Non-Conference Game: 4/30 vs. North County
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Since this is was a non-league game, let's play a game: Which answer doesn't apply to the phrase, "Lynden, Washington ____________". A) Has more used car lots per mile than anywhere in Washington B) Has lacrosse fields with 3" deep grass and a 4" hole to faceoff in C) Has really bad Classics radio station DJ D) Must be the beerpong capital of the entire world (they sell the "table tennis" balls on the beer aisle...I think they call them table tennis balls to sound less redneck) E) Puts round-abouts on their freeways F) Is a great place to place a lacrosse game?

I'm not sure if North County (2-9) was better than their record indicated or if SLC has drank the 11-1 koolaid and believes they are better than they actually are. This kind of statement has been a recurring theme the last couple of games. Wednesday's game against Lake Washington isn't going to go well unless some things get worked out.

NC scored on their first possession of the game. LW and Redmond have gone up 2-0 in games, but to score right out of the gate isn't something SLC has given into this year, that I recall. The red and black would tie the score before a loose ball would dribble behind the line to give NC a 2-1 lead. SLC would go into the half, up 4-2.

The second half wasn't any better. I maybe way off base in saying this, but there were times I felt like I was watching a JV game. I've watched SLC play really good ball so I know what they are capable of. But something was off. The field/grass conditions? Ground balls were hard to pick up without a Toro; Playing tight? Intimidated? Playing down to an opponent's level? I don't think so. I do think we lacked energy (sitting in the car for two hours after rushing out of school to make start time could do that) and NC was certainly active. I haven't seen many teams run out of/through trouble to get over mid-field like NC. They held onto the ball really well; they just couldn't shoot.

Anyway, I'm concerned about Lake Washington. I could sit here and say it will be a close game and put the positive spin on it all. But until passes can be made, balls caught, guys running to the right spots on the field, guys playing as a team rather than 1-on-1, I'm predicting a 12-6 victory for LW. Go ahead and hate on me. I'm not happy about that prediction either.

Matt was six of ten in faceoffs (see the above comment about the hole the ball was placed in to faceoff), had a beautiful goal running in from left of net via nice dodge, and added an assist to finish with two points. He now has 20 points for the season with two more games remaining before the playoffs.

This = That

Interception, fumble, offsides, illegal motion, facemasking, personal foul, traveling, charging, blocking foul, icing, slash, offsides, allowing the runner to advance b/c missed cut-off man, booting the ball, throwing error, passed ball, wild pitch, double-fault, unforced error = dropping the ball from the lacrosse. Ground balls win games = not putting the ball on the ground. Just saying....

Game 11: 4/28 vs. Redmond

Views, thoughts and opinions expressed are those solely of the lax-dad. No player or team representative has endorsed any of the below content.

This is a game that SLC could've made a statement, but instead, made the wrong statement. This game versus Redmond (5-4, 3rd place in Evergreen conference) was one of the few opportunities to play a competitive team, where SLC could show who was boss and put their foot on the throats of a true opponent. Instead, whether because of too much adrenaline, too much bravado, too much selfishness on offense, too much lack of focus, this game was offensively sloppy. Granted, Redmond has a good defense and really good goalie, but our offense made too many bad passes, put the ball on the ground way to much, and thanks to another good defensive game from the Long-pole rats, are lucky to escape with a 4-2 win. Sam Chapman always seemed to have the ball on the defensive side, and thanks to his heads up play, got involved on the offensive end with an assist. Brennen Bowman was also feisty on D. I'm not sure my assessment is off here. Coach Mitchell was more animated from the sidelines in this game than I've seen him in other, less crucial games. Leads me to believe that the team record isn't indicative of the playoff- readiness of this team. The rematch next week against Lake Washington will be a more pure test of where this team is truly at, and whether all the team fan talk of moving far into the playoffs is hoohie rather than hopeful. I'm sure of this: Coach Mitchell isn't impressed with the 10-1 record.

Game 10: 4/24 vs. Gig Harbor

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Game was to offer a test for SLC. Maybe the players hearing the remark "Let's beat these guys and go home" from the other half of the sideline got them fired up. But Gig Harbor was the team quickly dispatched, riding home with a 16-2 whoopin.

This was a good all-round game. The passes were crisp, guys were active, defense was stout (again). Good efforts. Matt was 80% in faceoffs, scored two and had assist and eight ground balls. All the guys were scooping up ground balls and got even scoring from the attacks (Headland 5pts, Cornell 5, Schmidt 3) and other middies (Wright 2, N. Hones 2, and Paxson 1). Hard to complain about this one.

Game 9: 4/22 vs. Liberty

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How much more of this will we have to endure? SLC cruised 13-0. Matt scored a goal but was pulled from much of the faceoff duties because 1) Saturday's game against Gig Harbor (5-4) promised more competition than the game at hand and/or 2) Matt got received a couple of slashing penalties and Blake was __________ (Multiple choice: a. Pissed? or b. Wanted to save the Liberty players from harm? or c.  Wanted to rest Matt and others? or d. Give the young guys a chance to hone their FO skills?). Anyway, huge game from Alex Cornell (6g, 3a).

On to Gig Harbor.

Just wondering...

Views, thoughts and opinions expressed are those solely of the lax-dad. No player or team representative has endorsed any of the below content.

Matt and I watched the Army v. Navy lacrosse game yesterday. It makes sense that the young men in the military schools would play the game with the same sense of mission and courage that is expected from them should they be sent to a real battlefield. What I saw were guys sacrificing themselves for their team: Waiting that last possible second to make a pass and taking a hit from a defender to get the ball to a teammate at the perfect moment; crashing towards the crease to shoot on-goal knowing a devastating hit would be their reward for their effort; showing the understanding of the value of ground balls, laying full-out, diving headlong out of bounds so as to maintain ball possession; and the willingness to fight for the face-off win. These guys were tough.

Walax.com, in an article about the Stanwood upset win over Lynnwood , said, "We’ve all heard it a million times... 'ground balls win games'.” Winning the ground ball war and fighting for loose balls is nasty work. I appreciate that Brennen Bowman fought for ground balls against Redmond enough to think to kick 3 or 4 balls forward in his attempt to win possession.

The flipside of the ground ball game is NOT to turn the ball over. Turnovers lose games.

Does the team understand that "ground balls win games"?

Game 8: 4/17 vs. North Kitsap

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I didn't go and haven't seen video footage of play from this game, played after the boys needing to rush from school, wait for a ferry, travel across the Puget Sound and being given an extra half-hour to start the game so the team could warm up. Note the league scheduling agents: Teams need more than two hours to travel to game from one side of the Peninsula to the other. Anyway, it was a long trip for another blow out, this one 15-0. Matt scored two and did well in his draws.

As I said, I didn't go to this game, but evidenced by the stats, one concern about blow-out games like this is the guys playing for themselves rather than taking the opportunity to continue to work as a team. Four assists on 15 goals, to me, indicates a lot of one-on-one play. I understand the guys wanting goals. But teamwork keeps everyone involved, garners mores assists, goals and wins. If the guys are seeking cred, think POINTS. SLC will need to be a team if they want to go far in the playoffs, and these league games are the warm-up for any thoughts of future glory.

I'll mention one of the obvious, dramatic improvements this year: Goalie-play. Scott Johnson has been a rock, facing an average of 8 shots a game and saving 7 of those. Some of that credit can be passed to the Long-pole Rats for allowing the opponent only 8 shots/game, but it's Scott who has the "S" on his chest and is stopping the bullets. And Scott's clearing passes are solid. He has rarely made bad decisions with his passes from the crease.

Come back to this post and I will fill in with more details when I can talk to Matt more about this game.

Game 7: 4/14 vs. Redmond

After a two week layoff due to spring break, the guys got the opportunity to shake the rust off and get after a program that beat them last year in the playoffs. But this Redmond Mustang (3-2 entering the game) team is a different team than last year's playoff team: graduations and the loss of a couple of players to Lake Washington, most notably, Jake and Cody Bernstein, both recognized by westsidelax.com as top players in the area. Matt was looking forward to playing some competitive games and it's just what he got as Redmond staked a 2-0 first half lead before SLC shortened the divide by one before the end of the half.

SLC didn't panic and quickly tied the game. Matt raced to the crease, drew a defender and fed Andrew Wenzel, left all alone who promptly ripped a shot top shelf. Matt showed off his high lax IQ on that unselfish play. Later, Matt would close out the scoring on a beautiful left side dodge and double-clutch shot in front of the net.

As well as the offense hung in there and kept the pressure on Redmond, my props go to the defense. I'm calling them the Long-pole Rats from now on, because they just pestered and annoyed the Redmond short-sticks all second half. You're not to reward a dog for what you expect him to do, but this was a defensive effort that I hadn't seen much this season. The LPRats were exceptional when any Mustang into the crease they were met with cross checks and physical play. So hats off to the defense!

Redemption was sweet in beating their first-time playoff nemesis. Pretty sure we won't see this team in the playoffs as SLC and Redmond, for the moment, are heading in different directions. But the guys (and the parents) relished some competition in this closely fought game. And I'm sure the Mustangs will bring it the next time these teams face, April 28 at Interlake HS.

Tale of the Matt-tape: 1g, 1a, 4gb, 11 of 12 draws.

Game 6: 3/31 vs Mt. Si

Views, thoughts and opinions expressed are those solely of the lax-dad. No player or team representative has endorsed any of the below content.

Matt didn't go to this game because he was out of town due to a school commitment. But the team did what they needed to do to win (show up?), 17-1. The guys got the chance pad their stats. SLC out scored this team 30-1 in their two game series this season. Best wishes to Mt. Si as they continue to grow their program for the future.

Game 5: 3/27 vs Port Angeles

Today's game, a 9-1 victory, was played under sunny skies and was a good effort by the entire team. The team passed the ball well and the defense was stout. The entire game could be summed up by the words of the opposing coach when he yelled at his team after a poorly executed first-half play, "Come on guys! We're hardly getting the ball as it is!" First half possession minutes for the Mountaineers could be measured in single digits.

Matt did well in face-offs with the team getting 9 of the 14 draws. He tallied a goal and an assist along with 4 ground balls.