I’m guessing that most of you are either still sleeping or soaking in a tub full of Epsom salts after taking the field for four hours after not being on the field in eight months. Kudos to all of you. But despite all of the aches and pains I definitely saw the joy in your faces. Now you know how I feel every single morning.
GAME ONE against south division Los Banditos went better than expected. Without our regular FOGO Jared Jacobs close defenseman Mark Bell moved up to the “X” and did really well for the Bucks taking eight of eleven faceoffs. The Bucks scored the opening goal of the game on an assist from Mark to Eli Lasda off a faceoff win. Los Banditos answered quickly with a drive off the crease to tie the score but new Buck Pat Bonafede fed new Buck Alex Dixon, one of Brock Livingston’s standouts at Crespi for the go ahead goal. A few minutes later Logan Soelberg another Crespi and Yale University standout fed Eli Lasda to give Beverly Hills a 3-1 lead. But Los Banditos wasn’t done and ran off the next three goals to take a 4-3 lead into halftime. Hills keeper Morgan Weireter had four saves in the half and surprisingly with all that time off the Bucks only had two turnovers.
Alex Dixon started the second half off with a feed to Eli Lasda for Eli’s third score of the game and the teams were all even at 4-4. With just six minutes left in the half Eli Lasda came up with the ball off a Los Banditos turnover and fed Steve Brandenburg to put the Bucks up by one. Late arrival and part time Hills teammate Ernie Melero followed with a feed to Alex Dixon for the final score of the game as Beverly Hills walked off with a 6-4 opening game win.
GAME TWO had all the makings of a regular season game as 40 Thieves was looking for revenge for their 10-9 overtime loss to the Bucks on March 8th, the last SCLAX game before Covid hit. It looked like they had their complete starting roster and they were fresh having gotten a bye for the first round. The Bucks were hoping that they would be sloppy having just taken the field but they were not as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 advantage. The Bucks got on the board after Eli Lasda took the ball away from a Thieves middie at midfield and fed Alex Dixon who was cutting to the crease to bring the Bucks within one. Collin Hoffman followed with a rocket from the right wing and all of a sudden it was a tie game. The Thieves then went ahead with a beautiful “three touch” fast break and then added two more to go up 5-2. Alex Dixon tallied solo but the Thieves scored again as they took a 6-3 lead into the half. Faceoffs were even and both Eli and Riley Lasda had takeaways but the Bucks were starting to look a little tired as they lost two Pat Bonafede and Alex Jessup to injuries.
Things didn’t get much better as the Thieves started off the second half scoring but Eli Lasda went solo to keep the game within three goals. The teams traded scores as Steve Brandenburg scored for the Bucks off a loose ball to keep it at three but the Thieves ran off the next three and the Bucks only scored once with a Devin Maxwell feed to Alex Dixon as the Thieves walked off with an 11-6 win.
GAME THREE was a matchup with our traditional SCLAX North Division rival Newport Beach and both teams expected a close hard fought game but it wasn’t meant to be as the Hills squad got on the board right away with a Logan Soelberg feed to Ernie Melero. Alex Dixon fed Eli Lasda to make it 2-0 until Newport got on the board off a keeper rebound to make it a 2-1 game going into halftime.
But the second half was all Beverly Hills as they rattled off the next six goals. Steve Brandenburg started it off with a feed to Alex Dixon followed another Steve Brandenburg score off an Ernie Melero feed. Then a newly “F-45 formatted” Brett Tietjen (AKA F-42) went solo to put the Bucks up by four. Eli Lasda followed with a takeaway and feed to Brett who went behind the back to Steve Brandenburg for the prettiest goal of the game. Devin Maxwell followed with a score to Alex Dixon and then Dixon scooped up a loose ball in front of the crease and stuck it in the net. Newport finally tallied again but Brett Tietjen went solo again as the Beverly Hills squad walked limped off the field with a 9-2 win.
GAME FOUR couldn’t come soon enough as the benefit of the one hour layoff turned into a detriment as legs started to tighten up and cramping became an issue. The Bucks were matched up with a very strong San Diego squad from the SCLAX South Division, the only other SCLAX undefeated team when the season was cancelled. Beverly Hills jumped out to a 2-0 lead as LSM Johnny Brasko fed Steve Brandenburg and Devin Maxwell fed Brett Tietjen. But San Diego answered right before halftime as the Bucks held onto a slim one goal lead.
San Diego scored two quick goals to open up the second half but Eli Lasda answered with a solo drive to tie the score at three’s. Logan Soelberg then got the ball about twelve feet off the right crease, went left ducking under a pole’s check and jumped right delivering the go ahead goal past the San Diego keeper giving the Bucks a 4-3 lead. But San Diego was not done as they rattled off two of their own going up by one. Brett Tietjen then rifled a shot from outside to tie the score but San Diego answered to retake the lead at 6-5. San Diego failed to “keep it in” after winning the ensuing faceoff with under a minute left on the clock. The Bucks cleared the ball and with less than ten seconds left Logan drove hard to the doorstep and hit the back of the net with the apparent tying score but he was ruled in the crease and San Diego ended up with a 6-5 win.
It was a great tournament as it was obvious that everyone was there to get back on the field and have a good time. The overall results were as follows:
- 40 Thieves went 4-0 with an 11-6 win over Beverly Hills, a 6-3 win over San Diego, an 11-1 win over Newport Beach and an 11-3 win over Los Banditos.
- San Diego went 3-1 with a 7-6 win over Newport Beach, an 8-4 win over Los Banditos, a 6-5 win over Beverly Hills and a 6-3 loss to 40 Thieves.
- Beverly Hills went 2-2 with a 6-4 win over Los Banditos, an 8-2 win over Newport Beach, n 11-6 loss to 40 Thieves and a 6-5 loss to San Diego.
- Newport Beach went 1-3 with an 8-4 win over Los Banditos, a 7-6 loss to San Diego, an 8-2 loss to Beverly Hills and an 11-1 loss to 40 Thieves.
- Los Banditos went 0-4 with a 6-4 loss to Beverly Hills, an 8-4 loss to Newport Beach, an 8-04 loss to San Diego and an 11-3 loss to 40 Thieves.
A BIG SHOUTOUT TO JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ AND BUKU LACROSSE FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. JOHNNY GHOT THE FIELDS AND REFS AND PROVIDED THE BALLS AND TABLE SCOREKEEPERS. THIS WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH AND WE ARE SHOOTING FOR A “REDO” IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.