PNCLL Week 6 Preview
PNCLL Schedule for Wednesday, March 5th – Tuesday, March 11th
Friday, March 7th
Simon Fraser at Lindenwood 6:00pm
Saturday, March 8th
Gonzaga at Oregon State 1:00pm
Montana at Oregon 1:00pm
Western Washington at Pacific Lutheran 1:00pm
Central Washington at Puget Sound 1:00pm
Western Oregon at Southern Oregon 1:00pm
Willamette at Lewis & Clark 1:00pm
Simon Fraser vs Texas A&M (at Lindenwood) 6:00pm
Sunday, March 9th
Montana at Oregon State 12:00pm
Gonzaga at Oregon 12:00pm
Western Washington at Puget Sound 12:00pm
Central Washington at Pacific Lutheran 12:00pm
Western Oregon at Lewis & Clark 12:00pm
Simon Fraser vs Illinois (at Lindenwood) 4:00pm
Division I Preview by Dr. Jason Stockton
After a weekend filled with battles between PNCLL and WCLL teams, only one Northwest team is playing outside the League – No. 20 Simon Fraser University (3-1). The Clansmen are taking a very ambitious trip to play two nationally ranked opponents (and another that was pre-season ranked). Simon Fraser picked up another division victory last week in their 16-13 win over Montana. Ben Towner (22g, 2a) was the story in that contest with 9 goals and 2 assists in the victory. SFU seems to be finally clicking on offense, with 10 of their 16 goals assisted against the Grizzlies.
First up for SFU on Friday is #14 Lindenwood (5-1). Lindenwood has rebounded nicely after their early disappointing loss to Georgia Tech. The GRLC’s leading scorer is midfielder Michael Coursault, (19g, 9a) who led the Lions to easy wins over North Texas and No. 22 Indiana over the weekend. Lindenwood’s attack is strong and experienced, with seniors Brian Nix (16g) and Daniel Wyatt (5g, 14a) putting up big numbers early in 2008.
On Saturday, the Clansmen will take on No. 18 Texas A&M (7-1). It’s been a great early season for the Aggies, with the only blemish on their record a close loss to No. 10 Sonoma State. Texas A&M has two attackmen averaging over 5 points per game in Soph. Steven Bouchard (16g, 24a) and Sr. William James (28g, 12a).
Illinois is the final opponent for SFU. They were pre-season ranked No. 18 nationally before a disappointing loss to then un-ranked Indiana 6-5. This weekend series for SFU will be critical for the PNCLL’s hopes of sending two D1 teams to Nationals this season.
Back in the Northwest we have four huge lacrosse games being played in Eugene and Corvallis. Travel partners Montana and Gonzaga head West to face off against the Ducks and Beavers in games that will likely eliminate one of these teams from playoff contention.
The No. 6 Oregon Ducks (5-0) have yet to be tested this season, but the defending D2 National Champs are hoping that will change on Saturday. Montana (1-2) is coming off a disappointing weekend where they suffered two losses by a total of four goals. The offense is clicking for Montana, led by Townsend Hall (11g, 3a), Zander Ault (9g, 1a) and Jake Bagley (5g, 3a). The defense, on the other hand, is the big question for the Griz. They have two excellent goaltenders in Thompson and Connery, but the two have combined for a paltry 46% save percentage – well below their career averages. Washington scored repeatedly from the crease against the Grizzlies, so they’ll need to avoid giving up easy shots and help out their keepers this weekend.
The Oregon Ducks cruised to victory over WCLL teams Chico State and the University of San Diego scoring 44 goals in the two games. PNCLL leading scorer Justin Blackmore (23g, 11a) continued to light it up with 14 more points over the weekend. Sr. Attackman Josh Schane (9g, 6a) and junior midfielder John Matusiefsky (8g, 7a) each had huge weekends with 5 goals and 5 assists apiece.
With Oregon well established as the team to beat in the PNCLL, and only 4 playoff spots available this season, the games this weekend become enormous for OSU, Montana and Gonzaga. If any of these teams loses both games this weekend it virtually eliminates them from playoff contention.
Oregon State (3-5) split their WCLL games over the weekend, but with eight games under their belt, the Beavers are battle tested and very ready for GU and Montana. After missing the first 5 games of the season, Jr. attack Jordan Phillips (5g, 8a) has returned to the OSU lineup and has led the team in scoring since his return. Soph. Matt McKinney (8g, 11a) continues to pose match-up problems for opponents at the midfield, and Goalie Josh Azevedo (64% sv.) continues to anchor a very solid defense for the Beavers.
Gonzaga (2-4) returns from their California trip and must re-load the bus and head down to Corvallis Saturday. With two division losses already for the Bulldogs, this game is a must-win for GU if they hope to make a playoff run in 2008. Junior Goalie David Hughes (65% sv.) has been fantastic thus far and will be critical for the Bulldogs if they hope to win on Saturday. They’ll need more great things from attackman Stewart Allen (16g5a), who might be the favorite for freshman of the year in the PNCLL, as he leads a much-improved Gonzaga attack. Sunday the Bulldogs make the short trip to Eugene to face the Ducks before heading back to Spokane.
Division II Preview by Dan Wishengrad
A full month of DII action is “in the books”, and the current standings don’t exactly mirror the pre-season predictions. UPS sits atop the leaderboard, closely chased by CWU and WWU. Six teams have only one conference loss or, in the case of the Loggers, none. The absence of Montana as “The Heavy” in DII has left a void in the power matrix. If what has already transpired in the PNCLL’s lower division has caught us all by surprise, one can only wonder what week six might have in store?
Saturday’s tilt between Puget Sound (4-0) and visiting Central Washington (4-1) at Curtis H.S. in Tacoma should have great significance for the seeding of two all-but-certain playoff teams. Another win by UPS will further cement the Loggers’ hold on first-place in the division — at least until Sunday, that is. Seniors Brad Karr (14g, 9a, 5.75 ppg) at Midfield and Reid Petit (9g, 4a, 4.33 ppg) on Attack are the big guns for UPS, but quietly Freshman Middie Daniel Stoot (Fountain Valley School, CO) is also emerging as a key cog in the offensive machine, having chipped in 11 goals and added a couple assists. Goalie Brian Wilbur is saving two-thirds of the shots he has faced for UPS, while leading a Loggers’ defense which has allowed only 5.25 goals per game so far this season.
Already one of 2008′s biggest surprises, CWU can vault itself into no worse than a first-place tie with a win. Averaging 13.6 goals per game, CWU has been held below 10 goals only once through the first four games. With a growing reputation as a good transition team, the Wildcats should find the fast FieldTurf surface to it’s liking against UPS. Jake Mehl (22g, 6a, 5.20ppg) and Jeremy Higuchi (10g, 7a, 3.40ppg) spearhead the Central fast-break, with Kevin Norris (13g, 5a, 3.60ppg) the primary finisher at Attack. Joe Hodge has dished out 16 assists through the first five games. This one might boil down to how much of the game is played in settled six-on-six, where the Loggers would seem to have the advantage, or how many unsettled situations the Wildcats can create for scoring opportunities.
Also on Saturday Western Washington (4-1) visits Tacoma to wallow in the mud of Gonyea Park against host PLU (2-1). The Vikings have righted their shipafter the early stumble against WOU and seem to be rounding into form as the pre-season D2 favorite.Lucas Simons (27g, 2a, 4.83ppg) and Jesse Savage (13, 10, 3.83) are a potent 1-2 punch at Attack, while Jake Schuit (10, 8, 3.0) and Cody Bludorn (8, 8, 2.67) offer offense from the midfield. Freshmen Goalie Ian LaBelle has settled down after giving up 35 goals hisfirst two games and is now up to 57% in saves, allowing Noah Symington to continue run midfield for WWU.
The Lutes, meanwhile, are a young team in a rebuilding season, but one that they are fighting hard to stay competitive in. After a loss to D1 Nevada in Ashland and getting routed at Whitman, PLU has now won two straight conference games. But the Lutes struggled mightily to win a close one at College of Idaho and gave up eight goals at home to Lewis & Clark last week, which doesn’t bode well for PLU against the Vikes. The slow footing at Gonyea is surely to the home team’s advantage, however, and the Lutes always battle stronger teams tough there. To pull the upset in this game Nick Tkachuck (25, 9, 6.80) will probably need to have a big game despite the certain close attention from WWU’s Adam Extine and the rest of the Viking defense. James Tupper (10, 3, 4.33), Luke Hansen (11, 5, 3.20) and Kevin Rose (8, 9 , 3.40) will all need to contribute some offense to take some of the heat off Tkachuck.
On Sunday WWU heads to Curtis for yet another key conference game with UPS, while Central visits PLU. UPS will create distance from the rest of the pack with wins over both visitors, or could fall to third or fourth place with two losses. All four of these Tacoma games are of enormous importance. If any of the four teams involved can manage two straight wins, that squad will vault to the top of the D2 standings. If everyone goes 1-1, however, the playoff picture gets even fuzzier.
Another crucial D2 contest finds the well-rested Wolves of Western Oregon (1-1) at Southern Oregon (2-1). WOU has not played since the mid-February weekend that saw the team shockingly rout WWU in B’ham but then lose a close game in Ellensburg to CWU the following day. Rumors are circulating that WOU may have lost leading scorer Nic Hayden, who reports say has dropped out of school. Calvin Davis (5, 7, 6.0), Kyle McWhirter (4, 5, 4.50), Nick Addington (5, 1, 3.00) and Josh Butterwegge (5, 1, 3.0) are all proven scorers, however, so even if without Hayden the Wolves should still be able to generate ample offense. A bigger key in this game might be whether SOU gets back Defensive captain Dan Snell from injury. With a thin squad hurting for healthy bodies so far in ’08, the Raiders will need everyone ready to go to hold off their in-state rivals. Alex White (13, 8, 4.20), Lawrence VanEgdom (16, 4, 4.0) and Drew Arneson (7, 8, 3.0) form a potent triad at Attack for SOU, while Stephen Davenport (11, 5, 3.2) and Sean McQouwn (7, 3, 2.0) wheel and deal from the midfield. Whether the Raiders can slow things down into a half-field game or whether the Wolves can force more of a run-and-gun tempo to take advantage of superior numbers might be the difference in this contest.
Saturday also finds Lewis & Clark (0-3) hosting Willamette (0-3; 1-4). The Pios nipped the Bearcats 8-7 last season in Salem, proving to be the only conference win either team would record. Surely WU would like to return the favor this time around, and both teams are showing signs of improvement from a year ago. Despite a 17-1 pounding on Sunday at UPS, L&C managed 8 goals at PLU the day before, so the offense looks more capable than a year ago. Ramin Voorhis leads the Pios with three goals in ’08, while fellow Attackman Erik Brown has two goals and six assists. Goalie Raffy Cuevas has faced strong offenses so far and has struggled with a save percentage below 40%, but is a capable net-minder with the ability to step up in this rivalry game.
Willamette played SOU to a 15-5 loss last weekend, drawing compliments from Raider Coach Brown in the process for their competitive play. Trevor Essmeier (6 goals in only two games) and Jake Horachek (6, 3 1.9) on Attack lead the WU offense, while Daniel Ulshafer (78 saves, 51%) continues to shine in cage. Whichever of the two goalies plays better might hold the key to victory in this contest, which likely represents the best chance for snatching a “W” all season long for both teams. Surely L&C faces a stronger opponent in Western Oregon, a team which rolls into Portland for a game on Sunday.
Good luck to all the teams in week six, with a special shout out to SFU — represent the PNCLL well in Missouri, Clansmen, and bring our conference home some OOC wins!
