Walax Rundown Week Nine

May Madness Begins

Mercer Island's slaughter of their long time rival Bainbridge Island made them the favorite for the championship this year.  Their team established itself as the Johns Hopkins of the Northwest- a half field game style, characterized by a strong midfield offense and a disciplined defense.  The Islanders locked up the no. 1 Northeast seed in the playoffs.  In the east Issaquah is also playing on fire, with a reworked defense supporting their usually dynamic offense.  They are going to take the no. 2 Northeast seed.  In the running is Bellevue, looking to be the lock for the Northeast no. 3 seed, but can their youth hold up and make to the final game? The no. 4 spot will go the the surging Eastside Catholic boys, while the no. 5 Northeast playoff spot is in contention. A game between Skyline and Lake Washington this week will decide the matter.  Skyline must find a defense to hold the Bernstein brothers, Jake and Cody at bay who are leading their team into a playoff berth.  The Kangaroos are going to slot a playoff spot in the lower Northeast after this week pans out.

Bainbridge will be a lock for the no. 1 Southwest seed pending they aren't still shell-shocked from Mercer Island and can rebound against Tacoma.  Their performance thus far against the top teams casts doubts on whether they can be a contender for the final. King's Way's stock is falling like commodities after dropping two in a row to league rivals Curtis and Tacoma.  The King's Way defense allowed thirty goals in those two losses and must get out of their slide before the playoffs.  The rest of the conference will likely fallout with Curtis will taking the No. 2 spot.  They are playing well late into the season and continue to improve. Tacoma will slot in at the No. 3, a similar story to Curtis.  King's Way will take the no. 4 spot in the playoffs.  Much of the lower seeds are dependent on mathematical wins and losses this week.

Division II Brackets here

In DII, the three top teams are still undefeated and locked their respective conference playoff spots.  Sammamish (Evergreen), Woodinville (Cascade) and Wenatchee (Eastern) will all lock up no. 1 playoff spots in their respective conferences.  A strong Cascade conference will settle out this week with Snohomish and Providence playing one last time.  Depending on the outcome the no. 2 seed will face Olympic conference top seed Klahowya and the no. 3 will go to top seeded Metro titan Garfield.  Klahowya played a close game this week against Sammamish showing some promise as the march into the playoffs.  The Skagit conference is still uncertain, but Skagit Valley looks to be the no. 1 seed.  

Baller of the Week- Carson Stewart, Jr. Attack, Curtis & Tyler Wright, Midfield, Jr. Sammamish

Carson Stewart stepped up big time this week for the Vikings. Usually reliant on Colby Carr on offense, Stewart showed a knack for finishing leading the Vikings with five goals in their win over cross town neighbor Tacoma.  A few days later he went off again, blasting the net with another five goals in their upset win over King's Way 14-10.  Look for Stewart to keep his team in the playoffs as the Vikings look to pull another upset. Tyler Wright's performance last week against Klahowya kept his team undefeated with a five goal performance.  He showed a toughness to put his team on his back the second half to pull out a 13-10 win.  When the Totems found themselves tied up with the Eagles in the third, Wright bulled through defenders and scored several goals unassisted. His great ball control, stick work and athleticism will be relied on come playoff time. 

Game of the Week- Curtis 15 Tacoma 13

A key game for the Southwest conference.  It was a big break for the Vikings and several players stepped up including junior attackman and baller of the week Carson Stewart who netted five goals in the win.  The victory sparked the Vikings and they went on to upset dark horse King's Way, led by Stewart once again.