June 1, 2006

Teams have now been selected for the third annual US Lacrosse National Senior Showcase, scheduled for June 23-24 in St. Louis, and will be announced publicly later today. The full listing of players may be accessed online at www.uslacrosse.org.

"This event is a true celebration of what these 96 boys accomplished during their senior seasons," said Jody Martin, US Lacrosse's Men's Division Director. "This is the crowning achievement of their high school careers."

Truly national in its scope, the four all-star teams represent the four geographic regions of the country and feature the top senior boys playing in a single-elimination tournament set-up. Following practices and scrimmages on Friday, the two semifinal games are played on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, the semifinal losers compete in the third-place game, followed by the championship game to cap off the day. The event concludes with an Awards Banquet on Saturday evening.

"One of the most exciting parts of this event is the true national flavor," said Martin. "Players are chosen from all corners. It's very special to see the top players from traditional areas like Baltimore or New York competing against players from San Diego and Texas. Every area is represented."

• Another event of national significance, the Women's National Tournament, brought over 70 teams together for the annual lacrosse-fest at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania last week. New York 1 claimed the high school championship, defeating Upper Atlantic 8-7 in the title game.

Upper Atlantic's Emma Hamm, from Baldwin School, received the Heather Leigh Albert Award as the top high school player in the nation. "I was completely surprised and very honored," she said of winning the HLA Award. "I just appreciate it a lot."

The other finalists for the award were Elizabeth Hogan (New York/Victor), Chelsea Robinson (New York/Lakeland), Colleen Magarity (Upper Atlantic/Germantown Academy), and Molly Millard (Mid-Atlantic/Sts. Stephens & Agnes).

• In a surprise announcement just 24 hours prior to last Friday's Virginia state regional final against North Stafford, the Albemarle boys' team said it was canceling the rest of its season. The decision came one week after Nolan Jenkins, a member of the team, was killed in a car accident. Police said alcohol played a role in that wreck. They said he was coming home from a party where 11 people were arrested for underage drinking.

According to the school's principal, Matt Hass, the decision to cancel the remainder of the season was made by the players alone, after they met privately without coaches and parents in attendance. The gesture was made to honor Jenkins' memory.

The Patriots had a 17-1 record and 15-game winning streak at the time of their decision and were among the favorites to win the state championship this year. They finished as last year's state runner-up. The Virginia boys' and girls' semifinals will be played Thursday, with the championship finals scheduled for Saturday evening. North Stafford is one of the four semifinalists still playing in the boys' division.

• Among Virginia's private schools, Richmond's Collegiate defeated Norfolk Academy 14-11 to claim the Private I title, while Covenant claimed its fourth straight Private II championship with an 8-6 win over Highland (for the fourth time) and Walsingham Academy won the initial Private III title by downing Hargrave Military 17-3.

• As mentioned last week, Long Island Ward Melville's Coach Joe Cuozzo is closing in on his 700th career victory. If he gets it, he's going to have to earn it. His Patriots face the Island's top-ranked team, West Islip, for the Suffolk Class A title on Friday. Undefeated West Islip, 19-0, narrowly edged WM 5-4 in the regular season meeting on April 27, the closest game for the Lions all season. West Islip has not allowed more than six goals in any game this year and has three shutouts in its last five contests.

• In the Suffolk B championship, Comsewoque will try to derail unbeaten Huntington, the defending state champion, while Shoreham-Wading River tries to make it six-in-a-row in Class C against Mount Sinai.

• Meanwhile, defending Nassau Class A champion Massapequa successfully defended its crown with a 5-4 overtime win over Oceanside on Wednesday. Or did it? Patrick Campbell's overtime game-winner is under review after Oceanside coach Bob Moltisanti filed a protest disputing the score. His players told him that the ball did not actually go into the cage. Game officials consulted at the site and allowed the goal. The protest review will be completed by New York's Section VIII athletic governing board. If the final score stands, Massapequa advances to the Long Island Class A championship game, to be played Tuesday at Hofstra University.

• Without controversy, Garden City won its 11th county title, claiming the Nassau B crown with a 7-5 win over South Side. GC's junior Dean Gibbons continued his season-long assault on the record-book by scoring five times and becoming the third player in state history to reach the 100-goal mark for a single-season. He is within reach of the state-record of 108 goals. Meanwhile, Cold Spring Harbor took home the Nassau C title with a 10-2 victory over Manhasset.

• At the other end of the state, the Pennfield boys, another of the favorites for the Class A state title this year, face Schroeder in Friday's Section V final. Meanwhile, highly regarded Penn Yan, which has reeled off 19 straight wins since dropping its opener to West Genesee in March, faces Waterloo in the Class C final. Those games, along with the Class B section final between Brighton and Geneva, will all be played at St. John Fisher on Friday.

• Back on Long Island, on the girls' side, the match-ups are set for Sunday's LI finals as Suffolk County crowned its champions on Wednesday. Northport won the Class A title by avenging its only loss of the season with a 13-12 nail-biter over Bay Shore. The game featured eight ties and nine lead changes, with Devon Rhodes scoring the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining. The Tigers now face Nassau's Farmingdale for the Long Island Championship.

In the Suffolk B final, Rocky Point (19-0) remained undefeated with a 7-5 win over Sayville, setting up a battle between two unbeatens when it faces Garden City (17-0) in the Long Island final. Sunday's title game is a rematch of last year's final, which GC won 13-7.

Shoreham-Wading River cruised past Mt. Sinai in the Suffolk C final and earned a rematch with Manhasset in the Long Island championship game. Manhasset has beaten SWR in each of the last two LI finals.

• In New York's Section III, it will be a powerhouse match-up between the undefeated West Genesee girls and Fayetteville-Manlius in Thursday's Class A final. The last six state champions have all emerged from this Class A title game.