NorCal Talon finishes 4th in US Lacrosse U15 National Championship

NorCal Talon, which made the semifinals in the US Lacrosse National Championship, lost both its games today to finish 4th in the nation. They lost their semi-final game to Long Island Express (the eventual Champion, 8-2. In their consolation game for third place, Talon lost a heart-breaker to Florida, 9-8. Congrats tot Talon for its continuing strong showing at the US Lacrosse Nationals!
Aren Broekmate, a Talon defender, made the All-Tournament team.

NorCal Talon was not the only NorCal team contending for the National Championship, as NorCal Platinum and NorCal Blue were also participating. That's a HUGE contingent of NorCal's best. Congratulations to all of these fine players!

Lacrosse Magazine ranks Western HS Lax teams

Lacrosse Magazine, the official publication of US Lacrosse, recently published their annual review of top teams around the country. In their Western rankings, the magazine named La Costa Canyon the top boys team in the region and named Michael Keasey of  Corona Del Mar the Player of the Year for the Western region.

Michael Keasey

In their listing of the top 10 teams in the Western United States, Lacrosse Magazine included two NorCal teams. Here is their commentary:

3. St. Ignatius Prep (Calif.) 21-1
The Wildcats took the West Catholic Athletic League championship with a 16-2 win over Bellarmine (Calif.). They've won the first three WCAL titles by a combined score of 526-119. JW McGovern (Yale), who coach Chris Packard called "the most complete attackman I've ever seen on the West Coast," led the way.

JW McGovern

8. San Ramon Valley (Calif.) 20-3
The Wolves won the East Bay Athletic League and North Coast Section Division I titles, ending on an 11-game win streak. Senior All-American midfielder and US U19 star Michael Tagliaferri (North Carolina) had 48 goals and 25 assists.

Mike Tagliaferri

Coincidentally, Mike Tagliaferri & JW McGovern are both two-time US Lacrosse All-Americans, while Michael Keasey and JW will both be attending Yale in the fall.

The complete article appears in the August 2012 print edition of Lacrosse Magazine.

NorCal Talon U15s in Semi-finals of US Lacrosse Nationals

Connor McNeill of NorCal Talon

A great article today from Lacrosse Magazine on the NorCal Talon U15 squad at Nationals. Read it at:

http://laxmagazine.com/high_school/boys/2011-12/news/072812_final_four_set_at_us_lacrosse_boys_u15_championship

2012 Tahoe: Complete Game results

Inside Lacrosse has posted complete game results for the 2012 Lake Tahoe Lacrosse Tournament (LTLT). The Adrenaline Tropics won the tourney again, with an 8-6 victory of Dub-C.
The link is:
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/07/24/lake-tahoe-lax-tourney-sights-swag-and-scores

Pix from 2012 Tahoe

The following link contains a few (14) pix from the 2012 Lake Tahoe Lacrosse Tournament:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150831915507395&set=a.10150831915317395.352981.40830472394&type=3&theater

I'm looking for more. Send an anonymous comment with a link to more pix and I'll post them. Also let me know results of the playoff bracket by anonymous comment.

Thanks,
Dilettante

US retains U19 Title: Defeats Canada 10-8

The United States retained its title as winner of the FIL U19 Championship, by defeating Canada 10-8. The United States is the only team to ever have won the Championship in the history of this event.

Mike Tagliaferri scored one in the US victory. Read more at:
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/07/21/u19-world-championships-usa-beats-canada-keeps-gold-streak-alive

Nicely done, boys!

Champ Camp Game 8: Fog City wins 8-3

The final game in Fog City's Champ Camp odyssey resulted in another win and a 7-1 overall record at Champ Camp. As you'll read, the Dukes, a multi-school team with 35 DI commits, went on to win Champ Camp again. There is a big dichotomy that is worth understanding here. There are tournament teams, built from All-Stars from a wide array of schools, usually – though not always – from a specific geographic area. The Dukes are such a team. Then, there are single school teams. These are teams with all their players from one High School. Fog City is such a team. Fog City plays at Champ Camp to improve team coordination and team bonding. Regular readers of this blog will recall that I am a big, big fan of single school off-season travel teams. I've commented before on my admiration for Monte Vista, De La Salle, and Saint Ignatius for their devotion to team above all. These schools follow a path of improvement among teammates.  They prepare for the season. The season, the Conference Championship and the Section Championship are EVERYTHING. Big-time summer tournaments are merely a vehicle to prepare for the season. This is pure  Lacrosse. It is all about team and nothing about individual. It is heaven to watch!

Here is Ed McGovern's report on Game 8 at Champ Camp 2012:

Fog City vs. Paragon of Connecticut

Billy Sullivan starts in goal.  Riley Burke, Cole Steigerwald and Lorenzo Iacomini at long poll D.  Dave Fleming, Joe Lang and Marcus Holzberg at attack.  Brendan McDermott at face off with Spencer Evans and Charlie Ford at midfield.

Paragon (White) controls the face off.  Quick shot on goal but Billy Sullivan grabs the shot and clears.  White is called for a penalty and FC immediately goes man up but we can’t score and possession back to White.

Wolverine Iacomini forces a turnover and clears to Cullen Vincelette.  But again, FC can’t score.  On the transition, Marcus Holzberg forces a turnover and passes to Spencer Evans at the top of the box.  Evans passes to Moore Harris cutting towards goal and he buries the shot from the left alley.  1-0 FC.

It’s now pouring rain! But for anyone who was at this very same field at St. Paul’s last year where it was over 100 and every parent was fighting for any little shade, this was more like SF weather.

Cullen Vincelette on the face off but ball goes to White.  Cole Steigerwald knocks the ball loose, grabs the ground ball and clears to Cullen Vincelette.  Matt Emery gets loose for a shot from the left but it goes just wide.  Possession back to White.

Wolverine Iacomini scoops up a loose ball on the wing and clears to Cullen Vincelette at midfield.  Vincelette dodges 4 White players at midfield and pushes the ball to FC offensive end.  Joe Lang gets off a nice bounce shoot that goes a little wide, but Dave Fleming is there to grab the loose ball.  Joe Lang gets the ball again and hits Chad Bell driving to goal in the left alley.  Bell buries the his overhand shot in the bottom corner and FC goes up 2-0.

Brendan McDermott on the face off and Charlie Ford grabs the loose ball.  But ball gets loose at midfield and Joe Lang is there to pick it up.  Silky sprints towards goal and the goalie is helpless as Lang buries the shot in the top corner.  3-0 FC.

Ryan Pidgeon at LSM grabs a tough, contested ground ball and clears to Spencer Evans.  But Evans shot is stopped and ball goes back to White.

August Peters now in at long poll and makes a great play knocking a ball loose and scooping up the ground ball.  Peters clears to Spencer Evans but ball goes back to White again.

This time White gets off a shot, but Billy “Brickhouse” Sullivan is impregnable and stops the low corner shot.  Sullivan clears to Brendan McDermott.  Danny Casey gets loose cutting across the goal, but his shot is stopped by the White goalie and they clear.  

But again, great team D with August Peters, Lorenzo Iacomini and Riley Burke in at long poll and White turns the ball over.   Defense has been impressive during the whole tournament.

Chad Bell gets loose for two different shots – one wide and the other somehow stopped by the goalie – and White tries a fast break.  But Billy Sullivan is aggressive in net and intercepts a pass to prevent a shot.  FC clears.

This time Brenden Hahn and Spencer Evans team up with Hahn making a nice pass to a cutting Spencer Evans in front of the goal.  Evans is deadly there and shoots it top corner to push the lead to 4-0.

Next face off, Ryan Kase in at middie grabs the loose ball and gets tripped by White.  Possession by FC.  Boys work it around to Joe Silky Lang behind the cage and Lang shows his magic again, curling around the crease on the goalies right and one-handing a bounce shot past the goalie to push the lead to 5-0. 

Halftime.

2^nd Half. 

Cyrus Scott in goal.  

Brendan McDermott on the face and controls for FC.  Pass gets to Joe Lang on the left wing who hits Spencer Evans driving down the left alley and Evans finds the back of the net to make it 6-0 FC.

Cullen Vincelette wins the next face off but ball goes back to White.  But tough transition D by Vincelette and he finds Brenden Hahn who quickly hits Joe Lang in front of the crease and Lang scores.  Now 7-0 FC.

Brendan McDermott wins another face off and ball gets to Silky Lang behind the cage.  Lang curls around from the back (it must be a nightmare to try and guard him) and as he’s falling down he buries the shot past the goalie.  8-0 FC.

Fog City gets another couple of chances, including a nice play by Brenden Hahn who gets a shot in the crease that somehow ends up in the goalie’s shirt for about 5 seconds before he can locate it.  But FC doesn’t score.

Boys make some nice plays before the end of the game.  Ryan Pidgeon forces one turnover at midfield.  August Peters plays tough D.  Charlie Ford forces a turnover.  Ryan Kase plays tough and makes catches a very high pass in the middle of the field and clears down to offensive end. Riley Burke is terrific with some one on one D and Cyrus Scott makes some nice saves including at the end of the game and clears to Moore Harris as the game ends.

White was able to get three scores at the end after we were up 8-0 but FC was clearly a superior team.

Scoring:  Goals: Joe Lang 4, Spencer Evans 2, Moore Harris 1, Chad Bell 1.  

Assists: Spencer Evans 1, Joe Lang 2, Brenden Hahn 2

Tournament Notes; 

First, be very, very proud of your sons.  They are gentlemen, grateful, well mannered and mature. They are a credit to you and to their school.  To see them sing the fight song in front of parents and other teams here was moving.

Second, this was a terrific bonding experience for this team.  Right now at the airport, they are all sitting together laughing, talking, and enjoying each other.

Third, this was an incredible result.  To go 7-1 in this tournament and to have the only loss be to the team who did win the tournament today (The Dukes won 7-6 over Got Skills for the Dukes 6^th Champ Camp championship) is a phenomenal accomplishment.

Fourth, there is an incredible amount of talent on this team.  We lost a lot of talent with the graduating seniors last year, but we have young men ready to step up and step into those rolls.  Some things need work, but this tournament showed there will be very little, if any, drop off from last year.

Fifth, they were very publicly appreciative of the help and coaching from John Eagan and Wells Stanwick.  I saw them all come up and shake hands and thank both coaches after the last game.  Very classy.

Watch out LAX world.  Can’t wait for Spring!

My thanks to Ed McGovern for his great reporting from Champ Camp! As a final note, just as the Dukes defeated Fog City in 2011 and went on to win that tourney, they were the team who defeated Fog City in 2012 and went on to win this year's tourney. In the 2012 tourney, the Dukes, a regional All-Star team defeated GotSkillz, a NATIONAL All-Star team in the finals. In 2011,  the Dukes regional All-Star team, similarly defeated Gotskillz National All-Star team. Hmm.  Fog City represents a set of schools who play the game the right way. The Old School way. I'm quite impressed by Fog City. A little school, with less than 700 boys, makes the Sweet Sixteen at Champ Camp. The other contenders were all Regional and National All-Star teams. AMDG. 

Champ Camp Game 7: Fog Ciy prevails 6-5

OK, so the Championship is not within Fog City's grasp, but the tourney goes on. Fog City has two more games to play. Here is Ed McGovern's report from Game 7.

Fog City wins 6-5 on last minute goal.  

Sorry for the tardiness in the report.  It was raining before the game last night and then a heavy mist during the game that had everything wet, including my notebook.  And then about 5 seconds before the end of the game, when the other team was trying to tie it up and had possession, their attackman tried to curl around from behind the cage and he and our Jack collided and Jack's helmet crashed down on the bridge of his nose with a terrible cut that took 10 stitches at Hopkins Emergency last night.  He's ok though.

Game Report:

Billy Sullivan starts in goal and played the whole game.  Made some great saves including two terrific saves in the last 30 seconds to preserve the win.

Lorenzo Iacomini, Riley Burke and Ryan Pidgeon start at D.  Brenden Hahn, Joe Lang and Marcus Holzberg start at attack.  Game had some very good plays by Ryan Kase, Danny Casey, August Peters and Lorenzo Iacomini.

The White team scored first and lead most of the game.  My notes are all a mess from the rain but I think Cullen Vincelette scored our only goal of the first half and it was 2-1 the other team at halftime.  We had a lot of shots go wide or off the post and it looked like we were down because of the earlier loss to the Dukes team.

But we make a charge in the 2nd half.

2nd Half:

Spencer Evans got us tied up with goal #2 for FC.  They took back the lead at 3-2 and Matt Emery tied it at 3-3 on a man up situation for FC.

Moore Harris scored the next goal for us on a rocket of a shot driving down the left alley of the box.  4-3 FC  Joe Lang put us up 5-3 with the next goal.  But White came back and tied it up with 2 straight goals.  5-5 with about 1 minute left.

Then Cullen Vincelette grabs a loose ball and sprints down the field creating an unsettled situation for the White on their D.  He finds Joe Lang cutting across the middle and Silky buries the shot to give us the final lead 6-5.

But as I said earlier, it was far from over.  The D played tough and Billy Sullivan made some terrific saves in the last 30 seconds to preserve the win.

One more game this morning.  It would be great for the boys to go 7-1 here if they can win.

Champ Camp Game 6: Sweet Sixteen

In the 2011 edition of Champ Camp, Fog City made it to the Sweet Sixteen, only to meet and be defeated by the Dukes, who went on to win the 2011 Champ Camp. The Dukes are out of Philadelphia and fielded a squad of 35. Last year they ended Fog City's run at Champ Camp and went on to win the tourney. Here is Ed McGovern's report from the 2012 Sweet Sixteen match:

Well, the run is over.  Boys played Dukes 1 - winners of Champ Camp five previous times and with 35 D1 commits on the team.  Your boys played with heart, never let up and fought to the end, but this Duke team could probably beat half the D1 College programs in the country.  They had the #1 ranked goalie and some amazing lax players (although our boys had much more class than their team).

 

Lost 13-2.   Not much more to report.

Champ Camp Game 5: Fog City 8 - TriState Black 3

Tri-State Black is one of the East Coast's legendary recruiting teams. Here's the game report from Ed McGovern:

If last night was great, this win was even better.  Fog City wins 8-3 against All-Star team TriState Black mostly from New Jersey.  Dominating team win.  Defense was absolutely outstanding and awesome goalie play.  TriState Black won Champ Camp last year which was their 5th Champ Camp win and is tied for most all time (research courtesy of Don Sullivan).

 

Game:  8:30 time.  Thought we were in San Francisco with fog and overcast skies.  Cool temperatures.  Played on turf field of St. Paul's school - terrific facilities.

 

Cyrus Scott starts in goal.  Marcus Holzberg, Dave Fleming and Joe Lang on attack.  Riley Burke, Jack McGovern and Cole Steigerwald at long poll D.  LSM Charlie Ford with Cullen Vincelette at face off and Spencer Evans at middie.  Black wins face off (and would go on to win nearly 90% of face offs) and they get to goal quickly, but terrific team D prevents fast break goal.   Charlie Ford makes a nice stick check to force a shot high. Riley Burke called for slash (looked very questionable) and FC goes man down right away.

 

Jack McGovern steps up on man down and forces a turnover, grabs the ground ball and clears to Cole Steigerwald who clears to Cullen Vincelette at midfield.  Quick passing from Cullen Vincelette to Matt Emery who finds Marcus Holzberg in front of the net.  Holzberg buries the shot and FC goes up 1-0.

 

Black gets the next face off, but Jack McGovern is all over the field and forces another turnover and clears.  Joe Lang gets loose for a shot but it's stopped by the goalie and ball is back to Black.

 

Again, stellar D - Chad Bell knocks one shot wide and Cyrus Scott hustles to the back line to get possession for FC.  Brendan McDermott clears to the offensive end.

Matt "the truth" Emery gets loose at the top of the box for a rocket shot to push the lead to 2-0.

 

Black wins next face but Cullen Vincelette won't give up and back checks the Black middie to force a loose ball.  Spencer Evans grabs the loose ball and clears to the offensive end.  Moore Harris drives from the top and gets off a nice shot, but goalie stops it.  Dave Fleming on transition D forces a turnover by knocking the stick out of the Black player's hand and FC takes back possession.  But we can't score and ball goes back to Black.

 

Black is a very patient team, and often tried to isolate a short stick on our short stick with a one on one situation, but our D rose to the occasion - sliding and helping so they could never get off a clear shot.  Cyrus Scott makes a nice save after two shots and Riley Burke clears to Spencer Evans.

 

But Black gets the ball back and their patient offense finally gets loose for a score.  2-1 FC.

 

Black again wins the face off but Cole Steigerwald forces a turnover and grabs the ground ball.  He clears to Spencer Evans in the middle of the field who drives through the defense and buries a shot with defenders draped all over him.  3-1 FC.

 

Cullen Vincelette wins a tough contested ground ball on the next face off and FC controls.  But FC can't score and ball goes back to Black.  Danny Casey on D makes a terrific play to force a loose ball and grabs the ground ball.  FC clears.

 

Black holds the ball for long time but great team D by Fog City and Black can't score.  Finally, Cole Steigerwald is able to grab a loose ground ball and clears to Riley Burke who takes it across midfield. 

 

FC sets up and works the ball around to Joe Lang on the left wing and Silky gets into the act with a great swim move past his defender and bounce shot top corner to push the lead to 4-1. 

 

Riley Burke forces a turnover after Black gets the face off and clears but Black takes back possession.  Moore Harris makes a nice back check to prevent a last second shot by Black.  FC takes possession and holds the ball until halftime.  FC leads 4-1

 

2nd Half

 

Cyrus Scott starts in goal.

 

Riley Burke, Jack McGovern and Cole Steigerwald start at D for 2nd half.  Brenden Hahn, Marcus Holzberg and Joe Lang start at attack. Cullen Vincelette, Spencer Evans and Charlie Ford on face off line.

 

Cullen Vincelette wins the face off.  Joe Lang hits Matt Emery cutting towards goal but his shot is just high.  Joe Lang gets off a shot that is stopped and ball back to Black.

 

Charlie Ford plays tough, tight D and forces a shot high.  Black again shows their patience and it works after a long possession.  Black scores 4-2 FC.

 

Black wins the next face off but Cyrus Scott makes another great save but Black keeps possession.  Brendan McDermott plays nice D and checks the player causing a loose ball.  Riley Burke clears to Chad Bell at midfield but errant pass gets loose.  Marcus Holzberg nice hustle to keep possession for FC and passes to Moore Harris at the top of the box.

 

Moore Harris uses his size and speed from the top to split dodge two defenders, dodging another, and fires a shot into the top corner of the net.  Great effort and goal.  5-2 FC.

 

Cullen Vincelette gets the face off and finds Joe Lang on the left wing.  Silky Lang swims right past his defender and buries the shot to push the lead to 6-2.

 

Black is called for a penalty on the face off but FC can't get a score.  Ball back to Black.

 

Cullen Vincelette makes a great play on D to force a turnover but ball goes back to Black.  They work the ball around again and finally get an open shot and score. 6-3 FC.

 

Black wins the next face off but again tough D.  Chad Bell grabs a loose ball - both teams fighting hard for ground balls, but Black takes back possession.  FC plays D a long time and is helped by great goalie play by Cyrus Scott with another terrific save.  Black is finally called for a penalty and ball back to FC with a man up.  But again we can't score.

 

Black takes over again and Cyrus Scott makes another amazing save on a man down situation.  Defense causes a turnover and nice long poll passing from Riley Burke to Cole Steigerwald to Jack McGovern clears to Matt Emery.  Time left on the clock is about 4:30.

 

FC clears to our offensive end and Coach Eagan calls necessary time out.  On the restart, Matt Emery is double teamed on the wing and split dodges two defenders, dodges another and buries the shot into the top corner.  7-3 FC.

 

Black gets the next face off, but Cullen Vincelette makes a nice play with a back check on a stick and clears the loose ball.  Joe Lang gets the ball behind the net on the wing and as Black is double teaming the ball, Matt Emery gets clear in front for another goal.  8-3 FC.

 

Less then 2 minutes left now, and Black gets the face off.  But D is absolutely stifling and Cole Steigerwald and Jack McGovern force a turnover on a shot that finds the net but crease violation on Black and possession back to FC.  Game ends and boys are thrilled.

 

Really, really great team win.  Our HS team beats one of the premier All Star teams from the East Coast. A dominating win.  Lots of open mouths by the Black parents.

 

Now we are into the sweet 16 against the Dukes at 1 pm today. 

 

Scoring:  Goals: Marcus Holzberg 1, Matt Emery 3, Spencer Evans 1, Moore Harris 1, Joe Lang 2.  Assists:  Matt Emery 1.

Fog City at Champ Camp: Whips Ridgewood1 8-4

From Ed McGovern:

Phenomenal team win for Fog City.  Two undefeated teams met tonight after a 2 hour rain delay and played under the lights on Hopkins field.   Fog City vs. Ridgewood1 of New Jersey and Fog City comes away with convincing win 8-4.  Because of the delay, the games were shortened to 35 minutes, so about 17 minutes a half.  Game temperature cool after the rain - and it was no little rain shower before the game folks  - torrential.

The beginning is somewhat abridged as I got there late.

Cyrus Scott starts in goal and plays the entire game.

By the time I arrived, Ridgewood (Blue) just scores their first goal, but Fog City is already up 2-0 by then on goals - first by Spencer Evans top shelf rocket and the second by Chad Bell.  Now 2-1 FC.

First observation - FC is fired up.  Lots of energy and drive.  Crisp passing, moving without the ball.  Whatever Coach Eagan gave them before the game we need to bottle.

Next possession, FC gains control.  Marcus Holzberg breaks loose from the right wing and bounces a terrific shot low and past the goalie to make it 3-1 FC.

Blue gets the next possession - they are a talented team.  Zipping passes and one player gets free in front for a goal.  3-2 FC.

Brendan McDermott on face but Blue gains possession.  Chad Bell makes a nice stick check on D and forces a turnover.  Ryan Pidgeon clears.  But quick shot by FCand their goalie tries to clear.  But Brenden Hahn playing tough transition D forces a turnover at midfield.  Joe Lang hits Matt Emery streaking towards the goal, but Emery's shot is just wide.  Ball back to Blue.

Spencer Evans plays great D on the transition and forces a turnover and starts a fast break.  Evans drives down the left slot pulling the D to him, he hits Brenden Hahn in front and of the goal and Hahn drills a left handed top right corner shot to push the lead back to 2.  4-2 FC.

FC gets the face off and works the ball around the cage.  Joe "Silky" Lang takes the ball from behind the cage, dodges right curls back to his left leaving the defender swinging at air and Lang's bounce shot scores to make it 5-2.  And half ends.

2nd Half

Cyrus Scott stays in goal for 2nd half.

Brendan McDermott on the face off and Spencer Evans scoops up a tough and contested ground ball.   But Blue gets back possession and is loose for a shot and score.  5-3 FC.

Blue wins the next possession, but terrific double team by Jack McGovern and Riley Burke forces the Blue player into the crease and turnover to FC.  CullenVincelette clears.  Again, crisp passing and finding the open man.

Joe "Silky" Lang on the left wing works his way past 2 defenders, dodges another defender and his bounce shot finds the net.  6-3 FC and Silky leaves a trail of frustrated defenders in his wake.

Blue wins the next face off but Riley Burke causes a turnover.  FC can't get off a shot and Blue takes possession.  But really tenacious transition D by Fog City and Blue is penalizied for a failure to advance the ball.  But FC is called for a penalty and they convert on their man up - 6-4 FC.

Fog City still with man down but the D kills the penalty.  But Blue keeps possession and one player gets loose behind the cage and heads for the goal for a shot.  But Jack McGovern comes across the crease and flattens the Blue player preventing the shot.  FC clears.

FC works the ball around the box to Joe Lang on the wing.  Silky cuts as if he's heading to goal again, but fires a pinpoint pass to Dave Fleming cutting in front of goal.  Fleming buries the shot and FC now goes up 7-4.

Now less than 2 minutes left, and FC wins the face off.  Cullen Vincelette gets the ball to Joe Lang.  Silky holds the ball for over a minute as time is running out, passes to Dave Fleming behind the net, who passes right back to Joe Lang who decides to take the open shot as the goalie is double teaming someone and out of the net.  Now it's 8-4 and time is ticking away for Blue.

Blue wins the face off with less than a minute left, but tough, tough D by Chad Bell, Matt Emery, and the four long polls - Jack McGovern, Riley Burke, ColeSteigerwald and Charlie Ford won't even allow them a shot on goal.

Terrific game and win.  Team effort.  Really impressive and to the Ridgewood parents - stunning.

Now we are into the round of 32 with single elimination games from now on.   Still trying to figure out the opponent for tomorrow's 8:30 AM game.  Rain and thunder forecast for tomorrow so we will see if we get the game in.

Scoring:  Goals - Spencer Evans 1, Chad Bell 1, Marcus Holzberg 1, Brenden Hahn 1, Dave Fleming 1 and Joe Lang 3

Assists:  Spencer Evans 1, Joe Lang 1

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!

_____________
* 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.