PNCLL 2008 All-Conference

by **Dr. Jason Stockton** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:00 pm

I think it's pretty safe to say that the Huskies would not be a playoff team in 2008 if not for Cammy Moore.

The point blank save he made in the closing seconds against Townsend Hall was by far the play of the game that day. . .if not the play of the year for the Huskies.

This conference is absolutely loaded with great goalies, and a real argument can be made for 5 or 6 of them to have all-conference honors.

Not only do we have a freshman stud in Stewart, but Garabedian at WSU and Jurado at Idaho are also excellent goaltenders that will be in the hunt for all-Conference honors in years to come.

It will be very interesting to see which of these great goalies emerges as the first-teamer in 2008.

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by **Dan Wishengrad** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:32 pm

AndyP wrote:I wasn't saying Stewart should be recognized over Moore because they don't have a back-up goalie. I was responding to a previous poster saying Moore should be selected due to the fact that he has a bigger impact on his team.

Actually that poster was comparing Stewart to Cramer, not Moore. Comparing Goalies to Middies is not an easy comparison to make in any case. Both players made a huge impact on their respective teams. I have watched Dean Stewart in four games this season, and think he has gotten steadily better over the course of the year. Dean didn't play particularly well against us, but he was stellar the next night against Sonoma State. Improved Goalie play is a big contributor to the improvement of SFU from '07 to '08.

It is also fair to note that UW's team strength is midfield offense, and that the presence of Nick Tierney, Chris Hutchinson, Steven Frankel and Jacob Sonkin running (at various times) with Cramer keeps defenses from focusing too tightly just on Joe. But Cramer has been great and he has been very consistent all season long. Tierney deserves some recognition as well, for becoming a consumate team player and not just a guy who is always just looking to create his own shot, like he did a little too much as a Freshman in '06. Tierney does a lot of little things that don't always show up on the stat sheet, and his ability to break down defenses on the dodge has led to alot of goals by Cramer and others, even when Nick doesn't get credited with the assist.

I think the mythical FOY award would come down to a choice between Dean Stewart, Joe Cramer and Stewart Allen of Gonzaga. Allen shouldn't be overlooked either, as he has had a brilliant Freshman campaign for the Zags.

by **gibb5** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:38 pm

[quote="Dr. Jason Stockton"] Garabedian at WSU and Jurado at Idaho are also excellent goaltenders that will be in the hunt for all-Conference honors in years to come.
[quote]

I know Garadedian's GAA is high but this kid has faced far too many point-blank, high percentage shots all year long and has made tons of incredible saves. He, along with Jurado, is going to make the Palouse a tough trip for shooters in the next 3 years.

by **Ryan Hanavan** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:18 pm

Dr. Jason Stockton wrote:If such an award existed, of course. . .

Nice tease! Let the countdown to the playoffs begin (immediately following Sunday's action). I'll see you in the booth.

by **Dan Wishengrad** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:28 pm

Ryan Hanavan wrote:Let the countdown to the playoffs begin (immediately following Sunday's action).

The playoffs start in 24 hours, Ry -- two DII quarter-final games at 1pm tomorrow!

by **Ryan Hanavan** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 3:55 pm

Dan Wishengrad wrote:
Ryan Hanavan wrote:Let the countdown to the playoffs begin (immediately following Sunday's action).

The playoffs start in 24 hours, Ry -- two DII quarter-final games at 1pm tomorrow!

Sorry about that, I might be a doctor now but that doesn't mean I'm very bright! I forgot about the DII playoffs kicking off tomorrow...

by **Dr. Jason Stockton** on Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:48 pm

Ryan Hanavan wrote:
Dan Wishengrad wrote:
Ryan Hanavan wrote:Let the countdown to the playoffs begin (immediately following Sunday's action).

The playoffs start in 24 hours, Ry -- two DII quarter-final games at 1pm tomorrow!

Sorry about that, I might be a doctor now but that doesn't mean I'm very bright! I forgot about the DII playoffs kicking off tomorrow...

You need to change your signature at the bottom of the page to Ryan Hanavan, Ph.D. I'm looking forward to the company of the newest PNCLL doctor in the booth next weekend.

by **slowbreak** on Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:32 pm

Is it fair to say that having an outstanding goalie used to be a huge advantage, but now you need an outstanding goalie just to be competitive?

The overall quality of play should improve a bit each season, but I haven't been around long enough to know. Are the players more skilled and more 'game smart' compared to five years or more years ago?

by **PNWLaxer** on Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:07 pm

I think that the talent pool is much larger than it was 5-10 yrs ago. There are more highly skilled players and that translates into individual teams having more skilled players which leads to the parity in the league. In the past it seemed like every team has a small handful of highly skilled players.....1 at Attack, Midfield and Pole. Now each team has multiple players at each position and I believe this to be true for both Div I and Div II.

by **Tyler Baumann** on Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:25 pm

I agree, if we were able to put together a mixed team from all the ballers in the PNCLL from the last 3 years, that team I feel could beat many D1 teams back east. Beating Duke obviously would be quite a stretch, but beating teams that are in the middle of the pack would be highly attainable IMO.

by **nlyon02** on Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:32 pm

gibb5 wrote:I know Garadedian's GAA is high but this kid has faced far too many point-blank, high percentage shots all year long and has made tons of incredible saves. He, along with Jurado, is going to make the Palouse a tough trip for shooters in the next 3 years.

I'm not really trying to convince everyone to vote for Garabedian as FoY, but just defending him. As Tom said he had to try and make way to many point blank saves. This is his first full year in cage. He played for Vashon, but was converted from attack to goalie in his senior year. We allowed him to play attack against OSU for all his hard work this year, and he scored in his first game at attack and without the rust probably could have had at least 3 where he painted the pipe or drilled the keeper. Just don't underestimate him in cage once he gets an accountable defense around him.

by 42 on Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:56 pm

Tyler Baumann wrote:I agree, if we were able to put together a mixed team from all the ballers in the PNCLL from the last 3 years, that team I feel could beat many D1 teams back east. Beating Duke obviously would be quite a stretch, but beating teams that are in the middle of the pack would be highly attainable IMO.

no, even though talent in our league is rising, lacrosse participation is rising nationally. What separates us from NCAA schools is matching talent with lottery won genetics. Our league's talent is usually endowed to players with less then the A typical athletic physique. Where as D1 schools (a finite number) have luxury to chose what 18 yr old kids they want to recruit. Even though talent is rising in our league and NCAA coaches have the incentive to recruit by geography, the collective pncll all-stars would not come away with the w against the average NCAA d1 school. I believe we would compete, but it wouldn't be an edge of your seat experience. Some animals are created more equal then others.

by **gibb5** on Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:43 pm

42 wrote:
Tyler Baumann wrote:I agree, if we were able to put together a mixed team from all the ballers in the PNCLL from the last 3 years, that team I feel could beat many D1 teams back east. Beating Duke obviously would be quite a stretch, but beating teams that are in the middle of the pack would be highly attainable IMO.

no, even though talent in our league is rising, lacrosse participation is rising nationally. What separates us from NCAA schools is matching talent with lottery won genetics. Our league's talent is usually endowed to players with less then the A typical athletic physique. Where as D1 schools (a finite number) have luxury to chose what 18 yr old kids they want to recruit. Even though talent is rising in our league and NCAA coaches have the incentive to recruit by geography, the collective pncll all-stars would not come away with the w against the average NCAA d1 school. I believe we would compete, but it wouldn't be an edge of your seat experience. Some animals are created more equal then others.

Completely agree...having played on an average DI lacrosse team (Air Force) for one year I've been able to see those kinds of players compared to the top PNCLL players. Even laxers for an average DI team are a different breed. Their lacrosse IQ is crazy as well as being top athletes which gives them the edge in a much cleaner and faster game. It's just a different level. I remember the players talking about Colorado and Colorado State's club teams as if they were high school jv squads.

by **BillyHoyle** on Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:35 pm

Does anyone know when the all-conference list is released? I'm thinking sometime after the Final Four/Nationals?

by **AndyP** on Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:44 pm

Generally it's released right before the PNCLL Final

PNCLL 2008 All-Conference

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