By Brett Manney

With only a few states still playing high school lacrosse, every game left in the season is extremely important with playoff implications. In Washington, the Division I playoffs are set with two pairs of games as the loser goes home. In addition, end of the season matchups in Minnesota and a huge game in Idaho highlight this week's games.

May 22

Bellevue Wolverines, WA (PR: 92.96, Rank 4) vs. Curtis Vikings, WA (PR: 92.26, Rank 5)

The first round of the Washington Division I playoff pits the No. 4 seed Vikings against the talented No. 5 seed Wolverines. The Wolverines will be looking to avenge an 11-10 loss to the Vikings back on March 31 in this must-win game. Senior attackman Kyle Mutzel and junior midfielder Cole Nordstrom are scoring threats every time they have the ball for the Wolverines.

The Vikings have their own plethora of weapons and All-American Landon Carr is the first one the Wolverines will need to stop. In addition to Carr, All-State senior defenseman Devin Cavanagh and All-State junior attackman Taylor Dean will look to lead the Vikings into the next round.


Skyline Spartans, WA (PR: 91.12, Rank 6) vs. Issaquah Eagles, WA (PR: 96.34, Rank 2)

These two teams met only a week ago and Issaquah prevailed with a 12-5 victory. Look for the young Spartans to rely on their senior captains, especially defenseman Andre Johnson and offensive stud Calvin Wiley, to provide leadership in this must-win game. After losing their last two games, the Spartans should be hungry for a win.

The Eagles are poised to make a run at the state title and will rely on one of the best first midfield lines in the state. Headlining the first midfield is senior captains Jordan Goldstein and Jake Director. Goldstein will look to top his five-goal performance he had last week against the Spartans in this early playoff matchup.


May 23

Lake City Timberwolves (PR: 83.06, Rank 3) vs. Timberline Wolves (PR: 89.10, Rank 1) ID

This match-up of two teams meeting for the first time will be a barnburner for the 2nd annual Idaho state championship in Boise. The best of the Northern Idaho Lacrosse League (Lake City) travels to Boise to play the elite Treasure Valley Lacrosse League squad (Timberline) in a must see game. The Timberwolves have offensive weapons in NILL MVP Adam Fenenbock who leads the team in points with 76 and NILL All-Star midfielder Adam Marfice. On the defensive side, Taylor Parrish will look to cover Timberline’s best attackman while Ben Kopke provides senior experience in the net.

The Wolves, meanwhile, are the state's top-ranked team and have not lost an in-state game all year. Head coach Tom Blanchard’s squads is riding a 16-game winning streak in which they have scored in double digits in 14 of them and have not allowed more than 10 goals in that span. The Wolves are king in Idaho and look to keep it that way against the Timberwolves.


May 26

St. Louis Park Orioles, MN (PR: 84.55, Rank 39) vs. St. Cloud Tigers, MN (PR: 85.25, Rank 34) MN

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2009-05-21