The joy of the first time

Kenzie Williams, a first grader from Gilbert, learns how to cradle a ball at last Saturday's free AGLA lacrosse clinic in Scottsdale. Photo by Steve O'Day

“I love seeing someone pick up a lacrosse stick for the first time and love playing. It never gets old for me.” — Jessica Livingston of AZ Girls Lacrosse, a league for girls in grades K-9.

The above photo was taken at last Saturday’s free AGLA clinic at Copper Ridge School in North Scottsdale, which was attended by about 50 girls.  The next clinic will be on December 17 at a yet to be determined location.

AZ Girls Lacrosse announces summer ball

Your daughter can keep her stick skills sharp over the coming off-season, as AZ Girls Lacrosse, or AZGL, is announcing a new summer league.

Summer Ball begins on July 7 and runs through August 4, with leagues for under-15, under-16 (rising seniors) and 2011 high schools grads/post-collegiate players. The format of the league is similar to AZGL’s Fall Ball — teams will play a game a week with no practices. Game times are at night to beat the heat, and play will be at the brand new Salt River Fields facilities at Talking Stick in Scottsdale. Here’s some more information from the website:

• Cost: $85 (includes jersey)

• Where: Salt River Fields

• When: Every Thursday July 7- Aug. 4

• How to register: There are two registrations depending on your child’s age. If your daughter is in fifth through 12th grades or just graduated high school, you register here. If your daughter graduated high school in 2010, is in college currently, or post-collegiate, she will register here. There are only a limited number of spots available so it will be first come, first serve.

Game Times

U15 and Younger 7:30-9pm

U16 – Rising Seniors 8:30-10pm

High school grads-post-collegiate 8:30-10pm

Sign up before June 30th to reserve a spot and grab the best deal. — Robert T. Balint

Five questions for All-American Pierce Bassett

Bassett in 2008, warming up before the state championship game against Chaparral High School.

By Robert T. Balint

Two weeks ago,  Pierce Bassett became the first Arizona-raised lacrosse player to be named to a Division I All American team.  Bassett, a 2009 graduate of Brophy College Prep and the current goalie for Johns Hopkins University, was named as the Second Team All American goalie by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

Bassett started all four years in goal for the Brophy Broncos. From 2006 through 2009,  Brophy made four straight state title appearances, winning it all in Bassett’s sophomore (2007) and junior (2008) years. A four-time All State selection, Bassett made the first team three times, and posted a sky-high .714 save percentage his senior year.

After graduation, Bassett headed to Baltimore to attend Johns Hopkins University, a traditional national lacrosse powerhouse. In his first year, he became the fifth freshman to start in goal for the Blue Jays since freshmen were made eligible to play in 1972. As Hopkins plays against the elites of the sports— Virginia, Duke, Maryland, etc.—he endured a trial by fire against the nation’s top scorers.

Bassett today.

This past season, Bassett became one of the team leaders and helped the Jays to a 13-3 record and a #3 national ranking. In the NCAA tournament, Hopkins recorded a 12-5 win over Hofstra before being knocked out in the quarterfinals 14-9 by Denver. His 146 saves and .570 save percentage earned him a spot on the All American team. An old friend of mine, Pierce spoke to me over the phone earlier this week about his beginnings in lacrosse, the season and where things go from here.

You started playing lacrosse in sixth grade. When did you know you had found your calling?

I first started playing for St. Theresa Broncos in sixth grade I started playing goalie, and I liked it. I remember they needed a backup goalie, and I played soccer goalie and a catcher, so I thought, “Hey, I’ll give it a shot.” One of the big things I liked when I started playing was frustrating the shooters and the offense. That’s what clicked with me. It was enjoyable.

I was horrible my first year of goalie. I think we won one game. The coaches in middle school took a lot of shots on me and worked with me. Getting into freshman year, I wanted to play varsity, and I had an opportunity to try out and make the team.

You split 2-2 with Chaparral for state championships. What was that rivalry like?

I think the Chaparral-Brophy lacrosse rivalry is one of the best, at least in Arizona lacrosse. In the regular season (in 2006), we got smoked 11-2, and then lost in the finals 5-3. In my first years, nobody beat Chaparral—they were good, they deserved it. Every time you play them, it was a battle. There was a lot of emotion. It was one of the bigger games in the league. I know a lot of those guys, so it was a fun rivalry going.

Sophomore year (2007), it was our first-ever championship. It was one of the best feelings of my life, to win the first championship for the program. I couldn’t have been happier, for the seniors and for the team in general.

And then in 2008, we pulled out a nail biter against Chaparral, at Chaparral. We didn’t play as well as we wanted, but we still got that win.

Tell me about playing in the NCAA tournament, and the pressure that comes along with it.

It’s the NCAA tournament. You dream of playing in it when you’re a kid. This year, in that first game against Hofstra, I thought, “It doesn’t matter if it’s the NCAA tournament; it’s just another home game.” Just play your game, and don’t worry about where it is or what’s on the line. It was a great experience; hopefully we can improve on it. I think everyone’s really excited to get back to school.

How does it feel to be an All-American?

We had the All-American banquet the Sunday before Memorial Day. An absolutely terrific honor to be included with some really great goalies this year. I’m humbled to see an award like that. It’s not just you out there; you have a defense. I’ve been blessed to have a terrific defensive end that doesn’t get much credit as I think they should.

What are you going to focus on during this off-season?

One of the big things is being a leader. Being a junior, you come into a leadership role. I have to work on that. Other than that, I’m looking to improve my athleticism, my endurance, and take a look back at some of the games and the mistakes I made. Take as many shots as I can back home, get myself prepared.

We’ll have 12 juniors this year, and we had seven or eight of us playing. Another good senior class. I think we’ve got some great guys who can do great things.

Robert Balint (left) and Pierce Bassett at their 2009 graduation from Brophy College Prep.

Chaparral girls win state lacrosse title

The state champion Chaparral Firebirds.

The Chaparral Firebirds won their second straight state lacrosse championship Friday night, prevailing 14-13 in overtime over the previously top-ranked Horizon Huskies. For the girls who played and the overflow crowd at the Reach 11 sports complex who watched, it was a game they will vividly remember the rest of their lives.

While one would expect a great game between the state’s highest scoring teams that featured six of the top seven goal scorers in Arizona, what  transpired exceeded those expectations. It was simply a game where every ground ball, every pass and indeed every square foot of the field was contested by both teams. After Horizon opened the scoring in the first minute, the score was tied eight times over the course of the game.

The most dominant player on the field during the first half was Horizon midfielder Madison Kinzley, who won nine of the first 10 draws of the game.  Horizon also featured a stifling defense and explosive transition game. With the score 5-5, Chaparral scored two goals in the last 19 seconds of the first half. The second goal came after Chaparral senior Alexa Sarussi won the draw and subsequently picked up a loose ball in front of the Horizon goal and scored with six seconds left in the half. It would be the first of two last-second goals for Sarussi during the evening.

Chaparral captains Alexa Sarussi (l) and Makenna Pohle (r) with head coach Jessica Livingston and the state title trophy.

The second half opened with Chaparral scoring two goals in the first minute and 19 seconds, which meant that going back to the end of the first half, Chaparral had scored four goals in only a minute and 38 seconds. Most teams would have folded after getting such a swift four-goal punch to the mouth, but Horizon was not fazed. Indeed, over the next 11 minutes, Horizon answered with five straight goals to take a 10-9 lead. Chaparral’s Makenna Pohle responded with a goal only 10 seconds later to tie the game at 10 all.

With 12 minutes remaining in the second half and the game now tied, the contest transformed into something beyond a lacrosse game. Skill, speed, strength and strategy would no longer be enough for either team to win. The game had simply become a contest of the collective wills of each team, with neither team backing down an inch.

Chaparral scored the next two goals to take a 12-10 lead with 2:26 left. Again, a lesser team may have folded at that point, but Horizon kept coming and with 40 seconds left tied the game at 12-12.

At this point, many of the 400 or so fans were on their feet, pressed against the sidelines, excitedly shouting support for their teams and waiting to run onto the field the moment the game ended. It was everything a state championship game should be. As Horizon won possession of the ball for the game’s final seconds and looked for the winning goal, the crowd was transfixed.

Chaparral Goalie Katherine Marhnes, "K4," after the game.

With seven seconds left,  Horizon’s Maddie Chapman, the state’s leading goal scorer, suddenly broke free with the ball in front of Chaparral’s goal and had a point blank shot from no more than 10 feet away. The only person standing in Chapman’s way was Chaparral’s 4′ 11″ senior goalie, Katherine Marhnes. Known as “K4″ to her teammates, because she was one of four Katherines on the team last year, Marhnes had never played lacrosse until last year, when the Chaparral JV team did not have a goalie and she decided to give it a try.

Now in a split second, with the state title on the line and the state’s most menacing scorer all alone in front of her, Marhnes stopped what appeared to be a certain goal and put the game into overtime.

In the overtime, which consists of two three-minute periods, followed by sudden death if necessary, Horizon scored first and Chaparral sophomore Scarlett Sulliman answered with a goal 13 seconds later to tie the score. Then, with only 16.6 seconds left in the second overtime period, Chaparral co-captain Alexa Sarussi scored the game winner on a penalty shot.

It would be cruel and unfair to say that Horizon lost the game. An extraordinarily talented and disciplined team, Horizon gave everything they had to give and were simply behind when time ran out. For both teams, the scoreboard simply did not reflect the character, poise and determination they displayed throughout the game. — Dan Barr

The sign and smiles say it all.

Girls lacrosse team selected for Women’s Division National Tournament

One of the selections to the WDNT team, Sophie Bucknell of Xavier Prep.

Twenty girls from nine high school lacrosse teams have been named to the Southwest Regional Team that will play in the Women’s Division National Tournament at Stony Brook University in New York during Memorial Day Weekend.  The team, which will play in the Schoolgirls’ Division for grades 9-11, was selected after a full day of tryouts on March 25.  The Women’s Division National Tournament, which began in 1933, is one the oldest and most prestigious women’s lacrosse events in the nation.  The head coach for the WDNT team will be Bean Callen of Xavier Prep.  The assistant coach will be Adrianne Wagner of Phoenix Country Day School.  Of the 20 girls selected, five are from Pinnacle High School, four from Chaparral and three each Corona del Sol and Desert Mountain.

Here are 20 girls names to the 2011 WNDT team:

Vanessa Fernandez, junior, Notre Dame, Attack
Sara Phister, sophomore, Mountain Pointe, Attack
Larissa Breguez, junior, Pinnacle, Midfield
Scarlett Sulliman, sophomore, Chaparral, Midfield
Alex Chamberlain, sophomore, Pinnacle, Attack
Miranda Ross, junior, Corona del Sol, Goalie
Erika Bradley, junior, Horizon, Midfield
Rachelle Mariner, junior, Gilbert, Midfield
Madison Roble, freshman, Pinnacle, Attack
Abby Dierks, junior, Pinnacle, Midfield
Kate Pederson, sophomore, Chaparral, Attack
Kaci Rood, sophomore, Desert Mountain, Midfield
Brittany Brewster, sophomore, Chaparral, Defense
Elise Anaya, junior, Chaparral, Defense
Caitlyn O’Grady, sophomore, Corona del Sol, Attack
Holly Berns, sophomore, Corona del Sol, Midfield
Elena Cuomo, junior, Desert Mountain, Defense
Elizabeth Fishman, junior, Chaparral, Midfield
Sophie Bucknell, junior, Xavier, Attack
Natalie Schellbach, junior, Pinnacle, Midfield

There were four alternates selected as well:

Nadine Bashir, sophomore, Pinnacle, Midfield
Tori Hawk, sophomore, Horizon, Goalie
Jessie Lowy, junior, Chaparral, Midfield
Megan McGuire, sophomore, Corona del Sol, Midfield

Goalie Miranda Ross of Corona del Sol High School.

Tryouts for Team Arizona for the country’s largest women’s lacrosse event

Madeline Sarussi (center), a freshman at Chaparral High School, stretches before Saturday's tryout for the Women's Division National Tournament team.

“We are looking for athleticism, stick skills and attitude,” said Jessica Livingston as she and 10 other high school lacrosse coaches and officials watched about three dozen girls try out Saturday morning for up to 22 spots on an Arizona team that will compete at the Women’s Division National Tournament at Stony Brook University in New York on Memorial Day weekend.

Goalie Mandy Ross, a junior at Corona del Sol High School.

“The WDNT is more than 70 years old and is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the country,” said Livingston, the coach of Chaparral High School and the founder AZ Girls Lacrosse, a girls lacrosse youth league.  “A lot of college coaches will be there. It is a major recruiting event.”

The Arizona team will participate in the Schoolgirls’ Division, which covers grades 9-11.   This year, approximately 60 teams from all around the country will be placed into six divisions, which are further broken into pools. Each team will play a minimum of four games.

Chaparral sophomore Scarlett Sulliman.

Livingston said that even though she and many of the other coaches already know most of the girls who were trying out for the WDNT team, a player’s reputation and past performance do not matter to the selectors.  “That’s why attitude is so important,” Livingston said.  “We want girls who really want to be on this team.”  Saturday’s tryouts consisted of skill drills in the morning and scrimmaging in the afternoon.  “The scrimmaging is when you really see the girls in action,” Livingston said.

Selections to the Arizona WDNT team will be announced toward the end of the week of April 2.  For more information about girls lacrosse in Arizona, visit the websites of the Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and AZ Girls Lacrosse.

Sophie Bucknell, a junior at Xavier Prep, awaits a pass.

Caitlin O'Grady, a Corona del Sol sophomore, stretches.

Girls from about a dozen local high school try out for the WDNT team.

A chance for kids—and parents—to learn about lacrosse

US Lacrosse, the governing body of boys and girls lacrosse, will conduct a free, two-day clinic Nov. 5 and 6 at Arcadia High School in central Phoenix.

The 2010 Fastbreak Initiative Weekend will introduce lacrosse to young male and female players, provide advanced coaching to more experienced players and offer instruction for coaches, officials and parents.

At least four members of the men’s U.S. National team that recently won the world championship in Manchester, England will be on hand, as will Maren Henley, head coach of the ASU women’s lacrosse team, and Don Zimmerman, head coach of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Zimmerman will provide a keynote speech on Friday night at the Arcadia High School auditorium.

“It’s an opportunity to involve all the people in the Arizona lacrosse community—players, coaches, officials and parents,” says Marie Baca, a board member of the Arizona chapter of US Lacrosse and president of the Arizona Youth Lacrosse League. “Parents who attend will see that there are all sorts of opportunities for them to be as involved as they want to be in lacrosse.”

Desert StiX played during halftime.

Saturday, Nov. 6, will feature clinics for players and anyone who is interested in becoming a referee or umpire. Breakout sessions throughout the day will address such topics as concussion awareness, rules and sportsmanship, obtaining non-profit and tax-exempt status for a lacrosse club, advanced coaching strategies and opportunities to play lacrosse in college. All breakout sessions are open to parents, coaches and team administrators.

Free lacrosse sticks will be given to children who attend the clinic who have not played lacrosse before.

Arcadia High School is located at 4703 E. Indian School Rd. in Phoenix. For more information about Arizona lacrosse, check out the websites for the Arizona Youth Lacrosse League , the Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and AZ Girls Lacrosse or this four minute video shot in 2008 by Vicki Balint of Small Change Productions.

A free introduction to the fastest game on feet

Coach Jessica Livingston (center) at a recent clinic

When Coach Jessica Livingston held her first free girls lacrosse clinic two years ago, only about a half dozen girls showed up.  Girls lacrosse has since grown rapidly in the Valley and at Livingston’s clinic last spring approximately 70 girls came to try lacrosse for the first time.  

Livingston will hold her next free lacrosse clinic for girls in grades K-9 on Saturday, September 11, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scottsdale Sports Complex, 8081 E. Princess Dr. in Scottsdale.  Current high school players will assist with the instruction.  As in the past,  lacrosse sticks and goggles are provided for the use of all girls at the clinic by US Lacrosse.   For more information about the clinic, click here.

The conclusion of last spring's lacrosse clinic

US Lacrosse names Arizona girls to All-American teams

US Lacrosse, the governing body for men’s, women’s and youth lacrosse, has named four Arizona girls as high school All-Americans and eight girls as Academic All-Americans.  US Lacrosse defines an All-American as a player who exhibits superior skills and techniques and possesses exceptional game sense and knowledge of the game of lacrosse, as well as excellent sportsmanship.

Named as 2010 All-Americans are Laura Eckhardt, Madison Pohle and Makenna Pohle from the state champion Chaparral Firebirds.  Lauren Littleton from Pinnacle High School was named an Honorable Mention All American.

A US Lacrosse Academic All-American is a player who exhibits exemplary lacrosse skills and excellent sportsmanship on the field, while also representing high standards of academic achievement in the classroom and making significant contributions of service to the school or community.

Arizona girls named as 2010 Academic All-Americans are Diana Hsu Schron and Ashley Sylvester from Phoenix Country Day School, Lauren Littleton from Pinnacle and Jessica Prescott, Hilary Novatt, Laura Eckhardt, Madison Pohle and Makenna Pohle from Chaparral.                                                                                                                                               — Dan Barr

Affirmation

The 2010 State Champion Chaparral Firebirds.

The night before the state title game, Chaparral girls lacrosse coach Jessica Livingston gathered her team for a pasta party. The Firebirds were undefeated and the 11th ranked team in the western U.S. They watched a video of their past games against Horizon, their opponent for the championship. Livingston told her team they needed to “live in the moment and play harder then we have ever played before” the next evening.

Then she told her girls to do something else.

“I made them write down an affirmation or something positive that they are going to do in the game, somewhere on their body where they would see it,” Livingston said. “I wanted them to look at it all day.”

Each girl wrote something on her wrist, hand, fingers or forearm. Goalie Chriselle Asuma-Irion wrote the acronyms “WWW” (We Will Win),  “SA-TKIH”  (Stay Afloat-The Key Is Hope”) and “SC!” (State Champs!).  Defender Catherine Daem wrote “Never Give Up.  Always Stay Strong on D.” Other girls were more specific with their prescriptions. Defenders Hilary Novatt  and Ma-Li Metcalf wrote “I Will Not Let Her Beat Me on the Inside” and “I Will Stop The Fast Break,” respectively.

Senior Midfielder Madison Pohle.

Junior midfielder Makenna Pohle.

Junior defender Libby Munhall.

Sophomore defender Elise Anaya.

The affirmations certainly seemed to work. The team floored the accelerator from the start of the game and scored two goals within the first two minutes. Freshman Scarlett Sulliman, who earlier in the day had written, “Take it in. Think shot then pass,” on the inside of her left wrist, scored five goals in the first half. By halftime, the Firebirds had a 14-2 lead and went on to win 21-4.

In the middle of the first half, Chaparral senior midfielder Laura Eckhardt came limping off the field with what appeared to be an extremely painful ankle sprain. Some in the crowd speculated that Laura would not return to the game and that her high school career was over. Those people had not seen what Laura had written on herself earlier in the day.

“Giving it my everything and holding nothing back,” Laura wrote on her left wrist. “Finish what’s been 4 years in the making,” she penned outside her left thumb.

Laura held nothing back and after icing her ankle and wrapping it tightly, she re-entered the game late in the first half. She went on to score five goals and finish what she had been pursuing for her entire high school career.

For Chaparral senior Madison Pohle, life came full circle on Friday night.  Five years ago, Madison watched her first lacrosse game, the 2005 state final between Chaparral and Horizon. As she sat in the stands at Paradise Valley High School that night, Madison fell in love with the sport’s speed and fluidity. She signed up for a lacrosse clinic the following week.

On Friday night, Madison took the field as one of Chaparral’s captains and had four goals and one assist. “I feel absolutely amazing right now,” Madison said after the game. When asked if she could have imagined this moment as a seventh grader when sat in the stands five years ago, Madison smiled and said, “Yeah, I pictured this.”

So did her teammates. It was written all over them. — Dan Barr

Coach Jessica Livingston with her senior captains Madison Pohle (#15) and Laura Eckhardt (#50) after winning the state title.