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Space Needle Shootout Recap
Submitted by walax on Thu, 2006-12-21 06:26.
The Space Needle Shootout at Starfire Sports December 8th-10th, proved great competition, great sportsmanship and great memories for all. Neither the rain nor the chill dampened the spirits of fans or players alike as more than 750 players participated in the tournament, and between 1,500 and 2,000 fans cheered the games.
The Space Needle Shootout at Starfire Sports December 8th-10th, proved great competition, great sportsmanship and great memories for all. Neither the rain nor the chill dampened the spirits of fans or players alike as more than 750 players participated in the tournament, and between 1,500 and 2,000 fans cheered the games. Thirty-seven teams from the Northwest battled for the top spot in Youth, Middle School, High School and Elite divisions. All left having played at least four games against teams they normally wouldn’t play.
With so much parity in the high caliber of play, several teams had tied records going into Sunday’s final “bracketeering”. Every age group would have a four team play-off, with the Youth playing in the championship with the two teams having the best record. All other divisions would have a bracket seeded from 1st-4th in each division followed by semi-final games to determine who would play in the championship. One of the great benefits of putting this tourney together, was witnessing the talent from all over the Northwest. Not only that, but it gave Washington officials an opportunity to sharpen their Officiating early in the season and train new refs. Neither the refs nor the spectators were ready for this caliber of Lacrosse being played in December.
In Setting up the brackets, we used the following criteria for tie-breakers:
1) Head to Head
2) Points against
3) Points differential
4) Coin Toss
In the youth division, two well-acquainted foes battled for the top spot- Adanac Field Lacrosse and South Fraser. Coming down to the final clock ticks, the Adanacs came away with a win 6-5 in an amazing competitive game. Both teams had lead their division over Seattle, Oregon, and another Adanac team. In the end, The Adanacs came away with a solid win in a great game.
In the Middle School division, brackets highlighted the parity in team play. South Fraser was seeded first after a four-way tie with Adanacs, New West, and Langley all with perfect 4-0 records. Based on point differential, South Fraser would be seeded first, then Langley, then New West and finally Adanacs. The first game pitted top seed South Fraser with 4 seed Adanacs in a semi-final game. South Fraser dominated this game, as it had all tourney with a final 10-2.
The second semi-final game pitted Langley against New West, to see who would play in the championships. Langley proved no match for the New West Warlocks who controlled the game in a 6-3 victory.
In the middle school final, South Fraser led in the first half 3-2, but was unable to stave off a late comeback by New West. With a very strong team to lead the charge, New West walked away with a 6-4 victory over a very strong South Fraser team.
MVP honors went to #6 Drew Millikan of New West
In the High School division, another very close battle with 5 teams vying for only four spots. Two teams with undefeated records would come down to tie-breaking criteria for top seed. Adanacs and South Fraser both had perfect records, but in the end, South Fraser had 2 fewer goals against than Adanacs, and took the pole position. Duking it out for the remaining two seeds, were three 3-1 teams: Pac Rim, Adanac 2, and New West. Based on points against, Pac Rim was eliminated at 19 points, and New West took fourth with 17 points against, leaving a second Adanac team in the remaining 3rd seed. Brackets would then stack South Fraser against the fourth seed, New West, and Adanac 1 against Adanac 2.
Though playing a game against their top-tiered team, the Adanac 2 team put up a valiant fight dropping the game 11-2. The New West vs. Adanac game held another classic battle. In a close, low-scoring game, each team worked hard for the lead. As the intensity of the fourth quarter drew to a close, we had another tie- 4-4 and another overtime would decide the top and bottom seeded teams. South Fraser came out pushing the ball, and scored the game winner just a short way into overtime 5-4. The stage was now set for a bout between South Fraser and Adanacs Field Lacrosse in the High School like the Youth.
Adanacs have played South Fraser on a regular basis. Today would be another match between titans, and this game was one to watch. In the end, the Adanacs had controlled the game and wound up the title holder for the High School division, besting a total of 11 other teams and missing supporting casts on other teams in the same tourney.
MVP for honors went to #88 Cody Craven of Adanacs
In the Elite division, parity continued. The Oregon “Bloodsharks” were undefeated going into playoffs as the clear first seed. Beating Burnaby Mountain Selects, Oregon was the talk of the tourney. Burnaby took the second seed with a 3-1 record and strongest in defense amongst the three teams with 3-1 records.with the least number of goals against. In spite of a loss to Oregon, the Burnaby Mountain Selects finished strong. Third seed would belong to New West after beating Seattle in a great game by two. Fourth seed would come down to points against between Tacoma and Seattle, putting Tacoma on top. What follows was some of the best Lacrosse of the tourney. In the semi-final game, Tacoma defeats Oregon in sudden victory overtime9-8 after a penalty was called against Oregon. A nice backdoor cut to grab a rebound on Cooper Robbins, standout goalie for Oregon, would make the difference putting the Tacoma Starz over the Oregon Starz 10-9.
The other playoff game would be decided with Burnaby defeating New West by two holding off a strong second half rally, 9-7.
The championship game set unlikely Tacoma Starz against Burnaby, who had beaten Tacoma 12-4 earlier in the day. What followed was the best Lacrosse of the day. Tacoma would battle back and forth for the lead in a 1-2 goal game most of the second half. Finally, the gates seemed to open for the Mountain Selects, scoring two unanswered and putting them into a 1 goal lead with just a few minutes remaining. Tacoma rallied back to score and tie the game with only a minute and a half left in regulation. Landon Carr and Dylan Masi both making play after play to keep the hope alive. With under a minute Burnaby regained possession and had a Man-up situation, but Tacoma held strong, anchored by Wiesner and Griffin. In overtime, Tacoma had an opportunity to finish, but could not convert. Burnaby would have more luck finishing a solo shot a minute and thirty seconds into overtime to emerge victorious.
MVP honors went to #7 Mac Davis from Burnaby
Not only was the play top notch, but the fastest shot competition gave top awards to a New West U-17 player who shot 93 miles an hour on cage. Each Champion was awarded medals, which will be followed by team pictures shortly. Braving the rain and the cold all weekend were the Starz family parents. Many of these games were recorded and can be found on www.gametapes.com for purchase. Gametapes, the official sponsor for all game video production, has set up a special site to order DVDs of the games HERE. Great action captured by Gametapes, get yours today!
Photos can be found through Walax.com’s link for photos:
We would like to thank our Sponsors Breakaway Sports, Walax.com, Gametapes.com, Fine Designs and all the fans, players and parents that made the Shootout such a memorable and exciting tournament. We will be back next year with more teams from outside the Northwest, and lots more Lacrosse!
Thanks for the write up.
The tournament was great, very well run and great Lacrosse games. Can't wait till next year!