PNCLL Week #5 (3/1-3/7) -- Predict, Scores & Discuss

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Now that's funny. . .except for R.Kelly. . .

[Kojima]

Saturday, March 4th
#7 Oregon at #24 Simon Fraser

there should be a decent crowd.

Something like the PNCLL Finals in 2005?!

fair enough. that was a joke

[Juergy]

I think everyone is underestimating SOU. They are physical, good, and I'm not too sure you could say Sunday was a huge upset. #7 is the most dominating player I've seen in the PNCLL. He takes over a game more than any player I've seen. I think that it's time to stop with this upset talk and realize they are legit.

[Timbalaned]

#7 is the most dominating player I've seen in the PNCLL. He takes over a game more than any player I've seen.

You ever seen Mr. Coffman play the game?

[Kyle Berggren]

No one is underestimating SOU. Actually we were just singing your praises, great start in 2 years! You and WOU are the only 2 teams to really start this strongly that we know of.... Now add Albertson and Idaho and Wow.

[Laxfan23]

I think everyone is underestimating SOU. They are physical, good, and I'm not too sure you could say Sunday was a huge upset. #7 is the most dominating player I've seen in the PNCLL. He takes over a game more than any player I've seen. I think that it's time to stop with this upset talk and realize they are legit.

Of course an SOU win is going to be considered an upset win for now. Just like an Albertson and WOU win are going to be considered upsets for now. All three teams might end up being great, but the fact is you can't be considered "legit" one weekend in to your second season, regardless of who you beat.

Also, yes I have seen somebody take over a game like #7. His name is Cody Hart, attackman for the Yotes, and I've watched him average 9 points a game...including scoring 10 goals on a very good Linfield defense and keeper.

[muchachojones]

I find it interesting to watch the different ways in which the dominant players produce their goals. I never have had a chance to watch Earnst, Coffman or Sadler or a lot of other dominant players for that matter. However, just look at three B league players from this year. Cody Hart, Taylor Brennan and Townsend Hall. I have only watched Hart and Hall play one game each but the styles differ greatly. Hall is the biggest of the three and his stick is vertical most of the time. He hides it well and runs around and over a lot of defenders on his way to the goal. In the game that I watched, Hall was very deliberate with the ball and didn't force any turnovers. Hart, from first glance, doesn't look like and exceptional player. He is smallish and his stick skills are not phenomenal However, as his statistics show he just finds a way. He doesn't have exceptional stick skills but he is very good at moving without the ball and the placement on his shots are the best facet of his game. He just always puts the ball in the right place at the right time. Lastly, we have Brennan who differs a lot in style from the other two. Brennan has very good stick skills as far as cradling goes. He holds the ball well through checks and can shoot accurately from almost any point on his body. I am sure I missed some observations about these three. Feel free to correct me or add comments about these players as I know I only have my point of view. Also, I am not saying that these are the only dominant players in the league. There are a lot. Point them out.

[Ballaholic]

#7 is the most dominating player I've seen in the PNCLL.

This may be true but to be truly dominant he has to play clean. He had 4 personals, 5 technicals and almost got thrown out of the game against Montana this past weekend in walla walla. Even if he has 4-6 pts a game and is in the box for 5+ mins, then he's hurting the team, not helping.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Very insightful comments Coach Hart! I've had the pleasure of observing players in this league since its inception in the '90s. Attackmen possess different skill sets, to be sure. I have yet to see Taylor Brennan play as he was injured at the end of last season and didn't play in the post-season when i saw Linfield for the only time. I did get to watch Townsend Hall twice, and he is a great player to be sure. Townsend impressed me most in unsettled situations, where he is simply fantastic. But I didn't see him as a truly great "shake and bake" Attackman -- taking his defender one-on-one to the cage. In a Fall tourney this year, the Huskies apparently (I wasn't there) put Kevin Bass on Townsend and K.B. held him without a goal, which Montana commented on this forum was "the first time" he had been held scoreless since coming into the league. Townsend has all the tools, and certainly will continue to develop as one of the best around.

In truth there are few Attackmen in the PNCLL who have that great one-on-one ability, except for Coffman and Connors of UO and Tipton of OSU, from what I have seen, anyway. Ben Sadler, Rick Kladis and Eli Sonkin were great offensive "quarterbacks", guys whose best asset was running the offense and finding and feeding others. Even Ricky Clark of SFU wasn't a great "shake-and-bake" guy, but rather just an incredible finisher and "garbage man" around the crease. The best "shake and bake" Attackman I have seen come out of this league had to be Peter Morgan of SFU, who was almost impossible to stop and, at 6'7, a really tough guy to defend one-on-one.

[Kyle Berggren]

My take on the dominant comment (in the B's),

T. Hall is a phenomenal attackmen. To be an attackmen you don't have to be able to take someone to the cage. Hall's strengths are absolutely unsettled, in his stickwork, accuracy, confidence, and ability to control the tempo of the game. These are things you don't normally mention about a SOPHOMORE! The man simply makes great decisions.

Ben Sadler, also a phenomenal attackmen (2 time offensive MVP I believe, 1 time MVP). Stick skills were great, vision was excellent, and he made his team better simply by being on the field, much like Rick Kladis & Neil Butterfield did (yes I left Chris Shogun out!).

Both of these guys are among the Elite B division attackmen we've had, and I haven't seen the new Montana attackmen this season (I'll get to experience that this weekend), & I left off people like Peter Drake among others. To truly dominate a game at attack, typically you have to have the tools around you to succeed, and you get assists, or you have to go to the cage. If you're not going to the cage, you're a cog in the machine (which is great, we'd all love to be in that situation). With that in mind, if you look at middies for dominant performances the list is shorter for me. Who dominated on D? between the lines? tempo? decisions? scoring?

Kris Johnson comes to mind (old PLU player), played to his strengths, controlled the midfield, put balls in the net, and was great when he was on, but probably not the most dominant. Matt Kennedy is in there also, but simply hasn't had the opportunity to make it happen for a complete season.

Certainly other schools have had players dominant at middie, but Liam Millhieser was phenomenal, and dominant in the B's. I was lucky enough to get to coach him and he had the intangibles mentioned above, and a killer instinct. He was great in every All-Star game he played, including an All-Star MVP his senior season. He only averaged 4.6ppg that season, but he only played 3q a game, and always tried to get others involved. Sure I'm a bit biased, but a guy that can face, play D, score, drive, feed, hustle, puke before every game, lead, & control the ground in every game he played gets the nod in my book.... not that I'd bench anyone else mentioned in this thread.

We'll see how dominant SOU is, I'm sure our game this weekend will be very physical, should be a major challenge for us especially after playing Montana the day before. I'll be able to place him in the mix here more accurately after the game.

[Laxfan23]

I have to disagree with the comment that Hart's stick skills are not exceptional. One of the best things about him is that he is just as scary with his left hand as he is with his right. You can not overplay him on one side, because he can get his shot off just as fast with the left as the right.

However, I do agree with the statement that his best quality is his shot placement. His shot really is not that fast. Don't get me wrong, it's speedy, but I've seen plenty of faster shots. However his quick release and accuracy more than makes up for lack of speed.

Finally, I've never seen somebody be able to take on an entire defense without much size. You are right that he isn't that big...yet he can still get around an entire set of polls collapsing on him.

[ZagGrad]

Stick skills were great, vision was excellent, and he made his team better simply by being on the field, much like Rick Kladis & Neil Butterfield did (yes I left Chris Shogan out!).

Keep in mind I was playing defense (I'm a middie at heart) and the most offensive time I saw was playing man-up. I'm not making excuses, but I can assure you my old teammates (and some competitors) will attest that they could feel my presence, whether it be through skill or words. hahaha...

I'll keep my opinions about who is good and who is not good to myself and close friends. I will say this though, the playing ability in the average player in the PNCLL has made a huge jump since I began playing in the league AND since I stopped playing in the league. That says a lot about WA, OR, and the ability for teams to be able to recruit from outside these states.

Good luck to all teams playing this weekend--lots of good matchups.

[Kyle Berggren]

Chris, I hope you know I'm just bitter about the whooping we got earlier this year. We'll be wanting a rematch... I may have to find some old PLU vs. Gonzaga tape, and we can watch it to warm up or get a few laughs.

[muchachojones]

Not that it really matters but I'm actually Alex Johnson. Coach Hart writes under "Linfield".

[TheBearcatHimself]

Well as long as we're putting in our two cents about the good attackmen...Haven't seen Townsend Hall, but I've heard enough to assume he belongs with the elite.

The player who I most felt commanded an imposing presence on the field at all times no matter where he was was Ben Sadler. He could do so many things and his assist numbers last year were ridiculous, so clearly he isn't just a scorer, he helped his team on all levels. Brennan was awesome last year and seemed to have a little more speed and finesse than the other elite attackmen. He did have Kearsley though as some very strong support last year, and I saw him briefly at BSU where he seemed slightly off his game, I don't know that was my brief opinion don't jump on me. He is clearly one of the best in the league.

Hart seems to bring the least to the table, but don't think I'm slighting him. He has very strong stick skills and heart (puns are fun) and just makes that team a contender, which with their lack of numbers is amazing enough. I got lucky and got three or four good checks on him to knock the ball out and I felt like I'd just done the most amazing thing ever. I am excited to see more attackmen challenge for that "elite" status. As this league grows the talent level will only rise and more and more attackmen will dazzle us (or burn us as the case may be).

As for SOU, no one is disrespecting you, be happy with the fact we know you are a classy group of guys and a quality growing team. And don't you want to sneak up on people? Don't know if you'll sneak up if you keep demanding respect.