High School recruiting: Alcatraz Outlaws at 2013 Gait Cup & King of the Hill: Season recap

Action at the Gait Cup is hot and heavy. The round of 8 has been determined and both Outlaws 2014 and 2015 teams are in that elite group. I don't know the bracket structure, but it is possible that two victories by both the 2014 and 2015 teams would pit one Outlaw team against the other in the finals! I'll post more as I got additional information.
–––––––––––––––
The 2014 Alcatraz Outlaws, after taking the Championship at King of the Hill, were upset in the Elite Eight at the Gait Cup. They had a heckuva run. Between the two tournaments, they came away with one Championship and only a single loss. Congrats to the 2014s for repping NorCal and the Outlaws so well. They had quite a season. Two tournaments, one Championship, and only one loss! Here they are in their Championship picture at King of the Hill:

Alcatraz Outlaws 2014 team: Champions at King of the Hill

The 2015s are still alive at the Gait Cup. They won their Elite eight round and now move to the semi-finals. Go 2015s!

Update: The 2015 Outlaws won their semi-final match, but the Looney's prevailed in the Championship game.

How amazing for NorCal lacrosse to send two squads to two elite tournaments and perform so well. Congratulations to the players and to their coaches!

Season recap: The two Outlaws teams played in 27 games this tournament season, finishing with a combined record of 24-3.

What began as the dream of three coaches, has turned into an amazing reality. They participate at the same two, highly regarded,  tournaments each year and, I believe, have never had a losing record for the summer. In the beginning, they were unknown and unheralded, but they were also UNDAUNTED! They are no longer unknown and no longer unheralded. The following quote from the coach of a competitor team at the Gait Cup says it all. Talking to his team, as they were about to play the Outlaws, he said, "Now, you're gonna try to beat the team that every team in the country wants to beat."


Impact on NorCal Lacrosse: This has been a wonderful year for NorCal lacrosse, what with Marin teams performing so well in NCS, and St. Ignatius finishing 12th in the country in LaxPower's combined Coaches and Computer poll, while nearly pulling off the first California win, ever, against a national top 10 team (Chaminade), but the cumulative reputation created for Northern California lacrosse by the Alcatraz Outlaws is right up there! Trying to rank these three wonderful accomplishments would be, I think, a mistake. They are all amazing, and they all demonstrate the growing force that is – NORCAL LACROSSE!

Joe Lang to Harvard

Joe Lang

Joe Lang, SI's rising Junior Attack has committed to the admissions process at Harvard. The flashy lefty – and younger brother of Cornell All-American Roy Lang – also wrestled with offers from Princeton and Duke.

Joe had a wonderful summer on the recruiting circuit. Playing for the Alcatraz Outlaws, he made the All-Star teams at both the Gait Cup and King of the Hill.

I've had the good fortune to watch Joe play most of his regular season games since he was in 6th grade. It was evident then that he was destined to become a special player. He was a key member of the Attack line this past season at St. Ignatius, which line Coach Chris Packard has called "the most productive Attack line in SI history."

And so the NorCal pipeline to the Ivy League continues. There are seven lacrosse playing schools in the Ancient Eight (only Columbia does not field a men's team) and each of the Ivies has at least one NorCal guy on the squad or committed and on the way!

Congratulations, Joe!

Aran Roberts to Princeton

Heard on the sidelines...
Aran Roberts, San Ramon Valley's outstanding defender, has verballed to Princeton.* The rising Junior has been the subject of lots of chatter on the recruiting circuit this summer, making the All-Star teams at both King of the Hill and Gait Cup tournaments. The Dilettante first noticed him at De La Salle's Enea Sports Complex in 2011, where the then-Freshmen Wolves' close D looked very athletic in a losing cause against the Spartan. This past season the Wolves' Soph had a very nice game against the SI Wildcats, primarily during some one-on-one match ups against the Wildcat's top Soph, Joe Lang. Coach Bates and his Princeton Tiger's staff made a great decision. Congrats to Aran Roberts, his family, and the San Ramon Lacrosse coaches!. They've collaborated in the production of a good one!

The Dilettante hears that additional Ivy League commitments by NorCal laxers are coming soon. Stay tuned!

______________
* In the Ivy League, a verbal commitment is made between Coach and Player. Only the Admissions Office can make the official offer.