PNCLL Week #2 (2/13-19) -- Predict/Scores/Discuss

[Dan Wishengrad]

Friday, February 16th
California 6 at Oregon 14
Texas State 12 vs Oregon State 17 (at UO)

Saturday, February 17th
California 10 vs Oregon State 9 (2-OTs) (at UO)
Idaho 8 at Whitman 9
Pacific Lutheran 17 at Willamette 3
Puget Sound 16 at Linfield 5
Southern Oregon 18 at UC Santa Cruz 11
Texas State 9 at Oregon 24
USC 16 at Gonzaga 11
Washington 8 at Loyola-Marymount 17

Sunday, February 18th
California 12 vs Texas State 6 (at UO)
Pacific Lutheran 6 at Linfield 1
Puget Sound 16 at Willamette 4
Southern Oregon 26 at Pacific 1
Western Oregon 14 at Central Washington 12

Monday, February 19th
Washington 8 at UCLA 15

Week 2 finds more teams hitting the field for the first time, more OOC intrigue in both divisions, and some important B Division match-ups. Here's my take on the B-Division's top action:

Pacific Lutheran kicks off its season with a pair of games in Oregon at Willamette (1-1) and Linfield (0-1). The Lutes return leading scorer Nick Tkachuk, Ryan Brown and a healthy Matt Kennedy (limited to in five games in '06) to lead the offense. But graduation hit the PLU Attack hard, with PNCLL-B Overall MVP Kris Olsen and Aaron Hushagen leaving some big shoes to fill by younger Lutes. Hushagen reportedly leaves some really big shorts, as well. Long-poles Homer Roark and Matt Wuerffel will again prowl the Defense in front of Ben Resar in cage. The Lutes have a small roster so depth could prove to be an issue. Head Coach Bubba Gutherless would dearly love to get his team to the MCLA tourney, and a journey there starts with the Bearcats on Saturday in Salem followed by the Wildcats in McMinnville on Sunday. These are absolute "must wins" for PLU if the Lutes hope to seriously challenge for Montana's crown.

Puget Sound makes the same trip down I-5 as its travel partner PLU, and the Loggers will be at Linfield Saturday before heading to Salem for a Sunday game at Willamette. Trying to rebound from a disappointing '06 which began with a national ranking and ended 2-8, the Loggers look for a return to "prime time". UPS boasts a sizable roster with ample offensive firepower and a nice blend of senior leadership and talented newcomers. Leading scorer Conner Donnelly is back on Attack, along with familiar faces like Mike Perisho and Reid Petit. Brad Karr and Brian Ames provide offense from the midfield. UPS boasts two good young Goalies but appears, on paper anyway, to be quite thin at long-pole, where two Frosh will be counted on heavily.

Western Oregon kicks off the new season with leading scorers Josh Butterwegge and Nick Addington back to lead what looks to be a potent offense, which also features the return of Nic Hayden. But in an echo of the UPS preview above, the Wolves look very young on defense with a bunch of diaper dandies alongside veteran Kennan Clarke. First up for WOU is a home date with Central Washington (1-0) in a crucial game for both teams in terms of early playoff positioning. The Wildcats posted a nice home win over Linfield and now can make a significant statement with a win on the road. Freshman J.R. de Raoulx and fellow Attackman Chris Johnson each posted four goals in the win over LC, with the third member of the unit, Alan Colombo, scoring twice and dishing out a game-high three assists.

Willamette, as we all know, kicked off '07 with a historic road win at UOP. Despite the lopsided loss at UCSC, the Bearcats appear more likely than ever before to not be taken lightly. An upset of either PLU or UPS would send WU's stock through the roof, so this weekend's doubleheader is HUGE for the Bearcats. Anthony Harvey (6,6/6.0 ppg), Will Patton (3,3/3.0 ppg) and Trevor Essmeier (4,1/2.5 ppg) need to continue to produce on offense with others chipping in. Daniel Ushafer (65sv/23ga) has recorded mind-boggling numbers in two games. Count on the Lutes and Loggers' shorties to put that .739 save percentage under a sharp microscope.

Southern Oregon would be the biggest story of the young season had not the Bearcats stolen the stage with the PNCLL's first win in 2007. Of course the Raiders aren't really even the PNCLL's team yet in '07, but rather a one-team "WCLL Extreme-North Division". The tour continues this week as SOU will play two true OOC games at Pacific and UC Santa Cruz. Sound familiar? The Raiders split against WCLL A teams bodes well for this weekend, when Southern Oregon's results will surely figure into the Top 25 pollsters' calculations. That alone should keep the Raiders from peeking ahead at the schedule where the Golden Bears lurk. More on SOU next week...

Kyle will provide a look at the A Division teams to follow. Good luck to everyone this weekend!

[Kyle Berggren]

Week 2 has the PNCLL A facing off against the the LSA & WCLL, with Texas State, California, Texas, & USC all visiting the PNCLL this week.

USC boasts a 1-1 record & will travel to play the Zags in Spokane. Scoring for USC has been evenly distributed between the attack & the midfield so far. Last season attackmen Grant Yeatman did the bulk of the scoring (3.86 ppg), but with the Zags strength at the pole I’m sure he won’t be forgotten. Gonzaga is 1-0 at this point, putting up 16 on Whitman last weekend. Sophomore Attackmen Scott Seely & Ryan Carr along with midfielder Bryan Leslie will try to put up big numbers against the Trojans (all scored 4+ points last weekend). USC finished last in their WCLL Division last season.

Cal shows up to play Oregon (2-0) & Oregon State (1-1) this weekend. Cal has had an interesting season so for, they’re 1-2, starting the season of against WCLL powerhouse UCSB losing 6-5, then following that up with a 6-5 loss to UCLA. Scoring wasn’t as much of a problem against St. Mary’s in their win 13-8, but they allowed 8… SOU just played St. Mary’s in a close game, it will be interesting to see which Cal team Oregon & Oregon State get.

You guys all ready for to see me lay an egg? Well, the LSA website is “under construction.”Lonestaralliance.org So now I know nothing absolutely zero about the LSA teams coming to visit… I believe Texas has represented the LSA at national each of the last 3 years, but I could be wrong. Texas only has 1 reported score I can find, with a 17-1 win against St. Edwards. Texas State is 2-1, beating the LSA B division champion SouthWestern by 3 to open the season & pounding Louisiana State 23-9 last weekend.

As we host 2 WCLL teams, the WCLL will host UW. The Huskies are 0-2, but loaded with talent and need to find their footing in ’07. Loyola Marymount is 3-0, boasting wins over a ranked B team (Pepperdine) & '06 top 10 A Division team UCSD 21-9. LMU finished 7-8 last season, but want to start this season 4-0. Attackmen Casey Clark & Tim Ury are averaging 4.33 & 5 ppg respectively, while Midfielder Joe Perkins tallies up another 4. They’ve got a deep roster & UW will have to find a way to stop them on D if they want to come out with a win.

UCLA is 3-1, also with a large roster, but the scoring is more evenly spread with 5 players averaging 2 ppg or more. They’re young, boasting only 2 seniors, but should be a comparable foe to Cal traveling north UCLA came out on top of their game 6-5 earlier this season.

That’s all for now, guys, good luck this weekend.

[timekeeper]

Just a word of warning Bubba and Kyle--If Willamette pulls ahead late, I may have to go to a running clock.

[dv]

After seeing a small but talented Southern Oregon team, I predict they handle the WCLL B division teams easily. 5-10+ point margins in both games if the weather is favorable.

[teslax14]

Actually, the ducks play Texas State on Saturday not Texas.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Actually, the ducks play Texas State on Saturday not Texas.

My bad. Corrected thanks to Trevor.

Nice start to your season, Ducks. I have noticed you guys are letting your actions on the field speak for you rather than talking here. Those actions spoke pretty loudly against Washington. Partisan loyalties prevent me from wishing Oregon too much luck. Frankly I'm not sure who I'd root for if Al Qaeda played against the Ducks. But I will warn the MCLA that Oregon is ready in '07. Deal with it.

[I'm back baby!!!]

nice write up Dan, but I dont really know if two upperclassmen and a sophomore starting with a junior goalie really works out to a young and inexperienced defense. Luke Rien has been a starter since the first ever western lacrosse season alongside Kennan, and Justin Brown might be the best of the three. And lets not foget steve blair, this is his third year starting for us now and he has been standing on his head all fall. No really its just the opposite, our defense is the back bone of this team and its up to our offense not to screw it up.
Game score predictions for the B's
Saturday
PLU 13 WU 5
UPS 12 Linfield 3
UCSC 11 SOU 9

Sunday
PLU 18 Linfield 4
UPS 10 WU 6
SOU 20 UOP 2

Also this game is being played near seattle, i beleive at a high school field.

[Car RamRod21]

I believe the WOU vs. CWU game will be played at the Skyline High School Community fields in Sammamish

[Kyle Berggren]

<ahem>I didn't do it<ahem>

Guys, Dan & I try to split this up so that we don't review our own division. If I posted player X from Team Y is up against UPS this weekend, & they're going to have a handful it wouldn't look very good. It's easier for me to preview the A, because I have no vested interest. I won't be predicting scores (maybe on an OOC game here & there, but that's a stretch), or critiquing the B's because nothing good can come of it. For instance, if I predict, UPS goes 8-0, & beats Montana in the playoffs 22-1, it doesn't mean much, & I'm surely not going to pick another team to come out on top against us (I'm just too partial, I believe my team has a shot in any game we play). I don't squirm too much when I say UW is missing some players & will have to step up their game against Oregon.

No biggie guys, just wanted to clarify that there is a method to our madness. Dan definitely got the short end of the stick with the larger B Division.

Nyc?, Arbiter shows that you'll be playing at Skyline HS... Any reason why? That's a long home game for CWU...

[Dan Wishengrad]

My bad again, it's what happens when I review teams I have never even seen play. Sorry, Wolves Defense. In my "defense" I would point out that WOU rosters just seven long-poles with three Frosh and a Soph among the seven. Regardless of talent and experience among the starters that IS a young defense. But I stand correct on the analysis and will look to see how this "D" does against Central.

I could write much more expansively in these threads about the A Division teams and games, but as Kyle says no good would come of it. I'll just do the game reports as my statement on the Huskies and our opponents, at least for the most part. I will say we are excited about our upcoming games at LMU (with Bainbridge Isle's Joey Picha back on the field in '07) and at UCLA, and hope to represent well for the PNCLL. Despite our 0-2 start I still believe we could prove to be a good team this year. Beating a 3-0 and/or 3-1 team this weekend could be that proof, and the Lions and Bruins are quality opponents we respect.

Remember everyone that Sonny has advertised for a correspondent from the PNCLL to write regular articles on our games, teams and players. I do my part, as does Kyle. It's time for someone else to step up and help.

[teslax14]

Dan, are you guys driving down or are you flying? I'm just curious to find out how other PNCLL teams travel to ooc games

[Dan Wishengrad]

Flying to LAX, fittingly, and renting vans. We had a charter bus for the trip to Eugene and Corvallis. I think we have budgeted a brisk walk up to B.C. in April to play SFU.

[I'm back baby!!!]

i know that for A teams seven d poles may seem like a small amount but for us to have seven d poles is a huge deal. We dont even know what to do with all of them in all reality. and we are playing at the high school because from what i hear centrals field is still covered in snow. personally im glad they are not playing us on the same field they played linfield because that place was a swamp. Most of our frosh d poles have good experience with one of them being an all metro defender who came here from Westview High school and the other one having played four years at Oregon City. Either way i get what you were saying, i often forget about the roster size differences between the two leagues.

[laxer818]

This is the 2nd week in a row without a preview for Whitman. What's up with that? Where's the love?

[TheBearcatHimself]

i know that for A teams seven d poles may seem like a small amount but for us to have seven d poles is a huge deal.

I know I wouldn't complain about 7 d-poles.

I think the WOU/CWU game might be the best game this weekend, and can show how much these two teams have grown. Both looked deep and skilled in fall ball, I'm excited to see who steps up in this neutral site game. Nyc Hayden is back with a right hand to complement his left, and WOU only lost Broyles on D. I don't know about these newbies on attack for CWU but their stats don't lie, they look potent. It's gonna be whose D can stop who, and the winner of this looks mighty scary, if it's a close one they both do.