PNCLL Week #12 (4/20-4/26) - Predict, Scores, Discuss

[Dan Wishengrad]

Saturday, April 23rd
Oregon 19 Oregon State 7
Pacific Lutheran 17 Western Oregon 6
Whitman 12 Puget Sound 5

The "Civil War" between the Ducks and Beavers is the final PNCLL regular-season game to be played in 2005, and will determine the A playoff seedings. I imagine that Oregon has plenty of motivation to win this game and win it convincingly as a springboard to Final Four and a hoped-for return to the MDIA national tournament. But Oregon State is a dangerous team that can light up the scoreboard, especially if #3 (Tip) is in the lineup. There is no pressure on the Beavers in this game, other than playing on the PNLA Tournament's main field in front of a huge crowd. OSU can play the spoiler, which would be a "sweet dessert" after losing three nail-biters at SFU, UW and GU this season. I'm sure that Coaches Barbour and Kerwin are taking this game deadly serious, and preparing as if the playoffs started on Saturday, which is actually does...

The B Division has had a terrific season by any objective criteria. We expanded successfully and dramatically, giving us an infusion of fresh blood and energy as a league. Last season we only managed a single B playoff game, the Finals. This year six teams have qualified for the right to compete in the post-season. Our ultimate winner will then be making their first trip to a MDIA national tournament. You have no idea how blown away you are going to be by THAT experience!

The B Division Quarterfinals get the ball rolling on Saturday. Western Oregon motors up I-5 to play at PLU in one game. The Lutes and Wolves have never played, and have but a single common opponent in '05. WOU dropped both division games it played with #2 Linfield, by 10-2 and 10-4 scores. PLU beat Linfield 11-8. WOU has made a reputation as a strong defensive team with good athletes and physical play to compensate for understandably lesser game experience and stick skills. The Wolves' offense is led by Nyc Hayden (25,15) and Josh Butterwegge (13,11). WOU will likely need good games from both these guys and have another player or two step up in this game and also score some goals to pull off the upset over the Lutes. PLU, by contrast, has a nice balance to their offense with a solid starting trio of Attackmen -- Chris Jensen (20, 28); Kris Olsen (28,10) and Josu Zubizarreta (25,12) complemented by a scoring threat at Midfield in Matt Kennedy (25,9). And, in Goalie Bret Bartell, PLU has a candidate for B Division MVP who could easily be the difference-maker in this or any game. I'm not certain where this game is going to be played. If held at the mosh-pit of Gonyea Field, the usual home-advantage might actually work against PLU in this game. I'd imagine a sloppier mud-fight would be to the Wolves liking and might negate the edge in experience and roster depth that PLU holds. If held on FieldTurf at Curtis HS or a faster grass-field, PLU might be able to execute its offense more effeiciently and score more goals, and also to try to tire out a smaller roster of opponents by running them until they wear out. I'm so disappointed this isn't a night game, as I work til 6:15 Saturday and wish I could be there to watch it.

The other B Quarter-Final is a rematch of the 2004 B Finals between Puget Sound and Whitman in Walla Walla. The Loggers and Missionaries didn't play in 2005, but UPS beat WC soundly in both the 2004 regular-season and again in the 17-9 championship game victory. This game features some great matchups, including Whitman's Ben Sadler (25, 46) against Puget Sound's Matt Riopelle (120 saves). One of the guys will be playing their last game in this one, and the PNCLL will really miss these two standout players. Both teams have great coaching, and seeing both Whitman and Puget Sound try to pull off something tricky or unexpected is part of the potential fun. The game will be held at Whitman's Ankenny Field, a nice grass surface in the middle of a small picturesque campus with a red brick dorm right behind the team benches. This produces a great "college lacrosse" experience, and if the weather is warm and sunny the place will be filled with student BBQs, picnics, frisbees and, oh yes, bikinis to add to the atmosphere. UPS has the edge in recent playoff success, computer ranking and quality of 2005 wins. Whitman has the home field and a long history of playoff success in the PNCLL. This could be one terrific lacrosse game, and don't count the winner out the following week against #1 Montana!

Congrats again to all ten playoff teams, and to every PNCLL team for making this a fun and successful season so far in 2005. The regular season has been a blast and filled with surprises. Will the post-season have more surprises in store for us?

[ben012685]

As much as PLU complains about our practice field on East Campus, I think it's helped us prepare for a number of different games, whether it be Gonyea or Curtis.

If it's dry, East Campus it like playing on the craters of the moon. Very hard, almost like turf but less forgiving.

If it's wet, like it normally is this time of year, then it prepares us well for the mud fights on Gonyea.

I don't know where WOU practices, but bring a snorkel just in case.

Playoffs are upon us. PLU is taking WOU seriously, keeping in mind that if we don't, the season is over. That makes you respect a team, regardless of how young they might be.

[DontSpillDaBeansWish]

Hmm... portland huh? When and where exactly is that Civil War game going on? I suppose I could actually look it up...

[DontSpillDaBeansWish]

Sat Apr 23 1202 D Oregon State University University of Oregon Oregon 7:00 PM

Thats all it says in the schedule, anyone know where I can get more info about this game?

[OSUGrad]

The game is going to be at Delta Park which is right off I-5 on the North side of Portland. There is a tournament there every year the last weekend in April sponsored by Laxworld; so there will be games going on all weekend for teams all over the northwest (including Canada). Last year I know some of the teams involved had MLL guys on them including guys like Jesse Hubbard who had a pretty sweet back breaker goal. If anyone has the opportunity to stop by I would highly recomend it. Great lacrosse all weekend.

[Tim Whitehead]

I'll be there cheering against both teams.

[osulax]

The game will actually start at 6:00 PM. All the other information is correct. Hope to see you all there.

-Mitch Hutchinson
OSU Head Coach

[woulax23]

Quick question: Do stats for this first play-off weekend, and the rest of play-offs for that matter, count towards season stats? And also i wish all the teams would fill out the game reports for this last weekends games. I like to check out how teams and individuals played each week. Just a small request.

[kankrum83]

Does that mean you are going to make an appearance Parker?
Hope to see you there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Kevin Ankrum
#22 Oregon State

[DontSpillDaBeansWish]

Hmmm, Then I will most likely show up, I remember playing at Delta Last year along with watching some of my coaches play, i'll be in portland anyways during this weekend, so its not out of my way. Anyone know if there is a schedule posted about what games are going on all day?

[Tim Whitehead]

Anyone know if there is a schedule posted about what games are going on all day?

http://www.portlandlaxworldlax.com/mens_brackets.html

[DontSpillDaBeansWish]

Thanks a lot.

[laxer818]

Saturday, April 23rd
The game will be held at Whitman's Ankenny Field, a nice grass surface in the middle of a small picturesque campus with a red brick dorm right behind the team benches. This produces a great "college lacrosse" experience, and if the weather is warm and sunny the place will be filled with student BBQs, picnics, frisbees and, oh yes, bikinis to add to the atmosphere. UPS has the edge in recent playoff success, computer ranking and quality of 2005 wins. Whitman has the home field and a long history of playoff success in the PNCLL. This could be one terrific lacrosse game, and don't count the winner out the following week against #1 Montana!

Dan-

I'm glad to see that through all of those hard-fought UW-WC battles of yester-year, you were able to notice those bikini-clad college women.... Seriously though, all kidding aside, I think you're right that this could be one hell of a game. We know, given their past success, that UPS is going to be ready for this one as I'm sure they're not letting all this talk about Montana and Linfield deter them from their goal of repeating. By that token, the quality of the game will depend solely on the Whitman squad's mentality coming into the contest. If Whitman comes out ready and fired up, I think the matchup becomes a toss-up. However, if Whitman comes out flat and falls behind early, then I think UPS can run away with it.

Having played at Whitman for four years not too long ago, I will say that we were always more geared up to play at home than on the road. Given the fact that Whitman's in the middle of nowhere, it was always a pain in the ass to travel anywhere, and we were always fresher and more ready to play at home. Coach Schmitz takes great aims to prepare his teams, especially during the post-season, and homefield advantage makes accomplishing this that much easier.

Here's hoping Whitman whoops some tail this weekend (sorry Kyle, but best of luck to you and your guys anyway).

Emil
Whitman '03

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

For anyone interested in attending the Lutes vs. Wolves matchup. . .we are excited to announce that we will actually be playing this game on campus, which is a rarity around here.

The game will be played on Foss Field, in the middle of campus. The game will take place during a University-wide event called "Foss-Fest" - so there will be hundreds of fans at the game.

It should be quite an event.

[Steno]

Whitman 12
UPS 5

See you in a week, Montana.