Pre-Season North County Invitational - Overlake Takes It All

We travelled North on Saturday and Sunday to participate in the North County Invitational including teams from all over the state.  Teams from every corner came to play each other in a great opportunity to test out new starters, and finalize rosters.  Several Division II powerhouses flexed their seasonal muscles in Overlake and Stadium, and other up and coming teams had a chance to bond.  One thing is certain, the level of Lacrosse here is much higher than year's past.

Pete White, tournament director was, "thrilled with the level of play, and the atmosphere," while other coaches commented on the value of pre-season play focused on getting ready for the season.  Coach Henry Valentine had this to say about his team winning the tourney, "I was happy we started putting some things together, playing games like this does more than any practice can do- it's trial by fire."  Most importantly, this served as a great opportunity to play, and Snohomish played both their teams in each game, rotating some 40 players through to get experience.  Hale broght only the younger guys for their team, and Bainbridge brought a tenacious JV Squad to play.

The Invitational supported two formats: JV and Varsity to help coaches move players back and forth as well as finding the right pieces to make the teams work.  I was impressed with the passion of the players and parents- it is obvious Lacrosse will easily root up close to the border.

Tournament Champion - OVERLAKE

 Overlake went 5-0 during the tournament, beating Stadium (4-1) 6-4 in the championship game.  Overlake was up 4-1 at halftime, Stadium came back and tied it up 4-4 in the third quarter.  Devon Schmidt scored the final two goals for Overlake, securing the Tournament MVP, and the win for Overlake.

Tourament MVP's -

Varsity level - Devon Schmidt, Overlake

Devon Schmidt works hard to get open in the Overlake win.  photo courtesy of Gary Groothuis

Junior Varsity Level - Dan Clauson, Lake Tapps J.V.

Semi final Scores -

Overlake 5, Bainbridge Island J.V. 1

Stadium 8, Lake Tapps 2 

Rankings (with W-L-T record)

1.   Overlake 5-0-0

2.   Stadium 4-1-0

3.   Bainbridge J.V. (2-1-1)

4.   Lake Tapps (2-1-1)

5.   Stanwood (1-1-1)

6.   Snohomish (1-1-1)

7.   San Juan (1-2-0)

8.   North County (1-2-0)

9.   Whatcom (0-2-1)

10. Nathan Hale  (0-2-1)

11. Wenatchee Valley  (0-3-0)