Bellevue made a statement for Washington lacrosse, again. Their 13-4 win over West Linn, ranked 8th in the West region by USLacrosse magazine, speaks volumes. Bellevue dominated every aspect of play throughout the game, hats off to the Wolverines!

Skyline’s one-goal win against Eastlake may have punched the Spartans’ ticket to the playoffs, giving them a pretty solid hold on the 4th seed for D-I KingCo. The top 3 of Issaquah, Bellevue, and Mercer Island will probably only trade wins and losses, so the 4th and 5th seeds are the real competitive race. There is a lot of season to go, but the Spartans definitely did themselves a huge favor.

Sehome-Bellingham survived a strong showing by Snohomish, and probably clinched the top of their division. A one-goal game that ended 8-7, this game had playoff implications we will detail later in this column.

Seattle Academy continued its strong performances against Division 1 teams, only losing by 3 to Bainbridge. Shorecrest was also involved in a three-goal contest against Snohomish. Both are examples of programs playing at high levels regardless of their classification as Division 1 or Division 2.

In Division 2, Wenatchee continued their winning ways, and unless University-CV or Gonzaga Prep can kick it in to a higher gear in their later matchups, they have essentially clinched 1st place in the D-II Eastern Conference. Congrats to the Panthers, keep up the good work!

The race for the D-I playoffs

Though no playoff berths have been mathematically clinched, the first half of the season has given us a fairly good glimpse as to where many of the high playoff seeds are expected to fall. However, a very interesting developing storyline in all conferences is the race for the lower seeds and thus final berths in each conference. In most cases they are competitive and should make for a very exciting second half of the season.

This week we will cover D-I conferences, and next week D-II. Here is a rundown by conference:

KingCo Conference – total seeds: 5

Issaquah, Bellevue, and Mercer Island essentially own the top 3 seeds, and Skyline has a pretty strong hold on the 4th, but the 5th seed is very much a three horse race. Lake Washington and Eastlake are the most likely candidates to earn the 5th seed, and will meet on the 1st of May. Bothell-Inglemoor is a bit of a long shot, but could make it in if they pick up some key wins and get some help from teams ranked above them.

Metro Conference – total seeds: 2

Eastside Catholic owns first place, while Bainbridge, Seattle Prep, and Lakeside all have a shot at 2nd place. May 1st and 5th are important days for this conference, with Seattle Prep matching up against Lakeside and Bainbridge respectively.

SPSL/Narrows - total seeds: 3

This is a race that could go in many directions. Tahoma, Curtis, and Auburn Riverside are undefeated to date, while Emerald Ridge-Puyallup has only lost once in league play. This should be an absolute battle. Curtis has a huge schedule upcoming, playing Tahoma on the 22nd, Emerald Ridge-Puyallup on the 25th, and Auburn Riverside on the 29th. A lot will be determined based on these games.

Wesco/NW – total seeds: 1

Sehome-Bellingham appears likely to end as the #1 seed having already beaten Snohomish, the top spot in the conference is their's to lose. But Snohomish might have a 2nd chance…

Another chance - Play-in game – Metro #3 vs Wesco/NW #2

As previously noted, the state of the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the Metro are in flux, and the third could end up being Seattle Prep, Lakeside, or even Bainbridge. Snohomish appears at this stage to be the front-runner for the 2nd seed in Wesco/NW. This play-in game might just end up being one of the most competitive of the year.

Stay tuned for next week, when we will update the progression of this race, and give you a rundown of the hotly contested D-II seedings.

Best upcoming matchups

D-I:

4/22 – Tahoma @ Curtis – Two strong SPSL/Narrows powers, both with NCAA commits compete for first in the conference

4/25 - Oregon Episcopal School @ Lake Washington – The Oregon Episcopal School Aardvarks are undefeated to this point, and Lake Washington has steadily improved over the year. Both teams have won against a common opponent in Sherwood of Oregon. Aardvarks and Kangaroos oh my!

4/25 - Issaquah @ Bellevue – Two power programs going toe to toe, should make for a great game.

4/25 - Lincoln @ Bainbridge – Another visitor from Oregon, Lincoln has produced some serious top-flight NCAA Division 1 talent in the past and is always strong. The Spartans should face a tough test here.

D-II:

4/26: Port Angeles @ Vashon - Vashon has an opportunity to improve their playoff resume with a win here, while Port Angeles will be fighting for their playoff lives.

4/22: Overlake @ Sehome-Bellingham – How does metro D-II compare to Wesco/NW D-I? Time to find out!

4/25: Southridge @ Camas – Southridge took the first matchup 11-7 – Camas gets a chance to respond at home.

Anything we missed? Got some good comments or questions for us? EMAIL: [email protected]