Fog City at Champ Camp - defeats Bucks (PA) 8-7

From Ed McGovern:

Tough, gritty win for Fog City.  8-7 over Bucks Select (White) (All Star team from Central Pennsylvania).  FC scores the first goal and the last goal to pull out a victory.

Game is out at a public park - Meadowwood Park.  Grass field, not level, ruts, not well mowed.   Looked like West Sunset - but in 100 degree heat and humid.  Toughest weather yet and it showed at the beginning.

Billy Sullivan starts in goal.  Riley Burke, Jack McGovern and Cole Steigerwald at long poll.  Dave Fleming, Joe Lang and Brendan Hahn start at attack.  CullenVincelette at face off, LSM Charlie Ford and Matt Emery.

White gets the first face off and works ball around cage.  Good stick skills - more talented team than this morning.  White gets loose in front of net but Billy Sullivan is a brick wall and stops the point blank shot - and White is called for a penalty and FC goes man up right away.

Man up offense gets off one shot and ball goes right back to White.  But Matt Emery forces a turnover at midfield.  Ball again goes back to White and this time Riley Burke on D stops a shot with his stomach.  Riley goes down and refs halt play until he is able to walk off himself.  He will come back later in the game.  White maintains possession.

But white is called for unsportsmanlike conduct and FC takes over with a man up opportunity.  (Some of their boys had filthy mouths).  Matt Emery takes the ball and finds Spencer Evans wide open at the top of the box.  Evans drills his shot over the goalie's shoulder and FC goes up 1-0.

FC gets the face off and works open for a couple of shots.  But they are not yet falling and we are playing somewhat lethargic.  Is it the heat?  Joe Lang shoots wide, then Chad Bell shoots wide.  White takes back possession.

Again, Billy Sullivan makes some great save and stops another tough shot.  Jack McGovern clears.  Chad Bell gets loose again but his shot sails high and ball goes right back to White.

Billy Sullivan makes another amazing save and Jack McGovern clears to midfield.  But offense can't get going and White is able to clear and get open for a shot and score to tie the game.  1-1.

White goes on a scoring spree here and they score 2 quick goals to take the lead to 3-1.

FC gets the next face off and Spencer Evans gets loose again in front but their goalie makes a great save and on the clear, FC is called for a penalty.  Now we play man down.

Billy Sullivan is making some amazing stops in goal.  He makes one on a rocket shot by White and clears to Cullen Vincelette.  Matt Emery gets loose for a shot but their goalie is playing as good as ours and Emery can't get it past him.  White is able to clear quickly and score their third in a row.  4-1 White.

Brendan McDermott wins a tough face off but our offense just doesn't look in sync and we turn it over once more.

Back on D, Jack McGovern forces a loose ball on a great stick check and with 2 guys draped all over him, clears it to Brendan McDermott at midfield.  Ryan Kase gets loose at the top of the box and bounces a shot but it goes over the cross bar.  White is called for a penalty right before half and FC holds the ball so they can start with possession in the 2nd half.

Down at halftime 4-1

2nd Half

Man is it hot.  We are like herds of cattle looking to crowd under what little shade is available.  But great team moms taking care of the boys are keeping them cool.  Dana Emery, Janie Burke, Patrick Burke and Harris Holzberg all taking care of the boys to keep them hydrated and cool.

Cyrus Scott starts the 2nd half in goal.

Fog City starts this half with possession.  Boys work it around the cage and Joe Lang on goalie's left finds Dave Fleming on right wing cutting to the goal.  Lang hits Fleming with a pass that Flem catches in the air and shoots before his feet hit the ground.  Beautiful goal and FC has some life!  4-2 White.

Spencer Evans gets a tough ground ball on the face off and drives right down the middle of the box drawing defenders to him.  Evans passes back to Cullen Vinceletteopen on the right top of box and Vincelette's bounce shot low right finds the net.  4-3 White.  Momentum back to us.  White is also called for a penalty.

White gets the possession on the face off, but Ryan Pidgeon forces a loose ball and Matt Emery clears it to Chad Bell.  Bell passes right back to Emery who is driving towards goal and on his birthday, Emery buries the shot and ties the game. 4-4.

Lots of hitting and physical play in this game and both sides are mixing it up.  But White regains momentum and scores two quick goals to recaputure the lead 6-4.

Again on the face off White controls but Cyrus Scott makes a nice save on a shot.  He finds Cole Steigerwald on the wing who throws a long pass down the field that Spencer Evans catches beautifully in traffic.  Quick passing by Evans to Marcus Holzberg to Joe Lang in front of the goal and FC is back within 1.  6-5 White.

Nice to see that on all five goals so far, we have 5 assists.  Good team work to stay in this game.

White gains possession on the face off, but LSM Charlie Ford knocks down the pass, scoops up the loose ball and clears to Brendan Hahn.  Boys work ball around and almost throw it away, but Chad Bell makes a nice save to keep possession for FC.  White is called for a penalty and we go man up.  But FC can't score and at the time I thought this might have been the possession of the game because we couldn't get off a shot.  But the boys rose to the challenge.

Cyrus Scott makes another nice save and Riley Burke grabs the ball out of midair to clear.  But FC turns it over on transition and White gets a quick score.  7-5 White.

White gets possession of the next face off but D is stout and forces a turnover.  Dave Fleming breaks away from the pack and finds Brendan Hahn in front of the goal.  Hahn makes the goalie move his stick and then buries the shot to bring it back to a one goal lead for White 7-6.

FC shows their drive in the last 4 minutes of this slugfest.  They fight hard for every ground ball and just appear to want the game more than White.  Next possession, boys find Joe Lang in back of the goal one on one with a defender.  Joe "Silky" Lang dodges his defender, curls around from behind the cage and buries the shot over the goalies shoulder to tie the game. 7-7

Now just 2:40 left in the game.  Moore Harris gets the ground ball on the face off and clears through three defenders who are all over him.  He gets the ball to Joe Lang on the left wing.  Again, Silky Lang dodges his long poll defender, breaks for the net and drops the shot in again over the goalie's shoulder to make the score 8-7.  Our parents erupt.

Next possession is crucial and White is called for an infraction so Cullen Vincelette takes possession and FC is determined to hold the ball for the final two minutes to pull out the victory.  The combination of Chad Bell, Matt Emery, Dave Fleming, Joe Lang, Cullen Vincelette and Brendan McDermott hold the ball for the final 2 minutes as White is chasing them all over the field.  

Fog City wins 8-7.  Really, really good victory.

Scoring:  Goals:  Matt Emery 1, Joe Lang 3, Spencer Evans 1, Dave Fleming 1, Cullen Vincelette 1 and Brendan Hahn 1.  Assists:  Matt Emery 1, Spencer Evans 1, Joe Lang 1, Chad Bell 1, Marcus Holzberg 1.

With this win we are most likely in the playoffs.  If we win tonight, for sure we are in the playoffs.

Fog City at Champ Camp - Beats NoVa Bombers, 15-2

From Ed McGovern:

Fog City Thumps Bombers from No. Virginia 15-2.  Good all around game by FC.

Boys played at Roland Park Country School on a small turf field in suburban Baltimore.  Idyllic setting below St. Mary's Seminary and near GillmanSchool.

Cyrus Scott starts in goal.

Jack McGovern, Cole Steigerwald and Riley Burke start at long poll.  Joe Lang, Marcus Holzberg and Dave Fleming at attack.

Charlie Ford at LSM, Cullen Vincelette at fogo and Matt Emery at middie.

No. Virginia (Blue) gets the first face off, but the small field works to our advantage right away.  Riley Burke pressures his mark behind the net and forces a turnover.  Burke grabs the loose ground ball and clears to Jack McGovern who finds Matt Emery in the middle of the field.  Emery dodges two defenders and buries the low left corner shot to make it 1-0 and FC is on the way.

Ryan Pidgeon at LSM grabs the loose ball on the face off but FC can't clear.  Again, FC plays tight D on small field and ball goes right back to FC.  Spencer Evans clears all the way down field but his low burner shot is stopped by the goalie.  Joe Lang forces the goalie to turn the ball over on their end of the field.  Lang grabs the loose ball behind the goal, dodges past his defender and finds the back of the net with his shot over the goalie's shoulder.  2-0 FC.

Next face off, Chad Bell grabs a hotly contested ground ball and clears.  Bell gets off a shot from the right side that goes just wide.  Moore Harris gets the ball on the right also but his shot is kicked wide and ball goes back to Blue.

Brendan McDermott at middie forces a turnover on transition and clears.  McDermott hits Joe Lang with a no-look pass on the left wing and Lang is deadly from there.  Now 3-0 FC.

Cullen Vincelette wins the face off and clears to our offensive end.  Boys word the ball around the box to Brendan Hahn behind the goal.  Hahn finds Joe Lang as he cuts to goal and again he buries the bounce shot to push the lead to 4-0.

Next face off, ball rolls back to defensive end.  Riley Burke grabs the ground ball and clears.  But Blue take possession.  Charlie Ford is able to force a turnover and clear, but again Blue take back possession.  Blue player gets loose in front of the net, but Ryan Pidgeon makes a nice back check on his stick and Cyrus Scott grabs the loose ball.   FC clears.

Matt Emery brings the ball down the right wing and finds Brendan Hahn behind the goal.  Hahn dodges his defender and curls in front of the goal burying the shot and making the score 5-0 FC.

On the face off, ball rolls to our offensive side where Dave Fleming picks up the contested ground ball.  Spencer Evans takes the ball from the top of the box, dodges past two defenders and gets loose in front for a point blank shot.  Evans scores and now it's 6-0 FC.

On the face off, Chad Bell causes a turnover as Blue had taken possession and finds Dave Fleming on the wing.  Fleming hits Joe Lang driving in from the left wing, but the ball pops up in the air and Chad Bell grabs it and buries the shot.  7-0 FC.  The generous scorekeepers give Lang the assist.

Next Blue possession, August Peters forces a turnover and controls the ground ball.  He finds Brendan McDermott at midfield who clears to our offensive end.  McDermott's shot goes a bit wide and Blue takes back possession.

Danny Casey on defense causes a turnover and passes to Brendan McDermott open on the right wing.  But McDermott's shot is kicked save wide by the goalie, FC maintains possession.  Boys pass around and low pass to Brendan Hahn appears to be heading to a turnover, but using his soccer skills, Hahn kicks the ball to prevent it from going out of bounds and saves the possession.  He finds Ryan Kase loose for a shot, but Kase's bounce shot goes just a little too high over the cross bar, possession back to Blue.

Lorenzo "Wolverine" Iacomini on long poll makes a nice stick check and stops a close shot but Blue keeps possession.  Charlie Ford forces a turnover and clears to Chad Bell.  Bell makes a nice dodge move from the top of the box, splits two other defenders and finds the net to make it 8-0 FC.

Next Blue possession, Cyrus Scott makes a nice save on a good shot by Blue, but FC can't clear.  And we commit a penalty and have to play man down.

August, Peters, Lorenzo "Wolverine" Iacomini, Charlie Ford, Cole Steigerwald all at LPs and Cullen Vincelette at short stick are in for man down D.  Great team D and Blue can't get off a shot.  Wolverine Iacomini makes a stick check and forces a loose ball that gets kicked to midfield.  Chad Bell picks up the loose ball and hits Joe Lang on the wing, but Lang is just wide with his shot and Blue gets the ball back still with time on their man up.

This time Charlie Ford intercepts a pass across the box and clears, but again we can't keep possession.

Blue back on offense, but August "Beast" Peters and Wolverine Iacomini both play some great individual one on one D and FC won't even let Blue get close for a shot.  Half ends.

2nd Half

Billy Sullivan starts in goal.August Peters, Cole Steigerwald and Jack McGovern at long poll.  Dave Fleming, Marcus Holzberg and Joe Lang at attack.

Brendan McDermott at face off pulls the ball back behind him and Chad Bell is there to grab the ground ball.

Matt Emery gets loose for a "birthday" shot but it's just wide.  On the transition, Marcus Holzberg plays tough D but FC is called for a penalty and play man down.  Blue gets off a shot this time but Billy Sullivan makes a nice stop on a low bouncer but FC can't clear.  This time Blue gets loose for a shot and the bounce shot takes a funny hop past Billy Sullivan for Blue's first goal.  8-1.

Cullen Vincelette pulls the face off back to Spencer Evans who clears.  But FC can't get the offense going yet and possession goes back to Blue.  Ball gets loose in front of the FC goal and comes out to a Blue player who is all alone against Billy Sullivan to score and make it 8-2.  Their parents think they are coming back - not happening.

Blue does get the next possession, but Jack McGovern forces a turnover and clears it in a crowd to Cullen Vincelette.  Blue takes back possession but August Peters uses the small field to his advantage and forces his mark out of bounds.  FC with possession.

Jack McGovern clears the ball past midfield and as he does, the Blue attackman slashes his family jewels right in front of his mother!  Jack does the "hit in the you know where dance" but is able to pass the ball and refs call Blue for a slash.

Man up offense has McGoos back and work the ball around to Joe Lang who hits Marcus Holzberg with a pinpoint pass in front of the net and Holzbergburies the shot with a quick stick.  9-2 FC.

FC takes possession on the face off and Spencer Evans makes a great couple of moves, dodging and splitting three defenders to get in front of the net but unselfishly finds Joe Lang on the wing who bounces in another goal and the lead is now 10-2.

Blue wins the face off.  But good team D on FC, with Lorenzo Iacomini and Jack McGovern sliding to help each other.  McGovern forces a turnover and Moore Harris clears.

Moore Harris drives towards the goal and draws three defenders to him who are slashing and hacking away at this stick.  But Harris keeps possession and finds Joe Lang on the left wing.  Lang dodges three defenders himself and scores his 5th goal to push the lead to 11-2.

Blue gets the face off but Marcus Holzberg plays tough transition D again and ball goes back to FC.  Chad Bell gets off a nice low shot but it bounces off the post.  Blue is called for a penalty and FC goes man up again.  Boys works the ball around until Joe Lang finds Dave Fleming in front of the goal and the quick pass and shot is a thing of beauty.  Fleming scores and it is now 12-2.

On the face off, ball is kicked around the field.  Wolverine Iacomini gets decked by the Blue player and that seems to fire up the boys even more.  Riley Burke grabs the loose ball and passes to Brendan McDermott.  McDermott drives to the left, dodges past 3 defenders and fires his shot past the goalies helmet to push the lead to 13-2.

Next possession and intensity has definitely increased with some chippy play.  Joe Lang gets the ball on the left wing and again dodges past his defender to score and make it 14-2.  Blue is called for a penalty away from the ball as they are getting very frustrated.  

Riley Burke gets the loose ball on the face off.  Brendan Hahn finds Dave Fleming who dodges and shoots the final goal and make it 15-2.

Brendan McDermott gets the last face off with 2 minutes left.  Boys keep possession until the end with some nice dodging by Chad Bell, MarcusHolzberg, Dave Fleming and Joe Lang.   Good win for the FC boys.

Scoring:  Goals:  Lang 6, Emery 1, McDermott 1, Hahn 1, Evans 1, Bell 2, Holzberg 1, Fleming 2.  Assists:  Lang 3, McDermott 1, Hahn 1, Evans 1.

Next game at 2 pm our time.

Fog City at Champ Camp defeats Tri-State Navy, 5-3

In the off-season, the SI boys play under the nom de Guerre Fog City. They're at Champ Camp this week and Ed McGovern has graciously agreed to have the NorCal Lacrosse Blog publish his write-ups. Here we go:

Game 1 Fog City vs. Tri-State Navy

Game 1 Report:

Good start for Fog City.  Played Tri-State Navy and won 5-3.  Threat of rain and lightening forced some game delays and shortened games.  FC got up early and then coasted to victory.

Played the first game on the historic Homewood Field of Johns Hopkins University.  The rain delay actually cooled off the evening.  Boys looked good and ready, chirping as they took the field.  Games are 18 minute halves due to the delay.

Cyrus Scott starts in goal.  Jack McGovern, Riley Burke and Cole Steigerwald at long poll.  Marcus Holzberg, Joe Lang and Dave Fleming at attack.  Cullen Vincelette starts at FOGO and the ball gets loose back to the defense end where Riley Burke grabs the ground ball and clears.   FC takes over on offense.

Dave Fleming gets off the first shot but it goes just wide.  Tri-State take over but tough transition D by our attack and FC gets the ball back.

Matt 'the Truth" Emery from the top of the box drives to the goalie's left, and after a great screen by Brendan McDermott, fires a low bottom right corner shot for the first score of the game.  1-0 FC.

Brendan McDermott takes the next face and he and Ryan Pidgeon at LSM grab the face off.  But FC turns it over on offense.  

Charlie Ford at LSM forces a turnover for FC and clears to the offensive end.  Joe Lang gets the ball of the left wing and dodges three defenders as he cuts in front of the goal and buries the top corner shot over the goalie.  2-0 FC.

Cullen Vincelette again at FOGO and Ryan Pidgeon grabs the loose ball and clears.  Marcus Holzberg gets off a nice bounce shot in front of the goal but it just bounces off the top post and Tri-State takes over.

Tri-state finally works the ball around and gets off a shot that slips past Cyrus Scott for a score.  2-1 FC.

Tri-state gets the next face off, but tough double team D by Riley Burke and Brendan McDermott forces a turnover.  Charlie Ford clears.  Matt Emery has a shot go just wide and Tri-state takes over.

Cyrus Scott stops a tough shot on the next possession and clears.  Marcus Holzberg is able to get off a nice shot, but the goalie makes a tough save and Tri-state takes possession.  But Joe Lang forces a turnover on the transition.  Lang finds Spencer Evans in front of the net but his shot is knocked wide at the last second by a Tri-state long poll.  Possession back to Tri-State.

Cyrus Scott again stops a tough shot and Moore Harris is able to clear.  Cullen Vincelette takes the ball from the top of the box, drives right and burriesa nice bounce shot past the goalie to push the lead to 3-1.

Brendan McDermott is on the face off and for a good 10 seconds, McDermott is locked in a struggle for the possession.  Finally he is able to pull the ball behind him to Matt Emery and FC takes possession.

On the FC possession, the ball gets loose but Dave Fleming is there to force the Tri-state turnover and keep possession for FC.  Chad Bell gets the ball at the top of the box, cuts past another nice screen by Brendan McDermott, and also finds the net on a low right corner bounce shot and score.  4-1FC.

Cullen Vincelette pulls the face off to Chad Bell and FC is able to get off a couple of shots before half.  Spencer Evans has his shot go wide, and then a nice pass by Brendan Hahn to Joe Lang in front is a good chance, but FC can't score and half ends.  4-1 FC

2nd Half

Billy Sullivan starts the second half in goal.

August Peters, Riley Burke and Lorenzo Iacomini at long poll D.  Brendan Hahn, Joe Lang and Dave Fleming at attack.

Brendan McDermott is at FOGO to start but SI is called for a penalty and have to play man down.  Tri-state gets off a shot but Billy Sullivan is stout in goal and knocks the ball wide.  Tri-state gets off on more shot during their man up but can't score.  Nice FC D.

Even though penalty killed, Tri-state still has possession. August Peters is able to force a turnover and clear, but FC can't keep possession and ball goes back to Tri-state.

This time Riley Burke and August Peters team up to force the turnover.  But again FC can't keep possession.  Matt Emery and Ryan Pidgeon team up this time for a nice double team and Billy Sullivan is able to grab the weak shot.  Riley Burke clears.

Matt Emery again takes the ball from the top, drives to his right and rockers a shot into the top corner of the net to make it 5-1 FC.  That shot gotooohs and aaaahs from the crowd.  

FC is called for another penalty and have to play man down again.  Riley Burke, Charlie Ford, August Peters and Cole Steigerwald on long polls and Cullen Vincelette at D middie play tight D.  Tri-state can't score on their man up again.  Back to full strength.

This time Charlie Ford takes matters into his own hands.  He uses his signature over the head strip check and not only knocks the ball loose, but knocks the stick out of the player's hands.  Ford grabs the loose ball and clears for FC.  

This time, FC is called for 2 penalties and have to play with 2 men down now.  Ryan Pidgeon, Jack McGovern, Riley Burke and Cole Steigerwald are up to the task and won't allow any goals.  Tri-state gets off a couple of shots, but Billy Sullivan is able to grab the last and FC clears.

But FC turns it over again and even after another great save by Billy Sullivan, Tri-state does get loose and finally scores to make it 5-2.

Tri-state gets the face off and are clearly playing better than the first half.  Danny Casey makes a nice play on D to force a loose ball, but Tri-state gets loose and are able to score to make it 5-3.

Again, Tri-state gets the face off and gets off a shot.  But the ball is knocked away by Billy Sullivan.  Jack McGovern is able to get the tough ground ball and clears to Cullen Vincelette.  With less than a minute left, FC holds the ball in the Tri-state box with Cullen Vincelette and Brendan Hahn handling the ball.  Horn sounds and FC wins.

Nice win.  Some rusty play - dropped balls, missed ground balls and bad passes - but generally a nice win to start.  

Coach John Eagan and JHU current player and our assistant coach - Wells Stanwick - make good use of all the boys.

Scoring:  Matt Emery 2, Joe Lang 1, Cullen Vincelette 1, Chad Bell 1.

Boys play again at 9 Am tomorrow.  3 games.  More tomorrow.

SI's Jack McGovern commits to Holy Cross

Jack McGovern, SI's relentless Close Defender, commited to DI Holy Cross on Monday. Jack had a great summer, both on the recruiting circuit with the Alcatraz Outlaws and at UnderArmour . He attracted considerable attention. Holy Cross was as relentless in pursuing him as Jack has been on the field. Jack will be an asset to the program and a strong contributor.

As a rising Senior, Jack is also one of next year's Captains at SI. He's a fine guy from a good family. The future holds more honors for this young man!

USA U19s are 2-2 at end of Pool Play: Tags sizzles

Amazingly, the USA U19 team, having had an unblemished record through the entire history of the U19 Worlds, has lost twice in pool play. The lost to Canada in their opener, the clobbered England and Australia and lost to the Iroquois nation 15-13 an hour ago. Shocking!

As Indian Country Media put it, "This marks the first time that Nationals have bested Team USA in international field competition (they’ve beaten Team USA in indoor matches), which, considering Team USA draws from a pool of roughly 150,000 players nationwide and is a multimillion dollar operation while the Nationals draw from a pool of about 86, is astonishing."
 You can read their article here:

Despite this, Mike Tagliaferri had 4 goals and an assist in this contest. The other big scorer for Team USA was Matt Kavanagh, with 4 goals and 2 assists. Those 8 goals were not enough to stave off a fired-up Iroquois team.

Disappointed for the USA team, but thrilled that the Iroquois are doing so well in this tournament!

Mike Tagliaferri at U19 World Championships

Mike Tagliaferri

NorCal's Mike Tagliaferri has had some nice moments at the U19 World Championships in Finland. Here's his roster page for the team, which includes some background info and a brief video:
http://laxmagazine.com/teamusa/u19men/2011-12/bios/u19/tagliaferri_michael

Mike had no statistical events in Team USA's opening loss to Canada in overtime. In their next game, the USA defeated England 20-1. Mike scored two goals and had an assist in that game. Against Australia, the USA prevailed, 24-6, but Mike didn't see much action. Interestingly, attendance at the USA v Australia was 548 spectators. NorCal got more fans than that at SRVs regular season home games against SI and DLS.

As I am writing this, team USA is playing the Iroquois National team. I'll update this entry if Mike has goals or assists.

Way to go, Mike!

David Fleming Commits to Fairfield

David Fleming SI 2013

David Fleming, SI's versatile 2013 A/M has committed to DI Fairfield University, according to sources at today's California Gold camp. This is a big deal to me, since DFlem has not been a starter at SI, but has been a player of tremendous potential and ability.* He's big, he's smooth, and he's skilled. Though he's spent much of his time at SI on the midfield, I suspect he'll be joining Joe Lang on the starting Attack line next Spring. He will do very well there.

I first saw David play during the winter of his Freshman year at SI, when he joined the Fog City indoor team at the Bladium. He and his parents had just moved to Northern California from Connecticut (Darien, I believe) and found a great lacrosse and academic school in SI. Nice handle, smooth, but small  – I thought.  The first two things still hold, but now he's tall. Really tall!

Fairfield is getting a good one. In fact, I think they're lucky to get him. Congrats to him, his supportive parents, and the coaching staff at SI for collaborating on the development of this fine player. Go NorCal!

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* Clarification on July16th. Why is this a big deal? It demonstrates that Northern California is developing a few VERY DEEP teams. Deep teams mean that very good underclassmen have to bide their time until stronger, bigger, faster players graduate, and as these underclassmen themselves become bigger, stronger and faster. The potential of younger players is seen by coaches, but great depth can obscure great younger players. On the summer recruiting circuit, college coaches project players into the future. High School coaches project too, as they should, and do, but they put their best 10 on the field. In my opinion, SI's 2012 team had the deepest squad of offensive players I have seen in my decade of watching High School lacrosse in the Bay Area. Three starting 2012 middies have committed to NCAA DI schools – and a fourth would have had he not elected to go to Stanford. Two Attacks committed to DI programs and a genuinely exceptional Sophomore Attack is likely to commit in the next few months. I do not believe any NorCal Boys' lacrosse team in NorCal history has been as stacked on offense as SI 2012.

Given that depth, terrific players like David Fleming got less playing time than they would have on teams with less depth. Nonetheless, late in the season, against a team of only moderate skill, David Fleming started at Attack. He scored, if memory serves, six goals in that game, showing nifty off-ball movement and a deft touch as a finisher.

We will see more players "show" late in their High School careers as lacrosse grows in popularity and quality, and as these players congregate on quality teams.  This is the way it works on the Island and in Baltimore's MIAA A Division. Having players as strong as David Fleming be intermittent starters, is new for NorCal, and it is a big deal for the development of the game in Northern California.

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!

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

Elder Statesmen win Vail SuperMasters

Elder Statesmen win Vail Super Masters

A team with a NorCal flavor won the Vail Shootout SuperMasters division. Congrats to the Elder Statesmen, who not only won the SuperMasters Division, but placed a number of guys on the All-tournament team for SuperMasters.

Here are the Elder Statesmen All- tournament gents:

Doug Appleton LSM

Cort Kim Attack

Dan Pratt Defense

Randy Fraser Midfield

Brian Silcott Division MVP

Sean Fox Keeper of Lacrosse Award

You'll recognize Doug Appleton and Cort Kim as movers and shakers behind Sacred Heart's up-and-coming Central Coast Section lacrosse team. 

NSCLA: West Coast Starz win the 2015s

The NSCLA (National Scholastic Club Lacrosse Association) was formed just a few years ago to organize and codify rules and competitions among the very top club teams in the US. Their tournament brings together a small group of elite clubs for a once-a-year tournament – to which each club brings 3 teams – one of rising Sophs, one of rising Juniors, and one of rising Seniors. Sixteen clubs, 48 teams.


The West Coast Starz were invited to join the NSCLA this year and accepted the invitation. Good thing they did! The Starz won the 2015 age group and finished with an overall record of 13-4 for the three teams. Way to go, WCS!


I don't have a clue as to whether some of our top NorCal guys went with the Starz to the NSCLA tournament, but the NSCLA is a force to be reckoned with, so if you, Dear reader, have some info about NorCal guys participating – well, send a comment!


Regardless, a great showing by the Left Coasters at an ever-so-snooty East Coast event!


Congrats!

2014 Outlaws win Gait Cup!

The 2013 Outlaws team won the Gait Cup tournament today. Way to go Outlaws!!

2012 Under Armour West team 2-2: not in playoffs

West on offense

The 2012 Under Armour UnderClassmen (UAUC) games are underway in Baltimore. Seven NorCal guys are on this team. Through Pool play, they ended with a 2-2 record. They did not make the playoffs, since the other contenders have defeated the West team in head-to-head play. Nonetheless, they have acquitted themselves well and they represented the Western States nicely. Seven of the 24 members of the West UAUC team are from NorCal. Here they are:

Matt Emery SI M*
Spencer Evans SI M
Charlie Ford SI LSM
Jack McGovern SI D
Wiley Osborne Menlo A
Mikie Schlosser Davis M
Cyrus Scott SI GK

Game results for the West team so far:
6/29
West 7 New Jersey 6

6/30
Baltimore 16 West 8
Washington D.C. 14 West 6

7/1
West 12 v Midwest !0
______________________
• A two time member of UAUC teams. Matt is only the second California player to have been selected to two Under Armour UnderClassmen teams.

2012 Gait Cup Quarterfinals: Both Outlaws teams win!

Quarterfinals: Outlaws 2014s down 4-1 at the end of the 1st quarter, but fight back to win, 7-6!
Outlaws 2013s down 4-0, but fight back to win, 6-5!

Bracket showing 2013s and 2014s in Final Four

2013s in action

Both teams on to the semi-finals tomorrow morning at 9AM. That's right, two of the four teams in the Gait Cup semi-finals are Outlaws.
2014s to play Dallas Select 2013s
2013s to play Laxachusetts Green

Go NorCal!

2012 Gait Cup: All-Stars

The following Alcatraz Outlaws made the All-Star team at the Gait Cup:

Cam Bowlby San Ramon Valley 2013
Liam Bourke Redwood 2014
Will Ernst University HS 2014
Frankie Hattler Sacred Heart Prep 2014
Joe Lang Saint Ignatius 2014
JJ Ntshaykolo Thacher 2013
Joe Reid Casa Grande 2014
Jerome Rigor Foothil High School 2013
Aran Roberts San Ramon Valley 2014
Josh Wellman Oakridge 2014

Both teams (2013s and 2014s) play in the Quarterfinals tonight.

Semis and Finals take place tomorrow morning. Go Outlaws!

Summer recruiting camp news

Inside Lacrosse on Joe Lang at Jake Reed:
Another guy to watch with a high upside is Joe Lang (St. Ignatius Prep, Calif.), the younger brother of former Cornell standout, Roy. He's effective in 'catch and shoot' situations but is still working on his success rate on 
the run. Pretty special end-to-end player.


Inside Lacrosse on Peter Tagliaferri at Jake Reed:
California native Peter Tagliaferri (San Ramon Valley, Calif.) is also a raw athlete, but can face-off and plays scrappy otherwise.