The Central Iowa Lacrosse Association 2011-12 Box Lacrosse League wrapped up its regular season last night in a frigid Soccer House.  With outside temps hovering around six degrees, the barn was absolutely terrible.   Luckily the managers fixed (installed?) a heating unit on the north side of the field and provided me with the location of the “On” switch.  So the field became partially nuclear and partially tundra, with a dash reasonable warmth sprinkled around.

Dragons 13, Tigers 1

” It’s deja vu all over again” -Yogi Berra

When these teams opened the season, the Tigers knew that the odds were stacked against them.  Most of the players are new to lax, and many are freshmen.  Sure the bulk had played in the inaugural/pilot summer program and a few had even played fall ball with Valley, but they were still fairly inexperienced.

The Dragons started the season with a fairly respectable roster.  Comprised of journeymen and Valley role players, the team had enough talent and grit to make an impact in the league.  Then the attendance bug hit.  Beginning with the opening game, the Dragons have rarely had more than one reserve player on their bench – in fact they started the season with only four on the floor.  As far as I can tell, there are a few guys that never showed up this season.  I have said countless times that the team would have been quite impressive if the entirety of its roster ever showed up…

As usual, the Tigers came out strong and played some tight defense.  Kaufman was a wall in net.  Offensively, the team staggered and the Dragons pushed me to the top of the zone all night, limiting the attack further.  Near the end of the period, the Dragons found their pace and began a relentless assault. Before long the Tigers’ defense completely fell apart, leaving Kaufman completely exposed.

Fay’s unassisted goal late in the third period brought this match up full circle, as he was the only Tiger to score in the first week as well.  Fay scored all but one of the team’s goals this season.

The fact that the scoreline matched the teams’ previous meeting is just eerie.

The Dragons will face the Cyclones in the first semifinal next week.

Aces 10, Bulldogs 4

Last time these teams met, the Aces skirted past the Bulldogs by a mere four goals.  The Bulldogs have been all over the map with their performance.  A lot of their issues can be attributed to spotty attendance.  Having one of the largest rosters at the beginning of the season, the Bulldogs’ numbers have dwindled with each game and caused a forfeit in December.  In order to make the league championship in two weeks, they will have to figure out how to get their guys to the Soccer House.

Meanwhile, the Aces have been solid all season long.  Their loss to the mighty Cyclones was the narrowest in the league.  They have been riding a wave of confidence all season long and goals have been coming from nearly every player.  Despite never stepping into a cage before, Sundermann has proven to be a solid goalie and has earned his teammates’ trust.  The team will be relying on his increased confidence next week en route to the championship game.

Ultimately the outcome of this game was meaningless as these teams not only booked their way to next week’s semifinal, but had already secured an immediate rematch as the second and third seeds.  Still, pride and momentum were the real goals last night as both teams wanted to gain the mental edge over their opponents.  This played out on the field via aggressive – and sometimes sloppy – defensive pressure from both teams.  Amazingly, players kept cool heads despite protests about “cheap shots” and the escalating physicality.  Both teams had solid ball movement on offense, but the Bulldogs struggled to get back on defense most of the night.

These teams will meet again in the second semifinal next week.  It will be interesting to see how many Bulldogs show up and what effects that will have on the scoreboard…

Note: A Valley helmet went missing between games last night.  It belongs to an Aces player and was on the floor during warm ups.  By the start of the game, it was missing.  If you accidentally grabbed it, please contact me immediately.  [email protected]