It was a beautiful day for lacrosse as the No. 1 Juan Diego Soaring Eagle and No. 3 Alta Hawks went head-to-head in Timpview’s Thunderbird Stadium in the D-I Semifinals on Tuesday.  The backdrop of the mighty Mount Timpanogos was the perfect setting for the game between the defending state champ Soaring Eagle and the hungry underdog Hawks.  When the dust settled and all was said and done, Juan Diego found themselves on top and returning to the finals, handing Alta the 13-9 loss.

“We’re just living for the moment,” commented Soaring Eagle Head Coach Patrick Lambert, “we need to recognize that there’s tons of stuff on these guys’ minds…we play well when we settle down and are present in the moment.” Read More

Final Four. Teams are so close to the ever-close championship game. Two teams will go home. Two teams will face off in the championship game. Who will it be?

Alta Hawks v. Juan Diego Soaring Eagle

Lets first review the history between these two teams. This will be the third time in a row that they have been to the final four. They met in the championship game in 2012 where Juan Diego won 9-8. In April of 2013 they played in the regular season with Juan Diego winning 7-6. In the 2012 regular season game between these two Alta won in a 4-overtime victory 10-9. Needless to say, this game is going to be great. With only a one-goal difference the past three match-ups I do not see a blowout coming. It will be a close game down to the wire. Read More

The No. 3 seeded Alta Hawks punched their ticket to the 2013 Boys D-I Semifinals on Saturday night after beating No. 7 seeded Jordan by the score of 17-7. As if a playoff game isn’t reason enough to get pumped up for a game, the Jordan v. Alta rivalry is one of the biggest in the state.

“It’s Jordan v. Alta in every sport, it’s a huge rivalry,” said Alta Head Coach Mark Davis.

The first half did not disappoint and felt like a true rivalry game. Alta jumped out to 4-0 lead in just 1 minute and 43 seconds, scoring on every possession and not letting Jordan clear. The scoring started when Cade Trudo scored off a feed from Kyle Baldassari who was hammered but still able to get the pass off. On the next possession, Tanner Brown was behind the goal, faked a pass to the wing and slipped past the defender for the easy on crease goal. Baldassari tallied a goal of his own with a huge time and room shot followed by a goal by Chase Oviatt who had a huge time and room shot himself. Read More

Eight teams survived the first round of playoffs. There was plenty of excitement with upsets occurring, solid defense played, and great coaching. I look forward to the next round of playoffs. Historically, Round 2 is known as the toughest round in the playoffs. You are not quite to the Final Four yet, but many a teams look too far ahead rather than focusing on the present: upsets will happen.

Pleasant Grove Vikings @ Juan Diego Soaring Eagle

Juan Diego struggled more than I thought with the No. 8 seed Bonneville team. Hopefully that was nerves and not foretelling the future. Pleasant Grove took on a strong Judge team and was able to control the game through their offense. I worry that if Pleasant Grove thinks that their offense is going to win them through the playoffs that they will have another thing coming. They will not beat Juan Diego through their offense alone. They need to sound up their defense, focus on transitions, and then finish on offense. Juan Diego is looking to find a game that begins some strong momentum moving further through the playoffs. They need to control this game from start to finish. If they try to get into a scoring battle with Pleasant Grove, they might just go home. I expect Juan Diego to clean up their mistakes after the first round and give a solid performance in this round. Read More

The First Round of the 2013 Prodigy Play of the Year contest was a great one! Only one upset happened with No. 11 Garrett Vanamen beating No. 6 Walker Murphy. This round will be epic with some great plays heading home early. Quarterfinal voting will go until Sunday, May 12. You can vote every 4 hours so be sure to come back throughout the day. You can also keep up tabs on the contest by clicking the 2013 Prodigy Play of the Year banner on the right side of the website.

As a reminder, you the fans are the ones who ultimately decide the Prodigy Play of the Year so be sure to vote for the most deserving play.

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Tanner Brown

The Riverton Silverwolves gained a quick lead against the Alta Hawks Wednesday night, but after the first quarter, the Hawks took the game and ran with it. Alta stood out on both ends of the field, securing them the 13-4 win over Riverton.

The Hawks have some of the most talented offensive players in the state. An attack that includes Harrison Waddoups, Tanner Brown and Kyle Baldassari is tough to defend. The Hawks also equip some of the most intense and athletic defensive players. They will be a force to be reckoned with throughout the playoffs this season. Read More

It’s that time of year where everything you have worked for is on the line. Previous records don’t matter. Previous tournaments don’t matter. Previous awards don’t matter. All that matters is the game that stands in front of you. It is “win or go home.” Playoff games come down to three things: Coaching ability, Game plans, and Defense. If you can lock those three things up, see you in the next round, if not, get to work.

Bonneville Lakers @ Juan Diego Soaring Eagle

Bonneville comes into the first round allowing about 10.5 GPG. In order to take down the defending champs the Lakers need to tune up their defense to control the Soaring Eagles. Juan Diego is coming off a big moral win, and literal win, against the Bengals and should use that momentum to run over the Lakers. Look for Alex Croyle for the Lakers to have a big game, as well as the Graney brothers for Juan Diego. The big thing is to not overlook Bonneville, after all it is “win or go home” and anyone one can lose at anytime in the playoffs. Read More

Tanner Brown

The Alta Hawks made their way to Quinn’s Junction on Friday afternoon for a cross-conference showdown with the Park City Miners. The game was even until the fourth quarter where the Alta defense clamped down, provided opportunities for the offense and ultimately stealing a 13-10 win.

Alta scored first when Harrison Waddoups scored on a great feed from Ryan Trudo. Park City went a 3 goal run from 8:10 to 6:24, taking the early advantage. The Miners were able to simply beat their defenders, finding good looks at the cage. The run started by Max Zilvitis who scored on an assist by Kolton Atkinson. Christian Pompoco went to coast-to-coast for the Miners second goal. Pompoco added the third Miner goal when he popped up from the crease to the middle of the field, caught the pass, turn and shot for the goal. The Miners looked as if they were going to run away with this one, but after an Alta timeout on their next possession, Hunter Hansen made a great cut, caught the pass from Tanner Brown, shot and scored to make the score 3-2 for Park City. Alta tied the game 4 minutes later when Brown had a step-down shot after a good Alta possession. Read More