Prep lacrosse playoffs start this weekend

By Phillip Brents

Posted May 9, 2005

The growth of the sport of lacrosse -- both boys and girls -- has been rapid on the West Coast in recent years. The San Diego Section includes 33 boys lacrosse teams this year, up eight from last season. It is estimated that since the sport was granted official CIF status four years ago that 20 new teams have formed.

The 2005 section playoffs start this weekend and will culminate with championship games on Saturday, May 21, at Westview High School. Grossmont Conference teams expect to be included among the top half of the seeded teams.

This year's boys playoff field will include 16 teams (up from 12 teams) and will play in one enrollment division. Twelve girls teams will qualify for postseason competition.

The section playoffs open May 13-14 with first-round contests for boys teams at the site of the higher-seeded team. League and conference champions receive automatic entry into the playoffs and, when possible, will have a home match in the first round only.

The surviving eight teams will meet in the quarterfinals on May 17 at 5 p.m. at the site of the highest-seeded team. The semifinals are scheduled May 19 at 5 p.m. at the highest-seeded team. Girls and boys double-headers are possible for both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.

The girls section playoffs open May 14 with first-round contests at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the site of the higher-seeded team. League champions receive automatic entry into the playoffs. Independent teams have no automatic entry. The quarterfinals are scheduled May 17 at 5 p.m. at the site of the highest-seeded team. The semifinals are scheduled May 19 at 5 p.m. at a neutral site.

The boys championship game is scheduled May 21 at 5 p.m. at Westview High School. The girls championship game is scheduled at 7 p.m. at the same site.

Defending champions include Torrey Pines (boys) and La Jolla (girls).

Grossmont and Granite Hills entered the final week of regular season play in contention for the six-team Grossmont Conference title. Grossmont needed a victory in Tuesday's regular season finale against Santana to finish 9-1 in conference play. With a pair of season-ending wins against Monte Vista on Tuesday and Santana on Thursday, Granite Hills could finish with the same record.

The teams split their two matchups this season, with Granite Hills winning 9-4 on its home field on April 7 and Grossmont winning 8-2 in La Mesa on April 26.

A loss by either team could give the other the league championship. A co-championship would be declared should both teams finish with the same conference record, with one team declared the designated champion for automatic entry into the section playoffs.

Grossmont entered the week with an 11-4 overall record while Granite Hills was 9-4.

Grossmont owns conference victories this season against Helix (11-8 and 15-3), Valhalla (15-1 and 15-3) and Monte Vista (7-6 and 12-6). In their only meeting this season heading into Tuesday's climactic finale, Grossmont had edged Santana by a 7-5 score.

The Foothillers had a 3-3 non-league record, with wins against Preuss (10-2), Otay Ranch (10-1) and Eastlake (8-1) and losses against Westview (13-2), Serra (10-5) and Patrick Henry (5-4).

Granite Hills had swept both Helix (9-5 and 11-6), Valhalla (16-1 and 18-3) in conference play while recording first-round victories against both Monte Vista (8-5) and Santana (7-1).

The Eagles had a 2-3 non-league record, with wins against Francis Parker (5-4) and Eastlake (12-1) and losses against Scripps Ranch (8-7), Bishop's (14-9) and Rancho Bernardo (9-1).

Three of the six Grossmont Conference teams entered the final week of regular season play with winning records. Monte Vista stood 5-3 in conference play, 8-7 overall. Helix was 3-6 in conference games, 5-12 overall. Santana was 2-6 in conference play, 4-10 overall. Valhalla was 0-8 in conference play, 1-10 overall.

Despite the growth of the sport throughout the section, the power base still resides in both the country's established club teams (up and running before official CIF play commenced) and geographically in the North County.

La Costa Canyon (18-0-0), Coronado (16-3-0), Poway (11-5-0), Torrey Pines (12-5-0), San Dieguito Academy (12-2-0), La Jolla (11-4-0), Rancho Bernardo (10-5-0), Bishop's (10-4-0), University of San Diego High (10-6-0) and Westview (6-8-0) comprised the top 10-ranked teams in the section heading into the final week of regular season play.

Granite Hills and Grossmont ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, in computer ratings issued by the www.laxpower.com web site. Monte Vista ranked 17th, followed by Helix (22nd), Santana (27th) and Valhalla (30th).

La Costa Canyon (North County Conference) and Coronado (City Conference) both had clinched conference championships while San Dieguito Academy was in position to claim this year's Coastal Conference title. Eastlake captured an automatic playoff berth by winning the Metro Conference with a 9-1 record.

There are five conferences in the section, leaving at-large entries to 11 teams. Of the 33 teams in the section, 16 had winning records entering the week. Grossmont, Granite Hills and Monte Vista all appear contenders for inclusion in this year's field, even the two that might be relegated to vying for at-large entry.

Other playoff contenders include 11th-ranked Francis Parker (9-5-0), 12th-ranked Serra (8-9-0) and 13th-ranked Scripps Ranch (9-7-0).

The section seeding meeting is scheduled Thursday, May 12.

The opening round of the playoffs will feature the top four-seeded team receiving byes, with the bottom eight-seeded teams playing a single-elimination round. The four winners will join the four byed teams in the quarterfinals.

Girls lacrosse is less structured than boys lacrosse, with 22 teams competing this season in the section. The Grossmont Conference includes Santana, Grossmont, Monte Vista, Helix and Bonita Vista (which plays in the East County circuit because no other school in the Metro Conference fields a team).

Entering the final week of regular season play, Santana was ranked 11th in the section with a 9-4 overall record. The Sultans had a 5-0 conference record in games through May 3, with wins against Bonita Vista (5-3 and 9-5), Monte Vista (10-3), Grossmont (7-5) and Helix (12-2).

Grossmont entered the final week of regular season play with a 5-4 overall record while Monte Vista was 1-3, Bonita Vista was 1-7 and Helix was 0-3.

For playoff pairings and scores, visit the web site at www.cifsds.org. For standings and computer ratings, visit the web site at www.laxpower.com.