This past weekend held the 9th annual Northwest Invitational – a well run event with great programs from all over the West. Teams from Colorado. Oregon, Nevada, British Columbia and of course Washington, met on Mercer Island for fierce competition, with many entertaining games taking place. Of note was Bellevue’s victory over Lakeridge, Oregon’s defending state champion on Saturday night. Lakeridge followed suit, defeating Coronado, Nevada’s state champion. Does this mean our great state takes the crown in the west? Not so fast - Claremont, of British Columbia, was the class of the tournament, and edged Bellevue by 1 goal in a great Friday night matchup. Stay tuned to walax.com for video highlights and a more in depth summary!

The Week that Was…

Last week we highlighted that Division 2 and Division 1, when they play each other, sometimes means a lopsided match, but is often times no cakewalk for the higher division. This week D-I Curtis narrowly escaped D-II Vashon in a 4-3 defensive struggle, D-II’s Klahowya scored 8 to D-I Stadium’s 6, and D-II Liberty beat D-I Ballard 10-5. On the other hand, we also saw a 22-5 victory by Eastside Catholic over Seattle Academy, who has been impressive in other action against Division 1 teams. The trend continues – some lopsided games, but more competition and parity than anything else.

Division I Notes:

· The top KingCo teams - Issaquah, Mercer Island, and Bellevue - all looked impressive this weekend against strong out of state competition.

· Another three way tie exists in the SPSL/Narrows Conference. Curtis has been finding ways to win in tight games, while Auburn-Riverside and Tahoma have won a number of games by relatively large margins.

· In the Metro, Eastside Catholic has had a strong start, and has a lead with some distance over the rest of the conference. Seniors Ross Komenda and Colin MacIlvennie have combined with sophomore Bryce Atwater for 89 points over 5 games at the time of this story.

Division II Notes:

· Every team in the Eastern conference has a few games under their belt, and we have a tie for first place between Gonzaga Prep and Wenatchee. University-CV is sure to keep knocking on the door, and there is a lot of season left to play.

· Seattle Academy won convincingly vs. Nathan Hale, and now has a commanding lead in the Metro-DII Conference. David Funes and Parker Woo have been pacing Academy with 15 and 14 points respectively, but even more impressive, are Funes’ 12 ground balls and Parker Woo’s 27 in only 4 games.

Best Upcoming Match-Ups…

Division I:

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4/3 – Bothell-Inglemoor @ Eastlake: Eastlake has been putting together solid performances, and Bothell-Inglemoor’s one-two punch of Sean Hanrahan and Dale Goong has proven a force to be reckoned with.

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4/4 – Eastside Catholic @ Portland Jesuit (Oregon) – Eastside Catholic didn’t meet Jesuit at the Northwest Invitational. This game will pit two squads that are solid from top to bottom against each other.

4/4 – Auburn-Riverside @ Issaquah: A non-conference matchup between Issaquah, a team that seems to be improving every game, and Auburn-Riverside, a team that by all appearances should be a tough matchup for anyone.

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Division II:

· 4/2 – King’s Way @ Camas: King’s Way is in the lead in the Central-South, and Camas will open their league play with them. Camas has had good results in a number of non-league games. King’s Way is currently undefeated.

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4/3 – Liberty @ Woodinville (D-I): Can Colin Ross and Liberty take down another D-I opponent?

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