EASTSIDE CRUSADERS YOUTH LACROSSE: NEWS & UPDATES

 Our 5/6 team finished the 2012 season undefeated posting a 17 - 0 record in league and tournament play.  During the regular season the team was 10 - 0 against GELL opponents playing most, but not all, programs.  The team also attended the Three Rivers Shootout during April and won each of those four games.  Finally, the boys played in the year end GELL tournament last weekend and finished 3 - 0.  The most exciting game of the season was the very last one.  EC played Skyline and the score was 10 - 10 with about four minutes to go.  After back-to-back-to-back games, the Crusaders dug deep and won the game 12 - 10.

During the season-end banquet, several players were recognized for outstanding play:

Great season and congratulations to every member of the team!

The Fantastic Four.

The 5/6 and 7/8 Eastside Crusaders Boy's teams finished the first half of the season with a combined 11 - 0 record.  The 7/8 A team completed their 5 - 0 start with a decisive victory over North Shore and the 5/6 team packed in two games during the final week to lift their record to 6 - 0.

Neither team is resting on their laurels, as the second half of the season presents some huge challenges.  Coming out of the break, the 7/8 Boys face Mercer Island Black and another undefeated team in Issaquah Purple. 

The 5/6 boys have some big opponents to face as well, pairing up against Issaquah Blue, Skyline, Kirland and Mercer Island. 

EASTSIDE CRUSH team logo.

The 5/6 and 7/8 EASTSIDE CRUSH team will participate in two post season tournaments:

Battle of Lake Oswego

May 25th - 28th

Lake Oswego, Oregon

 

Washington Cup

June 1st - 3rd

Issaquah, Washington

Players interested in participating on the team will be required to tryout out on April 29th at Eastside Catholic School (time tbd). To insure adequate playing time we are limiting the roster to 20 players.  

Riley pulls in another face off against Kirkland.

After 3 road games, the teams finally played a home game in the friendly confines of EC stadium.  Weather was exceptionally nice and our teams shined as bright as Coach Rambaldini's smile ;-)  Both teams delivered victories for the home crowd.

Kirkland 5/6 struggled against the EC defense and had difficulty scoring throughout the game.  The EC offense was able to take advantage of the less experienced Kirk team and broke out to a large, early lead.  The big lead allowed the team to work on play execution, man-down situations and we let some players try different positions.  Good win for the guys who played with excellent sportsmanship.

The 7/8 game matched up two undefeated teams, with both Kirkland and EC boasting 3-0 records.  The game got off to a slow start until Evan Beck found the back of the net with a nice assist from LSM Parker Davidson.  From there, the Crusaders steadily built a comfortable and controllable lead until Kirkland broke through, scoring 4 goals in the last quarter.  The final score favored EC 11 to 4.  Big contributors included Riley Richards 3g, 3a, 10 gbs, Bryce Atwater 3g, 2a, Evan Beck 3g, and Josh Matte with 8 saves.

5/6er Kyle Martinez finds the net against Bellevue.

Rain, sleet and snow did nothing to slow the boys teams down this weekend.  Coach Rambaldini and Coach Holland had the 7/8 team completely prepared for a tough contest against Eastlake - with a healthy plateau rivalry in place.  EC got it started with two quick goals from Bryce Atwater and Evan Beck. Followed by Trevor Hart, two from Riley Richards, with Ryan Grazko and Hayden "Plankton" Jeans rounding out the scoring in the second quarter. While the second quarter was the best we have executed our offense the third quarter was one of worst with Eastlake scoring six unanswered goals. Then, Vic Guarera stepped up and with two goals to help us out of the slump. From that point on the defense clamped down and the game ended 10 - 7.

The 5/6 boys played a very talented Bellevue Gold team in a competitive game that included both hail and snow.  Both teams had periods of offensive momentum but EC took control on way to a 12 - 6 victory.  Like the 7/8 team, there was a let down in the 3rd quarter but the team regrouped and took back control of the tempo.  Scoring was led by Jack Sercu with 5 goals, followed by Mitch Flippo with 3 and four other players each contributing a goal.  

5/6er Mitch Flippo rips one of his four goals against Redmond.

Both boy's teams had week 2 victories against strong opponents.  Our 5/6 team played Woodinville on their home field of Woodinville High School.  The game was more competitive than the score revealed as both teams played hard ball with a lot of transition play on both sides.  EC was more effective finding net and walked away with a 9 -2 victory.  Mitch Flippo led all scorers with 3 goals, followed by Joey Matte and Trenton Hart each with 2.  Other goal finders included Jonathan Watson and John McCullough.  Defense was again stellar only allowing 2 goals for the second game in a row!

7/8 found themselves down 4 to 2 midway through the second quarter but the defense adjusted and limited Issaquah Blue to one transition goal the rest of the game. In the meantime, Bryce Atwater, 2g 2a 8 gb, Ryan Grazko, Evan Beck and Alex Vachon, went to work on the offense.  An injured Riley Richards, inspired the team when he jumped into the game during the second half and gobbled up 7 ground balls and played tenancious defense.  The team pulled out a hard fought 6 - 5 victory.

Both boy's teams opened the season with wins.  Our 5/6 team played Redmond on a muddy field at Marymoor Park.  While the scoring was seemingly one-sided, the game was still very competitive from both teams.  EC played stingy defense giving up very few shots and only 2 goals.  On the offensive side Kyle Martinez (5 goals), Mitch Flippo (4 goals) and Jack Sercu (3 goals) took care of most of the scoring each delivering a hat trick.  Captain Joey Matte distributed the ball racking up 6 assists in an overall strong effort.

 The 7/8 team also delivered a 6-3 defensive win against powerful Bellevue.  After building a 4-0 lead by halftime, Bellevue fought back tough in the second half making the game close and keeping coaches, players and parents on the edge of their seats until the final horn.  Bryce Atwater led the offensive charge with 3 goal.

Eastside Crusaders Youth Lacrosse (ECYL) has been a member of the Boys Youth Lacrosse of Washington (BYLW) governing organization for our entire three year history.  However, over the past month, BYLW has faced tumultuous change and has seen almost all of the programs separate to form their own regional organizations. 

Our Board of Directors and ECS Varsity Coach Lewis Ratcliff have met numerous times to navigate through these changes and chart the best course for ECYL.  After a Board vote was held we have decided to resign from BYLW and are pleased to announce that we have been accepted as a member of GELL and will play in our new league for the 2012 season.

Greater Eastside Youth Lacrosse League (GELL) supports youth lacrosse for boys in 3rd through 8th grade who live on the eastside of Puget Sound. Programs that make up the GELL include Bellevue, Eastlake, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Mt. Si, Northshore, The Overlake School, Redmond, Sammamish, Skyline, Tahoma and Woodinville. In general, GELL programs include some of the larger and more established programs in the region. We believe that ECYL shares the same mission and goals as the GELL and that joining the league provides a chance for our program to continue to mature and evolve.

A key tenet of the GELL conference is to promote Lacrosse at the youth levels to prepare youth players to play with their respective High School programs. We are compliant with this policy and we have worked with the GELL conference to thoroughly understand their requirements, particularly as they relate to player eligibility. Accordingly, we have adopted some new rules that are important for you to understand, so that you can make an informed decision about the program your son should play for.

Please 'click' the REGISTRATION button on the navigation bar to read our Eligibility rules.  

Please direct questions to ECYL President Scott Kelly

president@eastsidecrusaderslacrosse.com

425/295-1370

Eastside Catholic School grabbed statewide attention in the lacrosse community with the hiring of new Head Coach Lewis Ratcliff.  Lewis has a distinquished professional lacrosse career and is an active player with the NLL Washington Stealth.  In 2004, he was a member of the Calgary Roughnecks that won the NLL Championship's Cup.  In 2006 Ratcliff was named MVP of the NLL All-Star Game.  Lewis came to the Washington Stealth in 2009 in a blockbuster trade and promptly led the team to its' first Champion's Cup in 2010.   Welcome Lewis!

Big time lacrosse is coming to Eastside Catholic on Friday, March 18th at 7:00 pm.  Nationally ranked teams Simon Fraser University (#9) and University of Colorado (#4) take the field in a great match up on the Sammamish Plateau.  Tickets at the gate for $5.00 and only $2.00 for youth players wearing their uniform jersey.