For the 2nd straight week we saw some great lacrosse in Palo Alto Sunday afternoon.  Some teams seemed to find their team chemistry on the offensive side in week 2, and it was great to see a grand total of ZERO conduct fouls called all day.  The number of illegal checking calls was also down from last week.  This deserves a shout out to all the players for staying focused and working on the right things, and thanks to refs John and Andy for keeping things well in control. 

GAME 1-The first game of the day we saw the Team 4 Lizards put on an offensive display.  Transition, Settled Offense, 1 on 1s...it was all working.  Two goals were scored by Longsticks, and 3 players had hat tricks, including Austin Miller who led all scorers for the game (and the entire day) with a DOUBLE hat trick...6 goals.  Team 1 Outlaws found themselves a bit overmatched for the game, but Michael Cerone provided a few highlights with a Hat trick of his own on the losing side of a 16-4 score.

GAME 2-This was a fun game to watch.  Team 8 Machine came out firing, with some great defense, and 4 guys contributing on offense, as they built up a 6-2 lead by halftime. But the Machine may have put the coasters on a bit early.  Team 2 Bayhawks inched back into this one, a top shelf blast by Skyler Anderson,  and a late Jonny Glazier goal brought them to within 1.  Logan Mendenhall completed the Bayhawks comeback in the final minutes with a goal to tie, and this one ended 7-7, setting the stage for a potentially exciting rematch somewhere in the playoffs.  A great finish, a lot of assists, balanced scoring (5 different guys from each team contributing to the 7 goals), and some great goaltending on both sides made this the highlight game of the day.  Good lacrosse.

GAME 3-This game was also marked by some good goaltending on both sides.  Gavin Risbry made some fantastic saves for Team 3 Cannons, as did Bruno Geoly, first half goalie for the Team 5 Rattlers.  The 1st half ended 3-2 with some great defensive efforts.  Team 5 took over in the 2nd half though, with Mike Savoie and Peter Gish both completing their Hat Tricks.  John Wise came up big in goal as well for the Rattlers, allowing just 1 goal in the 2nd half while notching a number of saves.  Game ended 7-3 in favor of the Rattlers.

GAME 4-Team 7 Nationals rebounded from their shutout last week, with a 9 goal effort, and a victory over the Team 6 Hounds.  Sam Isola from the Hounds had a goal, and won most of his 11 faceoffs, as the Hounds jumped out to an early 2-1 lead, but they couldnt control the ball on their Offensive end most of the rest of the way and committed a number of unforced turnovers.  The Nationals looked much more cohesive than last week, as 6 different players contributed to the scoring in the 9-2 victory.   

Thanks again to everyone for a great 2nd week.  Standings will be posted later this week, and for the remainder of the regular season games.  If anyone has pics or video they would like to submit, I will be selecting some to go up on the website soon. 

Greg Mengis-Team NorCal Lacrosse