toplaxrecruits.com
toplaxrecruits.com -
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 7/25/15
From US Lacrosse
It was bright and sunny all day for participants Saturday at the US Lacrosse U15 National Championships at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, Va., but that didn’t stop Long Island Express 2018 and Long Island Express 2018 North from stealing the boys’ spotlight.
Seeded fourth following a 3-0 pool play record on Friday, Long Island Express 2018 posted two convincing wins Saturday over Valley (Va.) Select, 18-3, and Team Colorado, 12-4, to advance into Sunday’s semifinal.
Much of the offense was fueled by lefty attackman Aidan Byrnes, who recorded 10 goals in the two games, including seven in the quarterfinal victory over Colorado. Byrnes performance, coupled with a dominating effort by face off specialist Justin Luu, kept LI Express in control throughout both games.
“We had the ball most of the day and played unselfish lacrosse,” said coach Mike Chanenchuk.
LI Express now faces its club brethren, LI Express 2018 North, in Sunday morning’s semifinal game. Seeded eighth to start the day, Express North defeated Triad Elite, 14-5, and dominated previously unbeaten and number one seed Long Island Jesters, 12-2, to reach the semifinal.
A balanced offense featured four players with two goals each for Express North, while a defense led by Jonathan Oronzio and Matthew Gould kept the Jesters in check.
While Express and Express North draw players from different areas around New York and Long Island, they are still fairly familiar with each other. They met in the Long Island LaxClash Tournament a few weeks ago, with Express winning 5-4, and scrimmage each other extensively.
Both teams are littered with D-1 college prospects.
“It’s always a competitive game,” said Chris Schreiber, coach of Express North. “It’s a great match-up between two talented teams. It’s fun, but when it’s on, it’s on.”
Sunday’s second semifinal features number two seed Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) against two-time defending U15 boys’ champion, 3d Select National.
FCA, 5-0 in the tournament, advanced Saturday by beating Florida Swashbucklers, 13-4, and withstanding a late rally to hold off Team Long Island, 9-7, in the quarterfinal. FCA led 9-4 after three quarters in that game but gave Team Long Island ample opportunity for a late comeback.
“We had the game in control, but didn’t play well down the stretch,” said FCA coach Bryan Kelly. “We just made some bad decisions. Hopefully, we got that out of our system today. It’s a learning experience.”
Alex Geis and Alex Reid led FCA with two goals apiece in the quarterfinal.
In the other quarterfinal, 3d Select trailed number three seed For the Love of the Game 4-3 at halftime, but scored six straight goals in the third and fourth quarters en route to the 11-6 comeback win. Eric Civetti led the way with three goals, including the first two markers in the third quarter to spark the rally.
“The difference for us was that the kids just played better defensively in the second half,” said 3d Select coach Matt Rowley.
Both semifinal games are slated to start at 9 a.m. Sunday, followed by the championship game and third place contest at 12-noon. Consolation bracket games begin at 8 a.m.
An all-tournament team and Sportsmanship Team Award will be announced at the conclusion of the event.
Saturday’s Game Scores
#17 Queen City Chill (Ohio) 11, #16 C2C Richmond 6
#18 Florida Swashbucklers 8, #15 Booth Bandits (Calif.) 5
#9 Triad Elite 2018 (N.C.) 5, #8 LI Express 2018 North 14
#10 Maverick Select (N.J.) 4, #7 Team Long Island 11
#4 LI Express 2018 18, #13 Valley Select (Va.) 3
#5 Team Colorado 12, #12 Team Utah 6
#3 For the Love of the Game (N.Y.) 17, #14 Special Forces (Mich.) 5
#6 3d Select National 15, #11 New Jersey South 5
#1 LI Jesters 2018 Black 12, #17 Queen City Chill 3
#2 FCA 13, #18 Florida Swashbucklers 4
#4 LI Express 12, #5 Team Colorado 4
#6 3d Select National 11, #3 FLG 6
#8 LI Express North 12, #1 LI Jesters 2
#2 FCA 9, #7 Team Long Island 7
The post .@ExpressLacrosse teams advance to U15 Boys’ Semifinals at @USLaxChamps appeared first on toplaxrecruits.com.