June 14, 2006

There's a new champion in New York as Long Island's West Islip capped an undefeated season with a 7-6 win over perennial power West Genesee to capture the Class A title. West Islip finished 23-0 while claiming its first-ever state championship. West Genesee, which had won the last four Class A state crowns and has 14 titles overall, finished as the state runner-up for the fifth time. The loss also snapped WG's 29-game post-season winning streak.

"I thought we had a nice squad this year and I thought we had an opportunity to maybe run the table," West Islip Coach Scott Craig said afterwards in The Post-Standard. "And when the opportunity presented itself, it was nice to see West Genesee there. You want to play the best team you can in order to be the best."

In Class B, Huntington successfully defended its title while also extending its winning streak to 43 games with an 18-6 win over Corning East in the final. Huntington becomes the first back-to-back winner of New York's Class B championship since Yorktown's run of three straight from 1991 to 1993.

Similar to the desire in Maryland to see a showdown between two undefeated champions - Georgetown Prep and Boys' Latin - the cry on Long Island to see a similar battle of unbeatens is just as strong. Who can say for sure whether or not these are indeed the four best teams in the nation, but it sure would be a highly-anticipated final four tournament.

Not to be overlooked, Cold Spring Harbor won its first state championship with a 13-5 victory over Christian Brothers Academy in the NY Class C final.

• Undefeated champions were not limited to just the boys' division in New York as the Garden City girls completed their own perfect season with an 8-4 victory over Brighton in the Class B final. GC finished 20-0 while capturing its seventh state championship and first since 2002. Interestingly, 14 of the GC players were also members of the school's field hockey team that finished 21-0 and also won the state title in the fall. Coach Diane Chapman and assistant Janet Rogler also coach that team.

"I'm just very lucky and fortunate with these girls," Chapman told Newsday. "They're talented, dedicated young ladies. They just love what they do. It makes our jobs as coaches much easier."

• In Class A, Yorktown claimed its first state championship with a narrow 8-7 win over Fayetteville-Manlius, denying F-M's bid for a third straight title. And in Class C, Skaneateles rebounded from a 4-1 halftime deficit to defeat Penn Yan in the final, winning its second straight championship.

Round Up the Usual Suspects in NJ

Familiar faces reign supreme in New Jersey once again as the Delbarton boys and Moorestown girls maintained their strangleholds on the state championship.

Delbarton completed a 21-1 season with an 18-8 win over Mountain Lakes, defeating the Lakers for the second time in three meetings this year. Delbarton established state championship records for goals scored and for margin of victory while claiming its fifth straight title and seventh crown in eight years.

The Moorestown girls blitzed Shore Regional 20-4 to win their seventh consecutive and 14th overall NJ championship. Moorestown has won 149 consecutive games against New Jersey opponents and finished 23-1 overall, losing only to Maryland powerhouse Mount Hebron early last month.

• In Massachusetts, rain, and in some places floods, have dominated the landscape for most of the past month. Subsequently, the play-off schedule for lacrosse as well as the other spring sports has been in disarray almost from the start. Despite the interruptions, however, they're finally getting close to the finish.

On the boys' side, top-ranked and undefeated Duxbury will try to claim its third straight Division I title and fourth in five years when it hosts first-time championship qualifier Xaverian Brothers. Wellesley returns to the Division 2 championship game for the third straight year following a 7-6 overtime win over two-time state champion Medfield in the Eastern Massachusetts final. Wellesley will try to win its first state title when it meets the winner of today's second semifinal between Western Massachusetts champ Minnechaug and Central Massachusetts champion Westborough.

• Framingham faces Longmeadow in the girls' Division I championship. Norwell and Winchester meet in the Division 2 final in a re-match of last year's championship game.

More New Jersey

Applications are now being accepted to this year's Garden State Games. Rising sophomore, junior and senior boys can qualify for the event by logging on to www.njlacrosse.org and filling out the application forms. The games are scheduled for July 6 and 7 at Drew University in Madison.

Organizers said that 50 representatives from NCAA colleges attended the event last year. This year's Games feature will feature six total teams instead of the traditional four squads. Team eligibility is determined by a player's county of residence rather than the high school attended. A list can be found on the website for the New Jersey Chapter of US Lacrosse. All participants for the tryout must be members of US Lacrosse and will be asked to submit a tryout fee.

Vail Shootout

There's at least 17 boys' team slated to compete at this year's Vail Lacrosse Shootout, one of the first big events of the summer circuit. The Under-19 boys' division is scheduled to be played over four consecutive days, beginning on June 27. Team Colorado, which upset Baltimore 13-12 to win last year's title, headlines the field of returning teams.