College: Duke defeats Georgetown 19-7 Cohan, Krebs see action

Chad Cohan

Ben Krebs

I had the pleasure of being in the stands for the Duke v Georgetown game earlier this weekend. Duke won, 19-7 and two NorCal guys saw the field. Chad Cohan, former SI standout and HS All-American played with his customary smoothness and fluidity, while Ben Krebs, the legendary Foothill goalie, continues to get PT in almost every game. Ben had a 50% save day, even though one of his two goals against came when Duke was two men down. Funnily enough, this was the second time this year that Ben allowed a two-man-down goal. I was at that game, too. Seems almost unfair to count those 6v4 goals against his solid save percentage.

As usual for Duke, Coach Danowski gets things sorted out in the early season and then the Blue Devils get better and better. I have no doubt they'll make the tournament this year.

Way to go, Ben and Chad!

College: Lacrosse weekend: watching NorCal laxers in North Carolina

Ben Krebs after his stint in cage

Just back from my 3rd NCAA DI game of the weekend! Friday night, #4 UNC defeated the Air Force Academy, 16-8. NorCal standout Mike Tagliaferri – the San Ramon Valley legend – did not play, as he is still suffering a slow-healing injury.

Saturday, #6 Duke met #8 Denver and Denver prevailed. Both Dax and Chad Cohan – former SI standouts – are on injured reserve and didn't dress. Ben Krebs, Foothill's fiery and passionate goalie and scholar-athlete, dressed but saw no action.

Today, Duke took on Jacksonville and won big. Ben Krebs played the fourth quarter, until he was pulled, allowing the last goalie on the depth chart have a shot in cage.  During Ben's time in cage he faced 5 SOG and saved 4 – for a heady 80% save percentage.^ Nicely done, Ben!

So, that's my report from the East on this very first week of the season. It was a blast!
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^ The goal Ben allowed came when Duke was 2 men down.

Jerome Rigor commits to DI Sacred Heart

Jerome Rigor, Foothill's multi-faceted Attack – and US Lacrosse Junior year All-American – has committed to NCAA DI Sacred Heart. He's been on every NorCal Lacrosse fans "watch list" since 7th grade. Congrats to Jerome!

From Inside Lacrosse:
Jerome Rigor, A, Foothill (Calif.) has verbally committed to Sacred Heart. An All-American from Northern Cali, the team captain tallied 61 goals and 51 assists this spring. In the summer, he played in events with the Alcatraz Outlaws, West Coast Starz and NorCal Braves, turning in All-Star performances at King of the Hill and Gait Cup.

North Coast Section – playoff results & Championship games

Division I Friday, May 18th:
San Ramon Valley 13 Acalanes 8
Monte Vista 6 Davis 2*
Redwood 11 Foothill 10
Division I Saturday, May 19th:
De La Salle 13 Las Lomas 8

Wednesday, May 23rd:
San Ramon Valley prevails in its Semi-Final game with Monte Vista 12
De La Salle pulls out a squeaker  in its Semi-Final match with Redwood, 7-6

Division I Championship, May 25th
San Ramon Valley vs. De La Salle 8PM at Dublin Stadium

*Davis' magnificent season comes to and end. They were 20-1 on the year. Congrats to them!
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Division II Friday, May 18th:
Piedmont 14 Campolindo 7
Novato 8 Miramonte 6
Division II Saturday, May 19th:
Marin Academy 10 University HS 6
Marin Catholic 14 Tamalpais 4

Division II Tuesday, May 22nd
Marin Catholic prevails against Novato in a Semi-Final game, 14-10
Marin Academy defeats Piedmont in a Semi-Final game, 15-13

Division II Championship, May 26th
Marin Catholic vs Marin Academy at Marin Catholic, 2 PM

Wednesday, May 23rd:
Piedmont faces Marin Academy in a semi-final match at Redhill Field, Wednesday May 23rd, time TBA
Marin Catholic hosts Novato in a semi-final match on Wednesday May 23rd, time TBA

Division II Championship, Saturday May 26th:

Marin Catholic hosts Marin Academy at 2PM

NCAA DI & DIII: Happy NorCal Seniors

Several NorCal Seniors are happy tonight, as the colleges they'll be attending in the Fall have been selected to play in the 2012 NCAA DI Championships. They are:
• Chad Cohan SI (Duke commit)  Plays Syracuse in Durham, NC May 12th at noon
• JW McGovern SI (Yale commit) Plays Notre Dame in South Bend, IN May 13th at 5:15 PM
• Will McKee SI (Lehigh commit) Plays Maryland in Bethlehem, PA May 13th at 7:30PM
• Mike Tagliaferri SRV (UNC commit) Plays Denver in Chapel Hill, NC May 12th at &:30 PM

I'll be taking in both the Duke v Syracuse game and the UNC v Maryland games. Who knows, maybe I'll see some of the guys at the games!

In DIII, both Patrick Shevelson FH and Phil Aliman SI (Kenyon commits) will be interested in Kenyon's game against Dickinson on May 9th.

Ben Krebs in the Duke Blue v White Scrimmage

A couple of weeks ago, Duke Men's lacrosse held its annual Blue/White Intra-squad pre-season scrimmage. I was there to check it out. Actually, I was there the weekend before, too, to see the scrimmage between USNA and Duke. So, I've seen a fair amount of the Blue Devils this pre-season and they look pretty good. Inside Lacrosse has them at #3 in the country! Maybe so, but they've got a ways to go before they are a well-oiled machine.

Well, the reason for this post is that Ben Krebs,  NorCal's excellent goalie, was in the cage for the 4th quarter of the Blue v White game. He looked like he belonged on the field with a strong DI team. Yes, he let a couple in, but he kept a bunch out as well. Remember, the guys shooting on him were among the very best players in DI. Very nice performance, Ben. Congrats on a fine initial showing!

Patrick Shevelson to Kenyon

One of my favorite players, Patrick Shevelson, has commited to Kenyon College. Looks like he'll be joining Phil Alimam of Saint Ignatius as the twosome from NorCal who'll be attending this very strong academic institution in the Fall of 2012.

The best single-game performance I've ever seen in the cage was one of Patrick's. He played on the NorCal U15 team at Vail (when NorCal's top Youth teams ALWAYS went to Vail). Athletic, acrobatic, outrageous standing on his head good! Memories of that performance will stay with me forever. He's certainly had a number of fine games at Foothill and I'm sure he'll have many at Kenyon, but I can't imagine him ever topping that game in Vail in the summer of 2008! Congratulations, Patrick!

NorCal commits: A double doubleheader!

DIII Kenyon and DI Dartmouth both have happy coaches, as four NorCal players have recently committed to these schools - two to each school. Coach Andy Tower has to be thrilled to pick up commitments from two NorCal Junior Attacks who rank among the very best players at their position in California. Jack McCormick, De La Salle's lefty feeding/finishing master, will join Wiley Osbourne, Menlo School's righty Attack who is, in many ways, the mirror image of Jack. These are VERY good gets by Coach Tower, and these two players replenish the steady NorCal pipeline to the Ivy League. Congrats to these two fine scholar athletes!

Kenyon coach Doug Misarti worked hard to land two of NorCal's hardest working players - whose names I'm reluctant to reveal until the Early Decision admissions process completes on December 15th. Still, it seems likely that Kenyon will land a sensational NorCal Goalie and a Midfielder who - in my opinion - gives the most effort of any middie I've ever watched in NorCal. These two 2012 commits continue Coach Misarti's success in recruiting top NorCal players, as former SI standout, Nick Alimam, plays for the Lords. 

Congrats to all of these fine players! I've watched them all for a number of years and they are fine representatives of NorCal Lacrosse. With all the commitments we've had over the last several years, I've recently come to believe NorCal is a "HOTBED." Not an emerging hotbed, not an up-and-comer, but an Honest-to-God, dyed-in-the-wool HOTBED. More about my contention in a future post.