PNCLL Week #11 (4/17 - 4/24) -- Predict/Scores/Discuss

[Dan Wishengrad]

Saturday, April 21st
B Division Q-F #6 Southern Oregon at #3 Western Oregon
B Division Q-F #5 Whitman at #4 Pacific Lutheran
Gonzaga at Boise State

Sunday, April 22nd
Idaho at Boise State

The 2007 post-season kicks off with a pair of B Division quarter-final games which shape up as competitive rematches. As it turned out, there was good parity this year between B-North and B-South, with three teams from each making the playoffs.

In one game, SOU heads up I-5 for a showdown at WOU. The Raiders beat the Wolves 9-7 during the regular season at home in Ashland. Conventional wisdom holds that SOU must find enough offense in the absence of former leading-scorer Jamison Whitehead. But the truth is that the Raiders spread the scoring well, with Tyler Baumann (28g, 34a), Alex White (34, 21), Nick Reiten (31, 20) and Zach Schmerber (18, 4) the most important contributors. The bigger issue for the Raiders may be to recapture some of the swagger that the team had in February when it was clearly playing it's best lacrosse of '07. The last meaningful SOU win over a team with a winning record was on March 4th, against the Wolves. WOU, for it's part, seemed in great shape until running into the Grizzlies this past weekend. That 24-3 undressing may have exposed some serious flaws in a team which prides itself on tough defense. Goalie Steven Blair had allowed only 5.5 goals per game until getting shelled in Missoula. Nic Hayden (35, 20), Josh Butterwegge (16, 21) and Calvin Davis (18, 7) spearhead the Wolves offense, which must keep the pressure on SOU's defense by winning the time of possession battle and keeping the score close. SOU needs to jump out early to take away the home crowd. This should be a good one, and the winner will have grabbed back some momentum heading into the Final Four. The latest Laxpower computer rankings have WOU at 58.00 and SOU at 56.32. Add 1.55 goals for home field advantage and the computer predicts Western Oregon to prevail by three goals. I'm guessing that some of you readers will dispute the computer's accuracy. I'm looking forward to reading the posts for chatter about this game.

I'll be back tonight to preview the Whitman-PLU game, while Kyle will spotlight Boise's weekend, as the Broncos try to earn their first-ever PNCLL playoff appearance.

[Dan Wishengrad]

In the second QF, Whitman crosses the Cascades to take on PLU at Gonyea Park, where the Lutes enjoy a considerable home-field advantage as notoriously good "mudders". Depleted by key injuries to their goalie and best middie and left with only a handful of subs, the Lutes may need the sloppy footing to slow the tempo and force more of a 6-on-6 type game. Nick Tkachuk (39g, 15a) is a horse at attack for PLU, but will doubtlessly attract close attention from the Missionaries' defense. Somebody else will likely have to step up offensively for PLU, with Kevin Rose (10, 10) and Ryan Brown (13, 7) two likely candidates to score some goals. Early in March it was PLU beating Whitman 9-5 at Gonyea. But that was a different Lutes' squad, and the same could be said about WC. Whitman is peaking in the season's last month, a trend that the Missionaries seem to repeat year after year. Three impressive wins in a row in April over CWU, SOU and ACI vaulted WC into the playoffs. Peter Drake (21,8), Bidnam Lee (18,12), David Ogle (18,6) and Matt Duncan (14,6) can all be counted on to score, and Kevin Wilson is an under-rated Goalie for the Missionaries. Despite the having the lower seed, Laxpower rates Whitman (56.73) higher than PLU (53.03), and after home field-advantage is factored in the computer calls for the Missionaries to win by two. When the final horn sounds on Saturday we'll know who is moving on to the semis, and when the mud gets hosed off we should be able to identify the players from that winning side.

Best of luck to all the teams this weekend. Thanks to all for a great 2007 PNCLL regular season.

[westlax]

There is nothing better than rivalry weekend, again.

The Southern Oregon/Western Oregon game might just be the game to watch this weekend. In the four meetings between the schools the biggest win is a five point win in favor of the Wolves in 2005. But as of late the Raiders have seemed to have Westerns number winning the last two.

Keys to the game:
-If WOU will be able to rebound off a 24-3 loss in Montana
-If SOU will be able to get their offence to click without Whitehead

Interesting stat:
Not one time has either school been able to but up double digits against each other (9-4, 6-3, 9-5, 9-7) so whichever team does it this game will most likely advance

Advantage:
Split

The Whitman/Pacific Lutheran game will also be an interesting game. Whitman might be the scariest team in the playoffs lead by senior Peter Drake and will be his last time to get that win against Pacific Lutheran.

Keys to the game:
-Can PLU put the pieces together without Kennedy to give Tkachuk the help he needs on offence
-Will Whitman be able to jump over the PLU hump and gain that win

Interesting Stat:
All five of the division losses between the two teams have only come against ranked opponents

Advantage:
Pacific Lutheran

[Kyle Berggren]

I just left the PLU game, it was 5-3 PLU late in the third. I'll get a call with the final later. Kennedy was playing, had 1 goal & a few pipes. T-chuck had 3 of PLU's first 4 & defenseman Chad Peterson was having a fantastic game.

Bidnam Lee was matched up with Homer. Early in the game Homer was able to have his way with him a bit, but just before I left a roll dodge at the top of the box left Homer on the ground watching.

#12 for Whitman on D was pretty impressive. Very disciplined & did a good job controlling the ground.

Drake has been quite. Weurful hasn't left his side, but he has been winning quite a few groundballs. I didn't see him take more than 1 iso at before I left.

It was a strange game that had Whitman failing to clear effectively & PLU not able to pass the ball effectively when Whitman slid to ball.

[Kyle Berggren]

PLU 11 WC 6 Final

[nhoskins]

Boise State wins 10-8 over Gonzaga.

I don't think either team was happy with their performance today, however Boise State is now one game away from their first playoff berth since joining the PNCLL. Congrats to the Broncos on today's win, and the civil war tomorrow between Boise State and Idaho should be a good one

[lincoln02]

unofficial from monmouth:

sou over wou 10-9.

congrats raiders!

[primetime21]

so with the scores coming in, is it safe to say that next weekend's B final four will put montana vs SOU and PLU vs Western Washington. this is going to be a great weekend for lacrosse.


in response to "you tube" take the comment any way you want to... however realize that other people in the league see it and not only learn from these videos but also gain assumptions and impressions on not just the team that is being videotaped, but also the school and its fans.

the videos that i have witnessed by WOU to me are not as unbias as i personally would like to see. nor does it reflect a good attitude about the 3 year storied program and it's player sportsmanship. for example even the person filming the notorious oregon team is showing highlights from BOTH teams and not mocking or rewinding "special" plays or shots. Seriously who wants to watch coffman make the same goal three times in 5 seconds???

As a lax community we should be trying to build a positive rep. for not just ourselves but our schools and sport. it's safe to say not all of us are going to make millions of dollars playing pro lax so why should we degrade embarrass and humiliate those that get caught off guard once or twice or not as good as that particular player making the play??

Respect the game...Respect your opponents...and most importantly Respect yourselves!!!

[TheBearcatHimself]

Congrats to both teams moving on, I have to say this is the opposite of how I thought it would shake out. I'm glad our B division can continue to prove me wrong again and again

I thought someone posted on here Kennedy for PLU had a torn hamstring after their trip east? Exaggeration or just misdiagnosis? Either way he is an important part of that team and they must be glad to have him back. Whitman and WOU are still very young teams and should not be disappointed, they had impressive seasons and will continue to improve.

Good luck to all in the next round both A and B. Good luck to Boise on getting to the playoffs tomorrow!

About youtube videos I would just add that isn't any exposure for the sport good exposure? I don't know why people would complain, just take it as spreading the game. I haven't seen any WOU videos but as long as they don't have text scrolling across the screen that says "SUCK IT BEARCATS" after they score against us or something like that I think you just have to understand that if they score and have tape of it why wouldn't they put it up??? I would also say that Oregon's videos are extremely tasteful and an extremely good example for how any budding youtubers should create lax videos in that yes they show both teams' positive plays. I can't speak for everyone in this league but I for one just want to see the competitiveness and talent continue to rise.

[primetime21]

agreed~ back to lacrosse... with southern playing montana again and so close to the last meeting i am interested to see how southern will prepare and get ready for this game. the only example i can think of is a personal memory against montana. at the time we had never lost to them and lost by like 6 or 7 in the regular season.. about a month later we met up the championship game and was so fired up about making a statement i think we went up 10-2 or something in the first quarter.. we lost steam and eventually the game but the point is we were better prepared the second time around. i hope southern will learn from game one and i hope to see a close game next saturday!!!

[lincoln02]

how'd you track down those youtube videos primetime21?

those are something else.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

I thought someone posted on here Kennedy for PLU had a torn hamstring after their trip east? Exaggeration or just misdiagnosis? Either way he is an important part of that team and they must be glad to have him back.

Neither.

Matt did tear his hamstring. It did not come off the bone, but it was severely damaged. He didn't start in the game yesterday, and honestly when he was in there he was pretty immobile. If you've watched Matt play, his midfield play between the restraining boxes is as good as anyone. . .with his hammy damaged he just isn't able to move very well. He wasn't able to ride hard and dominate the way he does when fully healthy.

Despite that, he had a nice goal finishing a fast break in the first half before I left. They left him at attack on the crease and had him play his spot on man-up. I don't think he played all that many minutes.

[nhoskins]

4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter here at BSU, BSU is up 12 - 6 over a good Idaho team. It felt like Vancouver with all the rain earlier, but it's cleared up and both teams are making a mess of an already ugly field. BSU played through a 3 minute unreleasable to start the quarter and are looking to extend their lead. Another update at the end of the game.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

in response to "you tube" take the comment any way you want to... however realize that other people in the league see it and not only learn from these videos but also gain assumptions and impressions on not just the team that is being videotaped, but also the school and its fans.

the videos that i have witnessed by WOU to me are not as unbias as i personally would like to see. nor does it reflect a good attitude about the 3 year storied program and it's player sportsmanship. for example even the person filming the notorious oregon team is showing highlights from BOTH teams and not mocking or rewinding "special" plays or shots.

Personally, I have no problem with the you tube videos. I haven't seen anything blatantly disrespectful. .. just looks to me like a bunch of kids wanted to have some fun and put together team highlight videos. With respect to WOU videos, I've watched them all and I don't think they are done in a distasteful manner. They're just having fun. . .

Just one guy's opinion. . .

Seriously who wants to watch coffman make the same goal three times in 5 seconds???

I feel like I've attended a game before where Julian did score 3 times in what felt like was about 5 seconds. . .

[bhsvideodad]

I think we should lighten up. The WOU videos up on Youtube are not negative. The videos game me a chance to see what is happening in PNCLL division B. The great thing about Youtube is the viewer can decide whether to watch or not.
BHSVIDEODAD