The Sunday Stroll: Spring Break Part 1

If not already doing so, get in the habit of browsing the WHSBLA Stroll Twitter feed avaialbe through Twitter or available in condensed form directly on the WHSBLA and Walax home pages.  In addition to reading this weekly column a quick browse of the WHSBLA Stroll Twitter page or feed will give you a good sense of what took place during the past week.  A relatively light week due to Spring Break, but here are a few nuggets for you…

The Week that Was…

Division I Notes:

·         Only six league games in Division I this week:

o    Bellevue spoiled former assistant Chris O’Dougherty’s return to Bellevue HS by smashing Eastlake at home 18-5. 

o    Auburn Riverside got back on track with an 11-4 win over Curtis led by 3g from senior Josh Davenport.  Curtis has to be the biggest enigma as the Vikings continue to slide after an early season upset of Bainbridge.

o    Skyline got 14 gbs from faceoff man RJ Lockard, 12 saves from two goalies and 3g,3a from Ryan Benz to hold off a pesky Woodinville squad 13-11.

o    After trailing at halftime, Lake Washington pitched a 4-0 shutout in the 4^th quarter to complete the comeback and knock of Tahoma 9-8.

o    Bothell-Inglemoor notched its first league win of the year!  Despite giving up 7 goals to Sammamish-Newport’s Cooper Horton and trailing at half, Bothell-Inglemoor used an 8-2 second half to capture the 16-13 win.

o    Tahoma rebounded from the tough loss to LW with a 10-4 win over Emerald Ridge-Puyallup

·         Bellevue and Mercer Island each did what they have done before and made statements for the Northwest and our league as a whole by earning big wins out east.  Mercer opened their road trip with a respectable 8-4 loss to national ranked Duxbury of Massachusetts.  The Islanders led early 2-0 but didn’t have enough legs off the plane to run the full 48.  After a day off and a jaunt north to Maine, the Islanders took care of Scarborough 15-2.  Saturday proved to be the biggest day as while the Islanders were ending their trip, Bellevue arrived in New York to kick off their swing.  Mercer held serve by knocking off the defending Massachusetts Division II champions, Concord-Carlisle, 7-2.  Meanwhile, Bellevue beat Port Washington of New York in hard fought 7-6 affair.  The Wolverines are now 9-0 overall with two more games in New York coming this week.

Division II Notes:

·         A slightly heavier league schedule in Division II, but Spring Break played havoc in a few teams ability to field teams and unfortunately the week saw two forfeits because of it.

·         Eight Division II teams are currently rated in the top 20 overall in Washington according to LaxPower, including seven ranked ahead of Bainbridge!  Will be very interesting to follow how long this will last.

·         Mount Si proved its early season overtime win over Ballard was no fluke by defeating the Beavers again, this time 9-5.  The win places the Wildcats firmly in second place in the KingCo and in a very favorable position to secure a playoff berth soon as they already own five conference wins.

·         Similarly, Shorecrest earned its fifth conference win with a 13-11 victory over Friday Harbor.  Shorecrest got 6g, 1a from Ethan Jensen to overcome a solid all-around 3g,2a, 11gb showing from Friday Harbor’s Dylan Radden.  Shorecrest now sits atop the Cascade by percentage points over Everett.  Though Everett does own a head-to-head win over Shorecrest. 

·         Peninsula-Gig Harbor has won 7 straight games after a season opening loss to Kennedy Catholic.  They won three more this week over Redmond, Liberty and Aloha of Oregon, though all were non-league contests.

Lacrosse The Country…

Here is what we have compiled in terms of WHSBLA Alumns currently playing NCAA lacrosse around the country as well as those playing for MCLA Division I Club teams outside of the PNCLL.  In addition, we have also included a current list of NCAA commitments from the Class of 2013.

Please let us know anyone we missed! Next week we will provide a list of all those playing MCLA Club in the PNCLL as well as at the MCLA Division II level.

Best Upcoming Match-Ups…

Division I:

·         4/9 – Bellevue @ Long Beach: Wolverines aren’t sneaking up on anyone anymore.  Can they continue to impress out east?

·         4/11 – Issaquah @ Oregon Episcopal:  Top programs from Washington and Oregon face off just outside Portland.

·         4/12 – Mercer Island @ King’s Way: Plenty of Team Washington teammates match-up in the best league game of the week and one unbeaten will be no longer!

Division II:

·         4/10 – Seattle Prep @ Garfield:  It’s a non-league game but remember it was Garfield that ended Prep’s season a year ago with a shocking 15-1 smackdown in the Division II semifinals.  So, odds are this one will be intense and potentially another playoff preview.

·         4/11 – Stadium @ Peninsula-Gig Harbor:  Stadium has topped 20 goals twice already this season.  PGH is riding a 7 game win streak.  First place in the Olympic conference is on the line!

Parting Shots…

·         “Wenatchee was all but written off in the "pre-season" predictions and now look at what has happened. They are currently rated number 1 in all of DII by Laxpower, number 4 in offense, and number 1 in total defense. Also throw in the plus goal differential of 58!!!! I realize that they are playing against new teams, however G Prep and University have been rated fairly high in the state and G Prep was the "pre-season favorite". You might want to re-think that prediction and look a little closer at little ol' Wenatchee. I don't care how many seniors we graduated last year, this team is hot and hungry for any team, anytime, anywhere.”-Dave Holland

We’ll give a shout out to the best emails of the week and include your comments/quotes in next week’s Sunday Stroll. 

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