Starz Space Needle Shootout U13/U15/U17 tournament

Seattle, WA - The space Needle Shootout brought 11 teams from Canada, Oregon and Washington together to play against one another in good will and great Lacrosse.  Visiting from the North were the Coquitlam Adanacs with both a U-13 and a U-15 team, New Westminster U-15s, and South Fraser U-13 and U-15s! Oregon brought Lincoln HS, Glencoe and Lakeridge players to attend at both the U-15 and the U-17 level.  Tacoma brought a TYLA all-star team to Seattle, and the Seattle Starz brought their U-13/U-15 and U-17 teams.

With a little fog in the morning Saturday, some wondered just how the weekend would turn out.  With final preparations made, the first game got under way as WALOA represented with around 20 officials training and veterans alike.  This was a great supportive effort to develop officials in the pre-season as well as the last pre -season tourney for the Starz.  The fog lifted to reveal a beautiful day, one perfectly prime for Laxin'.  Throughout the weekend, each team played through their three games, the U-13s stacked up against the Canadians, Starz and TYLA all-Stars proved to host fierce competition as Coquitlam came out on top against the TYLA all-stars. 

In the U-15 bracket, the Canadians took it to Seattle and Oregon, with the New Westminster Warlocks battling Coquitlam in the championship.  As for the U-17s, the real game folks waited for was the battle between the Seattle Starz and Issaquah.  At full strength, the Starz defeated Issaquah 13-2 looking a little less polished than they liked.  Later in the day, the Starz again played Issaquah in what would be a great game of Lacrosse to watch.  going down in the fourth quarter, Issaquah went ahead with 4 minutes left.  The Starz answered.  Joe Hodge got the possession in overtime to sweep and shoot to clinch the game for the second time.  Though this was a pre-season game, Dave Reichgott felt it was one of the best games he had seen in recent memory.  Starz players and tournament players alike enjoyed themselves, eating burgers, participating in the fastest shot competitions, buying raffle tickets for some great prizes, and... watching great Lacrosse!  The Starz program would like to thank all the participants in the 1st annual Space Needle Shootout, and graciously thank the parents for both their volunteer time and their tremendous support.  If you can believe it, Henry Sulzbacher from Nathan Hale won the U-17 fastest shot competition with a short stick.

All in all, the tourney was a great success, and broadened the development of programs both here and in our neighboring states and countries.  Starz Lacrosse encourages you to reach for the Starz this season.

Stay tuned for pictures, and more Starz Lacrosse!

for more information on Starz, please visit, http://www.starzlax.com/seattle.html