Not much to be surprised at in Week 7 of Fall Ball.  The Semifinal rounds saw the top seeds win in each game.  This sets up what I believe are 4 great matchups for Championship Day of Fall Ball 2013.  Highlights from Week 7 are below.

GAME 1:  Hounds v Outlaws. The Hounds were missing a few key players, and had a tough time in this one.  The Outlaws, probably still fuming from their near playoff miss, took out their frustrations with a 10 point explosion.    One bright spot for the Hounds, was the net-play of Tommy Walter.  He came up big with 11 saves, a number of them close range stuffs on the crease.  But everything was clicking offensively, as the Outlaws peppered shots and controlled the ball on their end.  Ryan Zaky led all scorers with 3g, and Tyler Miller chipped in a couple of his own.  Seven different players scored goals for the Outlaws as they spread the ball and the scoring opportunities around.  Ben Hastings helped avoid the shutout, with a 2nd half goal for the Hounds, but that was it, as the game ended 10-1.  The Hounds and Cannons will faceoff Sunday in the B Bracket Consolation game, and it should be a good matchup.

GAME 2: Rattlers v Cannons. Similar to Game 1, this one was all Rattlers.  Also miffed from their near miss of the A bracket playoffs, the Rattlers got off to a quick start in the first half.  Bryson Bockman scored first, and Chase Madrid had two goals, to give the Rattlers an early 3-0 lead.  The Rattlers D, led by some inspired play from Cyrus Mostofi and Chris Tinsley, held the Cannons D in check.  Bruno Geoly had had a solid game in goal, but didnt have to work too hard as the D allowed few shots.  A Mostofi-led fast break, and a John Diehl finish with a nice off-hand goal, made it 4-0 going into the half.  The Rattlers didnt slow down in the 2nd half.  Diehl came out with another goal early, and Attackman Aidan Healy notched a few of his own.  Jeremy Rosenbaum had some bright spots in the goal for the Cannons, with 8 saves, but was simply bombarded with shots all game.  Geoly completed the shutout with 5 saves, Bockman, Diehl, and Healy scored 2 goals each, and Madrid led all scorers with a hat trick, as the Rattlers closed out a 9-0 victory.  This sets up what should be a very entertaining Consolation Championship game between the Outlaws and the Rattlers.  The Outlaws are looking for payback, as the Rattlers won the first matchup all the way back in week 1, when Aidan Healy "rattled" in 5 goals to outscore the entire Outlaws team by himself, in a 9-4 win.  .

GAME 3: Bayhawks v Lizards. The Bayhawks full roster showed up for this one, both attendance wise and they came to play.  I thought this would be a closer game than it turned out to be, as the Lizards were playing shorthanded, without a few of their key players.   Tully McCallister started things off with a nice drive.  Shortly after, a smothering ride produced a ground ball and Fast Break from the midline.  Cole Tierney found Michael Beisheim who finished to put the Hawks up 2-0 early.  A couple more goals made it 4-0 at the half.  Dylan Edelson did everything he could though, to keep it close for the Lizards, with 8 saves in the 1st half alone.  But the Bayhawks offense was relentless.  They came out even hotter in the 2nd half.  Converted long pole James Harrison started things off in the 2nd, with an extra man goal, and then the Tierney to Beisheim connection struck again, as Tierney found Beisheim on a nice back door cut for the goal.  Harrison later showed off some more offensive prowess with an outside rip, some top shelf cheddar to the opposite corner. Long Pole JP Flather added a goal of his own to make it 10-0, and this one was in the books.  Edelson finished with 14 saves in a great effort, but the Lizards couldn't put one on the board, as John Wise had a nice game of his own in the shutout, with 12 saves for the Bayhawks.  Tully, Stephenson, Harrison, Gans, Beisheim all had multi goal games (2 each) and 8 different players scored for the Hawks in this 13-0 final.   The Lizards loss sends them to the 3rd place game vs the Nationals.  These two teams have not played each other yet this year, and according to their matchups, this should be a very good game.

GAME 4: Machine v Nationals.  This one was a rematch from last weeks final seeding game, which the Nationals lost 16-4.  So you gotta give props to Coach Harman and the Nationals players for their effort in this one.  Joe Rodrigues started things off with a quick goal for the Machine, but Anatole Colevas and Adam Stockford scored, and the Nationals Defense was visibly improved as they held the vaunted Machine Offense at bay for much of the first half.  Will Belshe scored on a great Face Dodge from the right wing just before half time, to give the Machine a 4-2 lead, but the Nationals were clearly inspired and encouraged by the close margin at half.  Miller for the Machine and Kister for the Nationals both had 4 saves in the 1st.  The Machine came out hot in the 2nd, with a beautiful Fast Break goal, bing bing bing, Jack Forsman to Rodrigues to Colin Whitney for Whitneys first goal of the game.  But Thomas Lopez answered shortly after to keep it close at 5-3.  Unfortunately for the Nationals, thats when the Machine decided to take over the game. The defense tightened up, and Machine Goalie Warren Poh didnt let any more goals past him.  Belshe blasted in 3 goals, and Rodrigues added 2 more of his own, including a nice drive across the middle, and the Machine finished with 6 unanswered to close this one out at 11-3.  Poh had 5 saves in the 2nd half.  Rodrigues had a hat trick, and Will Belshe led all scorers with 4..  This game set the stage for a Championship game showdown this Sunday, between the Bayhawks and the Machine, a rematch from week 3, as the Bayhawks try to avenge their only loss and take home the Championship.