SEATTLE – Mercer Island, Issaquah and Curtis all advanced to the semi-finals of the Boys Division I high school lacrosse playoffs, while King’s Way of Vancouver, Wash. advanced to the Boys Division II semi-finals, with quarter-final playoff wins on Friday.

In Division I, Mercer Island shut-out Vashon Island 18 – 0, Issaquah bested cross-town rival Skyline 13 – 5 and Curtis overcame Bellevue 9 – 7 to all advance.

In Division II, King’s Way scored two fourth quarter goals to break a dead-heat with Lake Tapps, sending the Knights into the state semi-finals.

State semi-finals in both divisions take place Wednesday, May 27. The Washington Lacrosse Boys State Championships take place Saturday, May 30 at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.

Boys Division I Quarter-Finals

Vashon Island 0, Mercer Island 18
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. – John Wettack scored five goals and Steven Caditz scored four as Mercer Island shut out Vashon Island 18 – 0, Friday in Boys Division I high school lacrosse quarter-final playoff action at Mercer Island High School The win advanced the Islanders to Wednesday’s semi-final matchup with Curtis. The Islanders took command from the opening draw scoring seven in the first quarter and four in the second to jump to an 11 – 0 half-time lead. MI tallied another five in the third and tacked-on two in the fourth to cruise to the win. Steven Taylor scored three goals and Conner Beckwith collected seven ground balls in the win.

Scoring:
Vashon Island 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Mercer Island 7 4 5 2 -- 18

Highlights: Jonathan Wettack, MI, 5 goals; Steven Caditz, MI, 4 goals, 1 assist; Steven Taylor, MI, 3 goals; Conner Beckwith, MI, 7 ground balls; Hap Giraud, MI, 6 saves; Cullan Paridon, V, 7 saves.

Skyline 5, Issaquah 13
ISSAQUAH, Wash. -- Todd Jones scored four goals to lead Issaquah to a 13 – 4 Boys Division I quarter-final win over Skyline, Friday at Issaquah High School. The win sends the Eagles to Wednesday’s state semi-final with Bainbridge Island. With the game knotted at two goals each after the first quarter, Issaquah shut out Skyline 4 – 0 in the second to take a 6 – 2 lead into the intermission. In the third the Eagles outscored Skyline 3 – 2 and added another four in the final stanza to cap the win. Connor McClain had seven ground balls at Cameron Danforth had four saves for Issaquah. Hap Seil had 11 saves in goal for Skyline.

Scoring:
Skyline 2 0 2 1 -- 5
Issaquah 2 4 3 4 – 13

Highlights: Todd Jones, IS, 4 goals; Connor McClain, IS, 7 ground balls; Cameron Danforth, IS, 4 saves; Austin Burke, SK, 9 ground balls; Spencer Matches, SK, 8 ground balls; Hap Seil, SK, 11 saves.

Bellevue 7, Curtis 9
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- Taylor Dean scored twice in the fourth quarter to break a 7 – 7 tie, lifting Curtis over Bellevue 9 – 7, Friday in Boys Division I quarter-final playoffs action at Curtis High School near Tacoma, Wash. The win propelled Curtis into Wednesday’s state semi-final with Mercer Island. Bellevue jumped to the early 2 – 1 lead in the first, but Curtis battled back in the second to knot the game at 4 – 4 going into the half. In the third, both teams tallied three goals each to knot the game at 7 – 7 going into the final stanza. Dean’s fourth quarter goals at 7:29 and 4:02 gave the junior attackman five goals on the night. Landon Carr had six ground balls and Mitchell Homeyer had 20 saves in goal for Curtis. Cole Nordstrom had three goals and Cole Hendrickson had 13 saves for Bellevue.

Scoring:
Bellevue 2 2 3 0 -- 7
Curtis 1 3 3 2 – 9

Highlights: Taylor Dean, C, 5 goals; Jamie Yergler, C, 2 goals; Landon Carr, C, 6 ground balls; Mitchell Homeyer, C, 20 saves; Cole Nordstrom, B, 3 goals, 1 assist; Cole Hendrickson, B, 13 saves.

Boys Division II Quarter-Finals

Lake Tapps 10, King's Way 13
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Brock Beall equaled a season-high five goals to lead King’s Way to a 13 – 10 Boys Division II high school lacrosse quarter-final playoff win over Lake Tapps, Friday at Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Wash. The win advanced the Knights to Wednesday’s semi-final matchup with Overlake. King’s Way jumped to a 5 – 1 lead in the first quarter, but was matched goal-for-goal through the end of the third by a determined Lake Tapps squad. In the fourth, Lake Tapps outscored the Knights 2 – 1 but in the end fell three goals short. Parker Dotsey had 15 ground balls and Max Amondson had 19 saves in goal for King’s Way. Skyler Cichy scored a season-high six goals and Nick Chapman had 13 saves for Lake Tapps.

Scoring:
Lake Tapps 1 3 4 2 -- 10
King’s Way 5 3 4 1 -- 13

Highlights: Brock Beall, KW, 5 goals, 1 assist, 7 ground balls; Jordan Friesen, KW, 3 goals; Parker Dotsey, KW, 2 goals, 2 assists, 15 ground balls; Max Amondson, KW, 19 saves; Skyler Cichy, LT, 6 goals; Nick Chapman, LT, 13 saves.

Games for Wednesday, May 27

Boys Division I Semi-Finals
Curtis at Mercer Island (Mercer Island High School / 7:00 p.m.)
Bainbridge at Issaquah (Issaquah High School / 7:00 p.m.)

Boys Division II Semi-Finals
Overlake at King’s Way (Vancouver, Wash. venue and time TBD)
Redmond at Eastside Catholic (Eastside Catholic School / 7:00 p.m.)

About High School Lacrosse in Washington State
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and in Washington State the sport has seen double-digit growth in five of the last seven years. In 2009, over 2,370 high school students representing 75 boys and 49 girls varsity and junior varsity teams in Washington state will compete in a nine-week season March – May with the annual Washington State High School Championships taking place May 16 (girls) and May 30 (boys). Varsity boys lacrosse is contested in the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association (http://www.whsbla.org/) with 14 Division I and 28 Division II teams. Varsity girls lacrosse is contested in The Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association (http://www.wslax.org/) with 15 Division I and 16 Division II teams. Most of the teams represent high schools throughout the Puget Sound area.

For daily high school lacrosse results or to receive results through an RSS feed, please visit http://www.uslax-wa.org/media.html

31st Washington Lacrosse Boys State Championships
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Memorial Stadium – Seattle Center

12:00 p.m. 5-6 Regional Honor Game
1:00 p.m. 5-6 Regional Honor Game
2:00 p.m. Regional All-Star Game
3:00 p.m. Regional All-Star Game
5:00 p.m. Division II Finals
7:30 p.m. Division I Finals


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Media Contact:
Mike McQuaid
McQuaid & Co. Strategic Communications
206-262-7301
mike@mcquaidcompany.com