College: NorCal guys at Williams

David Lee

The post just prior to this was about Amherst, where Johnno Gibbons is doing a great job at the FaceOff X. This one's about Amherst, William's archival.

Williams has three NorCal players on the roster: David Lee, the former Menlo School standout, Tucker Dayton of San Francisco who went to Deerfield Academy, and Austin Shea, the former great from University School. They're all terrific athletes but, in Parallel Universes, David Lee takes Faces for Williams – just like Johnno takes them for Amherst.

In their opener, David Lee went 9-16 on faces and picked up 5 GBs. A terrific performance like David's anticipates the matchup with Amherst on April 20th. These two teams are the fiercest of rivals and are, arguably, the two finest Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States! There, it appears, David Lee will go head-to-head with Johnno Gibbons. I may have to be at that game.

NorCal lacrosse & the Ivy League Tournament

Alex Capretta

In an earlier post, I've written about the NorCal pipeline to the Ivy League. Without spending much time on that, the summary is that every Ivy League school has at least one NorCal guy playing or committed to it.  And they're contributors, sometimes HUGE contributors. This weeks final regular season games, setting the field and the seedings for the Ivy League Tournament, proved that point.

• The Princeton v Cornell regular season ender would determine the #1 and #2 seeds in the Ivy tournament, Recall that the winner of the Ivy tournament – not the regular season champ – gets the automatic bid to the big dance. In that game, Princeton prevailed 14-8, with Alex Capretta, former SI HS AA, had five goals for the Tigers. But, Roy Lang, former SI HS AA and 1st team NCAA AA, scored  one for the Big Red and was named to the Tewaaraton candidates list. Connor Hunt, former DLS HS AA, also plays for the Big Red.

• The Harvard v Yale regular season ender would determine whether Yale would be the #3 seed or the #4 seed in the tourney – and whether Harvard would be in the tourney – or not. Yale prevailed, 10-8, and secured the third seed. Harvard was out! Yale recruit JW McGovern, SI HS AA '12, was rooting for the Bulldogs, while Spencer Evans, SI '13, was rooting for the Crimson.

• Both Dartmouth and Brown had a chance to be the #4 seed if Harvard lost. Brown prevailed, defeating Dartmouth 10-8, securing the fourth seed in the Ivy tourney. In this game, Parker Brown, former UHS HS AA, had 2 goal and 1 assist, while Thomas Mattimore, former SI HS AA, had 1 goal and 1 assist. Two Dartmouth recruits, Jack McCormick, DLS '13, and Wiley Osborne, Menlo '13, were rooting for the Big Green! Brown Attackman, Tim Jacob, former Bellarmine HS AA, saw action in this game.

UPenn was not in the hunt for the tourney this year, but Nick Richards, former DLS AA, saw plenty of action this year.

Quite a testament to the athletic – and academic – prowess of all these guys!

Day 2 of the Langkammerer

I have only two of the 4 games results and will fill in the others as I get them. First, Corona Del Mar prevailed in a nice match with Marin Catholic, 10-4. The Sea Kings are a strong team, with strength where you like it. That is, strength along the imaginary line drawn between the two cages. That includes: Goalie, Crease sliding Pole, LSM, FO guy, dodging middie up top and an X Attackman. If you have strength along this axis, you'll be tough to beat. The Sea Kings have it! In addition, their skilled O passes as well and as fast as any team I've seen this year. Well, any High School team I've seen this year! For its part, Marin Catholic gave them a heckuva game. I love Marin Catholic! They're gritty, they're well coached and they get the principles of the game. They clear out the crease, they cut to the crease, they feed the crease. As a result, they get open shots on the doorstep. They just didn't get enough of them against Corona Del Mar. My congratulations to Coach McGettigan for getting his boys to this skill level so quickly. Hope he stays at MC for many years!

The second game I watched was a conundrum to me. This game was SI 9 San Clemente 6. SI is a better team than San Clemente – a substantially better team. Yet, San Clemente had a plan and the will to execute it. They would zone SI to death. Well, NEARLY to death. SI's vaunted Attack line was next to impotent against the zone. That impotence was contagious and spread to the defense, which allowed a couple of open shots (and goals) from within INCHES of the crease. Very unlike the parsimonious SI D! This year, SI has been an Attack-led team. The Attack line was mostly fallow today. Middie Spencer Evans had the hat trick, Middie Matt Emery had at least one, Middie Phil Alimam ripped one, Middie David Fleming had another... followers of SI will know that these fine fellows roam the middle of the field! You know, regular guys – salt of the Earth. Unlike those Flo Bros on the Attack line who dazzle with their BTBs and between the legs goals.

Hey! A victory is a victory. One should be happy with victories over good teams – and that's just what San Clemente is, a very good team! Glad to have them at the Langkammerer! They represent the Southern Section well and they have a gritty, blue-collar mentality that always gets me rooting for teams! Way to represent, San Clemente!

Brophy Prep defeated Monte Vista 6-5 in a BIG win for the Arizonans. I don't have details. but I'll try and get them.
As I get more info, I'll report on the remaining game, which was:
Menlo School v Bellarmine

Day 1 of the Langkammerer

Here's an incomplete – and sketchy – report on Day 1 of the Langkammerer.

Brophy Prep (AZ)  6 Bellarmine (CCS CA) 3 Either Bellarmine's getting better or Brophy had an off game. This spread is smaller than I expected.

Marin Catholic 14 Serra 6 This IS about what I expected. Marin Catholic is a very nice team that seeks to find the open man on the crease. They are successful in this and that's why they're good on offense. They are energetic and relentless on defense and that creates offensive opportunities. This is a team I have grown to like. I like Serra, too. They are just earlier on the development curve than Marin Catholic.

St, Ignatius (CCS) 13 Monte Vista (NCS) 4. This is about what I had expected. Well, it was 1 goal less differential than I expected, and if the refs had not mistakenly excluded a goal by SI I would have been right on the money. SI's Will McKee continues his amazing performance at the foX, The D unit is superbly coordinated and the midfield produced a few nice goals, including a big rip from 10 yards by Phil Alimam. The SI Attack line is the best I have ever seen, in CA – possibly beyond. They are all interchangeable in skills, feeding, and finishing. What that means is when an opponent puts their top pole on, say, JW MCGovern, Poles 2 & 3 face Attackmen who are functionally equivalent. Here's my premise: There is almost always a hierarchy of talent among any Close D unit and in an Attack unit that is good (and equal in skill) the Attackman covered by the weakest Pole will have a BIG day! If you have not seen this Attack line – Chad Cohan, Joe Lang, JW McGovern –  you are missing something special. You owe it to yourself to see these three this season. In an earlier post, I suggested this might be – in quotes – "an interesting game." The outcome was about as expected. The Mustangs are a well-coached team, with a number of fine players, but – this year – they were not a strong match for the Wildcats.

Corona Del Mar 15 – Menlo School 5. It was 3-0 CDM when I left things didn't get any better for Menlo. CDM is big, fast, smart, and unselfish. Their offensive QB, Mike Keasey, is smart, fast, and versatile. The Sea Kings are a very good team! The kind of team whose smarts, ball movement, and physicality makes them a WOW team to watch. Menlo is a smart team, with nice stick skills. The kind of team you want to do well. Against many teams the attributes of smart and skilled can carry the day. Today they ran into a team that is also smart and skilled, but has additional attributes of size and speed. Menlo rarely underperforms expectation, and they did not underperform today. The computers said they lose by about 10 goals and that's the way it turned out. I'm a fan of Menlo lacrosse and will watch them again this season!

More tomorrow on a VERY entertaining Langkammerer.

Langkammerer Schedule released

Pairings for the Langkammerer have been released. They are:

April 12th
10:30 Corona Del Mar v Menlo School
11:00 Monte Vista v Serra
12:30 Brophy v Bellarmine
1:00 Marin Catholic v Saint Ignatius
Tournament Dinner at 3:30PM for all teams and coaches

April 13th
10:00 Menlo v Bellarmine
10:30 Marin Catholic v Corona Del Mar
12:00 Monte Vista v Brophy
12:30 St. Ignatius v San Clemente

April 14th
9:30 Marin Catholic v San Clemente
9:30 Bellarmine v Corona Del Mar
11:30 Brophy v St. Ignatius
Monte Vista v Menlo School

Here are today's LaxPower's power ratings for participating teams - high to low:

St. Ignatius 98.88
Corona Del Mar 97.36
Brophy Prep 97.32
Marin Catholic 96.31
Monte Vista 95.10
San Clemente 94.75
Bellarmine 91.17
Menlo School 88.70
Serra 84.16

When the sixth highest rated team in a tournament has a 94.75 power rating, you've got one heck of a tournament! Can't wait to see this event.

Teams set for the 2012 Langkammerer

I understand that the teams for the 2012 Jerry Langkammerer Invitational Lacrosse Tournament have been set. The dates are April 12, 13, and 14 at J. B. Murphy Field ar Saint Ignatius.
Here are the participating teams:

NorCal:
Bellarmine College Prep
Marin Catholic
Menlo School
Monte Vista
Saint Ignatius College Prep
Serra - San Mateo

SoCal:
Corona Del Mar
San Clemente

Arizona:
Brophy Prep

Looks like a fine field of teams!

Here's the trophy for the Langkammerer:

West Side Lax ranks NorCal teams and players

West Side Lax has produced its annual boys'  lax projections for NorCal. Here are the highlights:

Pre-Season Top NorCal teams:

1. St. Ignatius Prep

2. San Ramon Valley

3. De La Salle

4. Monte Vista Danville

5. Bellarmine

6. Berkeley

7. Acalanes

8. Foothill-Pleasanton

9. Amador Valley

10. Piedmont

Pre-Season Top NorCal Players:

1. Michael Tagliaferri, San Ramon Valley (2013) M: UNC
Senior midfielder who has been selected to play for the U-19 National team. Great dodger who can score from almost anywhere.

2. Matt Emery, St. Ignatius (2013) M: Virginia
Younger brother of UVA standout Rob Emery. Matt is a midfielder with great speed and athleticism with a fast shot. A 2 time Under Armour all American.

3. Mike Schlosser, Davis (2013) M: Michigan
Selected to play on the Under Armour All-American underclass team. Great midfielder who can dodge and finish with both hands.

4. Patrick Worstell, St. Ignatius (2012) A/M: Syracuse
Senior midfielder/attackman was an All American last season who is comfortable initiating from all over the field.

5. Wiley Osborne, Menlo (2013) A: Dartmouth
Crafty attackman who isn’t afraid to turn the corner and bury shots.

6. Charlie Ford, St. Ignatius (2013) D: Georgetown
Junior long stick midfielder who makes his living shutting down the opposition’s key players.

7. Spencer Evans, St. Ignatius (2013) M: Harvard
Great dodging midfielder with a powerful shot on the run.

8. Jack McCormick, De la Salle (2013) A: Dartmouth
Crafty left handed attack man. Jack is a great feeder and finisher.

9. Michael Hernandez, Piedmont (2012) M: Michigan
Tall, athletic midfielder with great clearing ability and good vision.

10. JW McGovern, St. Ignatius (2013) M: Yale
Athletic midfielder who is a key part of Saint Ignatius' strong offense.

Other Players to Watch:

Chad Cohan (St. Ignatius), Griffin Goudreau (Bellarmine Prep), Chad Bell (St. Ignatius), Joe Lang (St. Ignatius), Cyrus Scott (St. Ignatius), Gus Gradinger (Monte Vista Danville), Will Ernst (University), Will McKee (St. Ignatius),

So far, so good. WSL is offering up opinions, and opinions are subjective. All eighteen players on the list are fine  players and WSL can slice and dice them any way they please. We can all have opinions, but as I have said before with regard to WSL, "EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINIONS, BUT THEY ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN FACTS." Here's the issue: WSL doesn't really know anything about  NorCal lax. They don't know the players, they don't know their positions, they don't know their grade levels, they don't know their bios,  they don't know what schools they attend or whom to believe and that's why their write-ups always seem so goofy.

A few examples should suffice:

• In the body of WSL's NorCal write-up they assert: "San Ramon Valley possesses the most talented individual in the WSL coverage area in senor[sic] Michael Tagliafrerri. Tagliaferri, the UNC commit and US Under-19 team member, is undoubtedly on[sic] of the top players in the country." Michael is a fine player. He MAY be the best player in the WSL area, but Matt Florence, a Senior Midfielder from Kent Denver in Colorado (a UVA commit) is also a member of the National U19 team. Last time I checked, Colorado was in the WSL coverage area.

• Michael Tags and JW McGovern are listed as Class of 2013, when they are Class of 2012

• Patrick Worstell, a wonderful player, is not an A/M. In SRV's offensive scheme he often "rests" at Attack, but he is a Midfielder through and through.

• Similarly, JW McGovern is an Attack through and through - not a midfielder as WSL lists him.
• Patrick Worstell plays for San Ramon Valley, not St. Ignatius as WSL writes.

I'll leave it at that – though I could easily go on.

Every one of the players listed is a fine lacrosse player and they deserve all the accolades they receive. One just wishes for a more knowledgable and reliable commenter than West Side Lax.

But read the entire article yourself at:
http://www.westsidelax.com/wsl-presents-2012-california-boys-preview-north-central-coast

NorCal commits: A double doubleheader!

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

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

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