Daily Archives: August 14, 2008

2009 Fresno State Lacrosse Schedule Announced

Posted on August 14, 2008 | Leave a comment

http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-lacros/stories/081408aab.html

Fresno State coach Sue Behme has announced her schedule for the upcoming 2009 season.

Fresno State coach Sue Behme has announced her schedule for the upcoming 2009 season.

 

FRESNO, Calif. – As a first year program, Fresno State lacrosse coach Sue Behme couldn’t be happier with her teams upcoming 2009 schedule. The Bulldogs travel around the country playing some of the top lacrosse schools in John Hopkins, Cincinnati, Detroit and Howard University.

The Bulldogs play four home games in their first year as a program. Fresno State opens the season on Saturday, February 7 against fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe California. The Bulldogs other home games are against Marist College (Mar. 17), Saint Mary’s (Apr. 4) and Denver (April 18). All home games this year will be played in Bulldog Stadium.

“I love it,” Behme said on the schedule. “The best way to get better is to play great teams in the conference and outside the conference. The schedule is tough, but balanced. As a first year program, we are going to head in the most balanced and competitive direction from the start and build on this from season to season. In order to be the best you need to play the best both in the conference and on a national level. It is the only way to gain the respect of the lacrosse community.”

The Fresno State lacrosse team will participate in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with Cal, Stanford, UC Davis, Oregon, Saint Mary’s and Denver.

The Bulldog road schedule consists of games at Stanford (Feb. 12), UC Davis (Feb. 28), Oregon (Mar. 6), Cincinnati (Mar. 25), Detroit (Mar. 27), Presbyterian (Mar. 29), Saint. Bonaventure (April 7), John Hopkins (April 9) and Howard University (April 11).

The MPSF conference tournament will be April 23-26 at Stanford.

2009 Fresno State Lacrosse Schedule

Feb. 7- Cal 1 p.m.
Feb. 12- @ Stanford 7 p.m.
Feb. 28- @ UC Davis 1 p.m.
Mar. 6- @ Oregon 7 p.m.
Mar 17- Marist 6 p.m.
Mar. 25- @ Cincinnati- TBA
Mar 27- @ Detroit 4 p.m.
Mar 29- Presbyterian (@ Detroit) 11 a.m.
Apr. 4- Saint Mary’s 1 p.m.
Apr. 7- @ Saint Bonaventure 3 p.m.
Apr. 9- @ John Hopkins 4 p.m.
Apr. 11- @ Howard 1 p.m.
Apr. 18- Denver 12 p.m.
Apr. 23-26- MPSF Tournament at Stanford

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Beverly Hills High School All-American Middie Nathan Forrest Ranked As #46 High School Senior By Inside Lacrosse

Posted on August 14, 2008 | 1 Comment

The Beverly Hills Lacrosse Club is also pleased to announce that Beverly Hills High School Junior Nathan Forrest has been named a High School All American by U S Lacrosse.

The Beverly Hills Lacrosse Club is also pleased to announce that Beverly Hills High School Junior Nathan Forrest has been named a High School All American by U S Lacrosse.

46. Nathanael Forrest – Midfield, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Considering: Maryland, Delaware, Hofstra

http://tbhc.ltbx.net/community/local/news/index.php?pID=6af5b252c66dc859e58b41e21e78a922&article=40bed3211a967691849f6d673db10dc8

By Chris Sieroty, The Beverly Hills Courier

Nathan Forrest was in eighth grade looking for something to do between football and soccer season, when is older brother, Sam, suggested playing lacrosse.
“I tried it and immediately fell in love with playing lacrosse,” Forrest told The Courier following a recent game against Downey High School at Nickoll Field. “It’s a great sport that’s creative and really physical. It’s become my favorite sport.”
Forrest, a junior, tallied 67 goals and 28 assists for Beverly Hills High School during the regular season. As a sophomore, he scored 54 goals and registered 26 assists for the Normans.
An outstanding sophomore season brought Forrest a lot of attention from college coaches and invitations to play for traveling teams and attend blue chip lacrosse camps.
He was asked to play for the Hollywood Starz and earned an invite to Jake Reed’s Blue Chip Lacrosse Camp. In August, Inside Lacrosse magazine named Forrest the 24th ranked junior in the country.
In June, Forrest is expected to attend Nike Blue Chip Senior Lacrosse Camp held at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, near Baltimore.
Normans’ head coach Tim Ray described Forrest as one of the best players on the West Coast. Hofstra, Loyola and Delaware are currently recruiting him to play lacrosse.
“It is unfortunate that he doesn’t have the level of competition out here that will help him get better,” Ray said. “When you can play on a team where you aren’t the best player on the field, that is the time you get better. I’m sure some of the camps over the summer will help him take that next step.”
Scott Witkin, a former Division 1 coach at Gannon University in Erie, Pa., and now the head coach at Downey, said Forrest has the “talent to be as good as he wants to be.”
“He has what it takes to be successful at the next level,” Witkin told The Courier after an 11-6 loss to Beverly Hills.
Forrest was expected to sign a letter of intent before his senior year begins in September. When he does, Forrest told The Courier he would give up playing football and soccer to concentrate on lacrosse.
“When I commit, I’ve decided to drop football and soccer in my senior year because I don’t want to get hurt,” he said. “Lacrosse is what got me to the next level.”
Forrest, as a junior, played linebacker, wide receiver and even quarterback. He had five receptions for 47 yards and one touchdown. In a 28-26 win over Santa Monica (Oct. 19) he got his chance at quarterback, completing two passes for eight yards.
On defense, he averaged 5.3 tackles a game, twice during the season against Mira Costa and Morningside he tallied 12 tackles.
“He’s a good athlete,” Beverly High head football coach and athletic director Carter Paysinger said. “If (we) lose any of our guys there is going to be a period of adjustment. Nathan has to do what is best for him.”
His dedication to lacrosse was proven after a Nov. 2 football game against Morningside.
Beverly Hills won the Ocean League game 28-27, after Forrest and David Saedi kept Monarch running back Brian Nam from converting a two-point conversion with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
When the game was over, Forrest was rushed to Los Angeles International Airport to catch an overnight flight to Baltimore to attend a lacrosse camp.
“I didn’t even get a chance to take a shower after the game,” he said. “I thought I’d at least get a chance to take a shower and sleep for a couple of hours when I got there, but I had to attend the camp (first thing in the morning).”
Forrest played lacrosse all weekend before flying back to Los Angeles to be in class on Monday morning.
“It’s was a lot of work, but worth it,” he said. “(Lacrosse) has opened so many doors to great schools who are interested in me.”
All the attention does have consequences, according to Ray.
“We are thrilled to have him playing for us and for him and the team getting the press,” he said. “The downside is other teams feed off that hype and try to use it against him. The second he slips up or makes a mistake you can hear the other team and their fans getting on him with the ‘over rated’ comments.”
The Beverly Hills High School lacrosse team has been extremely successful in three years as a varsity program. Ray said in the program’s first year, the Normans reached the final four in the playoffs, which was followed by a loss to Palos Verdes last year in the Bay League Championship game.
In last year’s inaugural title game at the Home Depot Center, Santa Ana Foothill rebounded from a five-goal deficit and held on in the closing seconds to beat Palos Verdes, 11-10.
“This year we are back in the Bay League Championship and we are looking to bring it home,” he said.
The CIF Southern Section doesn’t conduct official playoffs for lacrosse, or any other sport, unless 20 percent of its member schools participate. This year’s championship game between the Orange County and the North Division boys’ champions is scheduled for May 9 at Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills.
On Saturday, Beverly Hills High School will host the 2008 Southern Section North Division playoffs. At 5 p.m., Beverly Hills will play Loyola, followed by Chaminade against Downey at 7 p.m.
The winner of the Beverly Hills, Loyola game will play Palos Verdes in the semi-finals Monday at 7 p.m. at Beverly High. The finals are scheduled for Wednesday at Mira Costa High School.
Ray said he sees interest in the sport continuing to grow in Southern California as junior varsity teams prepare players to make the switch to varsity. Palos Verdes High School’s junior varsity hasn’t lost a game in two years, while Mira Costa has one of the better junior varsity programs, he said.
“Once the fall and winter coaches at Beverly (High) realize it is a great spring sport for their athletes to play in order to keep in game shape, we’ll be behind those programs,” Ray said. “We’ve been fortunate over the last few years to be still riding off our strong middle school program from a few years ago, but it has been fading.”
He said the school’s junior varsity team hasn’t won a game in two years, while the middle school program fielded a team this season with only eight players.
“Right now I’m worried about our future success of the program,” Ray said. “Unless we have the support and encouragement from the football and basketball coaches we’ll be playing catch up for years. I’m hopeful that with the help of the other coaches we’ll be able to tap into the athlete talent pool at the school and continue to build our foundation at the school.”

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La Costa Canyon Mavericks Girls Varsity Ranked #24 Nationally By Lacrosse Magazine

Posted on August 14, 2008 | Leave a comment

24. La Costa Canyon (Calif.)

The Mavericks (23-0) finished as CIF-San Diego Section champions for the second straight season and third time in four years. LCC has now won 36 straight games and sports a 63-3 record over the last three seasons. Senior attacker Tara Arolla (UC Berkeley) capped her four-year career with 296 goals and 97 assists.

Note: These rankings appear in the current issue of Lacrosse Magazine, a US Lacrosse publication available exclusively to its members. Join today to start your monthly subscription.

 

by Paul Ohanian, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

1. St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes (Va.)

Talk about consistent excellence in girls’ lacrosse, and you need look no further than SSSA. Coach Kathy Jenkins’ program has never finished worse than ninth in Lacrosse Magazine’s ranking, and it has been either second or third in each of the past five seasons.

Until now.

After capturing their 14th consecutive Independent School League championship this spring and adding their third straight Virginia state title for good measure (they’ve only participated in the tournament since 2006), we’ve finally given the Saints (26-0) the top nod.

It would be a gross understatement to say that the Saints dominated opponents in 2008. A one-goal win against McDonogh and a two-goal win over Notre Dame Prep were the only games that held any real fourth quarter drama. In fact, 21 of the team’s 26 games were decided by 10 goals or better.

“Winning the McDonogh tournament early in the season gave this team a lot of confidence,” said Jenkins, who completed her 32nd season with the Saints. “It was a very unselfish team that played relaxed all season long.”

Not even a bus breakdown on their biggest road trip of the year — a visit to New Jersey’s Moorestown — could rattle these Saints. Arriving at the game site in rented vehicles, SSSA promptly posted a workmanlike 12-7 win over one of the premier teams in the country.

“We were a very fast team that did a good job of working the ball quickly,” said Jenkins. “Every team is different, and this group really enjoyed playing the game. They worked hard, had fun and enjoyed being with each other.”

Junior Kelly Austin (84 goals) and Dartmouth-bound senior Haldey Lankford (80 assists) were a lethal combination all season long. Seniors Cassie Pyle (Princeton), Annie Taylor (Virginia) and Kate Collins (Boston College) were among the midfield and defensive leaders. At least nine seniors are expected to join Division I college programs next year.

 

2. John Carroll (Md.)

It’s hard not to make a case for the Patriots (18-0) as a deserving No. 1. Despite a couple of close calls in the postseason, John Carroll completed its undefeated run through one of the nation’s most difficult schedules by winning a second straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) championship. JC concluded the season with its second win over McDonogh, a convincing 11-6 victory in the IAAM title game. A trio of standouts — Casey Ancarrow (James Madison), Grace Gaeng (Maryland) and The Baltimore Sun’s Player of the Year Allyson Carey (Vanderbilt) — spearheaded a potent offense that averaged 14.5 goals per game.

 

3. West Genesee (N.Y.)

It’s déjà vu again in Camillus, N.Y. The West Genesee juggernaut completed its second consecutive 24-0 campaign, and it won its second straight New York Class A championship and fifth in the last eight years. Seniors Lauren Welch (Canisius) and Ariel Kramer (Marist) led the offensive explosion with a combined 143 goals, while Kiersten Tupper (Le Moyne) established a new team record with 93 assists. In addition to all the lopsided wins, WG also proved it could win the close ones, surviving one-goal games against Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) early in the season, local rival Fayetteville-Manlius in midseason, and Farmingdale in the state final.

 

4. Severna Park (Md.)

The Falcons (20-0) breezed virtually unchallenged to their second consecutive and seventh overall state championship. Midfielder Julie Gardner (Virginia), The Washington Post’s Player of the Year, led the onslaught once again with 53 goals, including six in Severna Park’s lopsided win in the state final. Hayley Rausch (New Hampshire) added 42 goals and scored the overtime winner in the team’s only nailbiter of the season against Broadneck. A dominating defense held 13 opponents to five goals or less as the Falcons extended their winning streak to 40 games.

 

5. Moorestown (N.J.)

The numbers associated with the Quakers’ program are simply overwhelming. Moorestown (24-1) captured its ninth straight state championship and 16th overall in 2008 and extended its winning streak against New Jersey opponents to 189 straight games. Coach Deanna Knobloch’s program has amassed a 206-8 record in this decade. This season’s only stumble came against top-ranked SSSA, after which the Quakers rebounded with 17 consecutive wins. Eight seniors are heading to Division I programs.

 

6. Garden City (N.Y.)

Coach Diane Chapman’s program has established itself as the best on Long Island with a record of 61-2 over the last three years. The Trojans (21-1) claimed their fourth straight LI championship and third straight New York Class B title this season, defeating Brighton, 12-10 in overtime, in the final. Senior Erin Brennan (Pennsylvania) concluded her record-setting career with 84 goals and 57 assists in 2008.

 

7. Radnor (Pa.)

The Red Raiders (23-0) proved their championship mettle in the Pennsylvania Class AAA final by overcoming their largest deficit of the season — an early 5-0 hole — to post a 15-11 victory. Prior to the final, Radnor had trailed in the second half of just one game all season. Longtime coach Phyllis Kilgour considered this her best team ever, led by a balanced offense featuring seven players with at least 40 goals. The Raiders registered their first undefeated season in 22 years.

 

8. Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)

The Wildcats (20-1) finished one overtime loss away from a perfect season. Even with the midseason loss to Garden City, SWR proved to be one of the nation’s best as it captured its third straight Long Island title and second straight New York Class C championship. The Wildcats made short work of Skaneateles in the state final, scoring the game’s first nine goals en route to a 21-5 victory.

 

9. Westwood (Mass.)

The Wolverines (24-0-1) won the state’s Division 1 championship for the third time in six years by defeating two-time defending champ Framingham in the semifinal and Longmeadow in the final. Three 100-point scorers — seniors Alex Frank (Northwestern) and Erin Massimi (Dartmouth) and sophomore Kelly Rich — fueled an offense that tallied at least 15 goals in all but three games and eclipsed the 20-goal mark six times.

 

10. Shawnee (N.J.)

A strong run at an undefeated season ended where it usually does, in the postseason against Moorestown. But despite losing 17-3 to the Quakers in the Group 3 state semifinals, Shawnee (20-1) enjoyed a strong season that had it ranked ahead of its arch-rival in the state’s LaxPower ratings late into the year. Princeton-bound midfielder Barb Previ had 67 goals and 44 assists to pace the offense.

 

11. Brighton (N.Y.)

The Barons (19-2) had a two-goal lead with seven minutes remaining in the state final against Garden City, but they eventually lost in overtime to finish as the Class B runner-up for the third time in four years. Brighton’s only other loss came against state champion West Genesee in midseason. Midfielder Rachel Ballatori (Northwestern) capped her standout career with 182 goals, including 65 goals this season.

 

12. McDonogh (Md.)

All three of the Eagles’ losses came against the top two teams in this year’s ranking. McDonogh (18-3) finished as the championship runner-up in the IAAM, losing 11-6 to John Carroll in the final. The Eagles also lost to JC by five goals in the regular season. The third loss was by one goal against SSSA in early April. In between, McDonogh defeated Uniondale (Pa.), Farmingdale (N.Y.) and Good Counsel (Md.), among others.

 

13. Farmingdale (N.Y.)

Coach Tracy Wiener’s team finished as New York’s Class A runner-up, falling to West Genesee by one goal in the state final. Following a two-goal loss at McDonogh in midseason, Farmingdale (17-3) won 11 of 12 against a difficult schedule to earn a spot in the state final. Midfielders Alyssa Kildare and Candace Rossi, both going to Johns Hopkins, were catalysts for the Dalers.

 

14. Springfield (Del. Co.) (Pa.)

All three of the Cougars’ losses were by one goal. The first came against Shawnee in the second game of the year. After a nine-game winning streak, they lost in overtime to Unionville. Four days later, they dropped another one-goal decision against Radnor. The Cougars (19-3) then won eight straight to capture the state’s AA championship for the third straight season and fifth time in six years.

 

15. Chatham (N.J.)

The Cougars (23-3) finished as New Jersey’s Tournament of Champions runner-up to Moorestown. Led by the high-scoring duo of Danielle Van Fossan (Georgetown) and Lauren Murray (Lehigh), Chatham won 18 straight following back-to-back early-season losses to Mendham and Shawnee and captured the state’s Group I title. Chatham also avenged one of those losses by twice defeating Mendham down the stretch.

 

16. Georgetown Visitation (Md.)

Other than two losses against league-rival SSSA, GV (18-3) was virtually spotless in 2008. The Tigers won 16 of their first 17 games before losing their first encounter against the mighty Saints. GV then worked its way through the ISL playoffs to earn a championship re-match against SSSA, but fell short again. Senior Mary Lacey Gilbride (North Carolina) helped lead the Tigers to their most successful season ever with 60 goals and 22 assists.

 

17. West Chester Rustin (Pa.)

The Golden Knights (17-3) sure didn’t look like the second-year varsity program. Upsets over Strath Haven and Great Valley early in the season helped provide enough momentum to carry West Chester all the way to the PIAA Class AAA final, where it nearly upset Radnor as well. The only other losses came to West Genesee and in a second meeting with Great Valley.

 

18. Broadneck (Md.)

If not for Severna Park, Broadneck (13-4) might have been the class of the public schools in Maryland. Unfortunately, the Bruins faced the state champion three times this spring and lost all three, including an 11-10 overtime heartbreaker in the regional final. Midfielder Karri Ellen Johnson (Maryland) was a presence at both ends of the field, finishing with 57 goals and 65 draw controls.

 

19. Framingham (Mass.)

An early-season loss to Wellesley snapped Framingham’s 52-game winning streak, but the Flyers (22-2-1) rolled unbeaten through the rest of the schedule, including a midseason tie with state champion Westwood. The new streak didn’t end until a two-goal loss to Westwood in the state semifinal. Framingham limited 11 of 24 opponents to five goals or less.

 

20. Northport (N.Y.)

The Tigers (18-3) won 14 of their first 15 games, including impressive victories against West Islip and Rocky Point, and they finished as Suffolk County’s Class A champs. Senior midfielder Lacey Vigmostad finished with 95 points to lead Northport’s high-powered offense, which also included 50-goal scorer Nina Sarcona (Massachusetts).

 

21. Shore Regional (N.J.)

The Blue Devils (20-2) suffered just one loss in the regular season, a one-goal overtime loss to powerhouse Moorestown. Shore Regional advanced to the state’s Group I final before suffering its only other loss, a three-goal setback against Chatham. Senior midfielder Kelly Draper (Lehigh) amassed 83 goals and 53 assists to lead the way.

 

22. Vero Beach (Fla.)

This year’s state title may have been the first “official” one for the Indians (20-2), but coupled with the unsanctioned championships of the previous two seasons, coach Shannon Dean’s squad has moved to the head of the class in the South. In addition to winning all of its in-state games, Vero won seven of nine out-of-staters, losing only to Good Counsel (Md.) and No. 1 SSSA.

 

23. New Trier (Ill.)

The Trevians (24-3) started slowly, losing two of their first three against East Coast visitors, including a lopsided loss against SSSA. They rebounded well to stake a claim as the top team in the Midwest this spring. Led by do-everything midfielder Lizzie Abramson (Northwestern), New Trier closed the year with 21 straight wins and the state championship. The run included a victory over Ohio’s Upper Arlington as well as two victories against state runner-up Loyola Academy.

 

24. La Costa Canyon (Calif.)

The Mavericks (23-0) finished as CIF-San Diego Section champions for the second straight season and third time in four years. LCC has now won 36 straight games and sports a 63-3 record over the last three seasons. Senior attacker Tara Arolla (UC Berkeley) capped her four-year career with 296 goals and 97 assists.

 

25. Great Valley (Pa.)

Three of the Patriots (19-4) four losses came against the state’s three other Top 25 teams — West Chester Rustin, Radnor and Springfield. Coach Joe Tornetta’s team was led by a trio of Divison I-bound players — Emily Ellisen (George Mason), Kim Wenger (Duke) and Keelin Hood (Temple) — that combined for over 200 goals and almost 100 assists in 2008.

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