from Bellevue. Kevin Mahony who has been looking to feed most of the game to this point, pulls out his long-stick and takes a run to the cage with success, upping the MI lead by 1 to 5-2. As the game progresses, some heavy hitting begins on the way and Bellevue earned another slash leading to a shot and score for Matt Wright, one of his two this evening. Mercer is dominating the third quarter, having come out from halftime quite fired up. I felt the questions about MI and their ability to execute seemed silly at this point. MI was winning the groundball war 25-13 and had out-shot Bellevue 15-5 this quarter alone. Kevin Mahony earns his hat trick with a fiery heater stick side high from up top, making the score 7-2 Mercer.
I have to add this, because I have never seen this at a Lacrosse game, but during one of the only fast breaks of the second half for Bellevue, a streaker in a sweater streaked from one end of the field to the other, leaving everyone wondering what just happened and why anyone would streak during the game with no game video news coverage! Too funny, I think he was a Mercer Island student.
Bellevue’s keeper, Schmidt, is facing two of the fastest shots in the league in the Mahony brothers, proven again when a shot from Greg Mahony hits the near-side pipe, then the far-side pipe and then net. Spencer reacted once it hit the net, and I think everyone noticed how fast that shot was and just like that, it was 8-2 Mercer Island. After there were several transitions in the fourth quarter between Bellevue and Mercer, Greg Mahony slipped a saved shot passed Bellevue’s netminder, rolling in for another bell ring with 2:25 left in the game. Bellevue’s young program is talented but frustrated by Mercer at this point. In every case, MI has dominated the second half both in stats and in possession time and momentum.
Frustrated, the Bellevue defense push hard at the end line forcing MI to press the ball up to Wright for his second of the night. And so it was for Bellevue last evening. Kevin Mahony completes the damage while MI attempts to possess the ball and is forced to wind his defensemen up with under a minute in the game. Kevin beats his man, and goes to the cage for a solo shot finishing the game with a final score of 11-2.
This win demonstrates the Issaquah win may have been a one-hit wonder for Issaquah over MI, but also that although Bellevue is talented, young and strong, they too have made great strides with more strides to come. Out of curiosity, I asked Ian O’Hearn why he changed a senior defensemen into a goalie and played him as opposed to a younger goalie who may be more of a starter for the next three years. O’Hearn noted, “I like the senior leadership. Both are solid goalies, but senior leadership counts for a lot.”
