The Evergreen Lacrosse Club reached the Washington Schoolgirl Lacrosse Association state playoffs for the first time, but saw its 2012 season end on Monday with a 19-1 loss to third-ranked Lake Sammamish at Marymoor Park in Redmond.
Despite the disappointment, assistant coach Tod Pickett said the program made significant strides in 2012.
A junior varsity program only two seasons ago, the ELC Black Cats posted a 4-2 record in Nisqually Conference play to become the first team from outside the Seattle-Tacoma area to qualify for the girls state tournament. Last season, ELC won only one match at the Division II varsity level.
Six different players scored 10 or more goals during the season, led by Lauren Hurst with 40. The squad, made up of girls from all four Evergreen School District high schools had more than two dozen first-year players in the program this season. Only four player were seniors — including one full-time starter.
• The King’s Way Christian boys lacrosse team split a pair of matches to close out its regular-season home schedule.
On Friday, the Knights beat Eastlake 11-4. Jack Beall scored five goals, Tyler Preston had eight ground balls and senior midfielder Nolan Gilmour had three assists.
On Saturday at Columbia River High School, Issaquah beat King’s Way 18-5. No King’s Way statistics from that match were reported to The Columbian.
King’s Way is in third place in its division and will conclude its regular season with matches at 8 p.m. on Friday against Puyallup at Emerald Ridge High School and at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Bainbridge.
The Washington Boys Lacrosse Association playoffs start in mid-May.
Soccer teams win Challenge Cup titles
A pair of Vancouver United Timbers girls soccer teams won Challenge Cup state tournament championships on Sunday at the Starfire Complex in Tukwila.
In the under-14 division, the VUSA Timbers Blue team beat Eastside FC White 2-1 in the final. Hunter Thomson-Terrel and Kelsee Hillard scored the goals for the Timbers.
In the girls under-13 Division I championship match, VUSA defeated Eastside FC White on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 draw. VUSA won the tie-breaker 3-2. Taryn Reis scored the VUSA goal.
The Challenge Cup is the second-tier of state tournaments staged by Washington Youth Soccer, and features mostly developmental level teams.
In the Championship Cup tournament for the most competitive teams, VUSA girls teams advanced to the semifinals in the under-17 and under-15 age divisions. The VUSA Timbers beat the Federal Way Purple Reign 3-1 in the under-15 quarterfinals. In the under-17 quarterfinals, Timbers Red defeated Northwest Nationals Red 2-1.
Teen wins handball regional
Jordan Taylor won the men’s B singles championship on Sunday during the Pacific Northwest Handball Regional Tournament at Club Green Meadows.
A junior at Columbia River High School, Taylor won all three of his matches at this tournament. He plans to compete at the national championships this summer at Fountain Valley, Calif., and at the handball world championships at Dublin, Ireland, in October.
Run to benefit coach’s daughters
The third Coach Anderson Annual Memorial Relay will take place on Saturday at the track at Hudson’s Bay High School.
Held in memory of Erik Anderson, a former running coach at Clark College, the event features several races and a walk. The walking relays are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. An individual 5-kilometer run or 1,500-meter walk starts at 10 a.m. The 10-mile running relays for teams of two or four start at 10:49 a.m.
For complete details, visit www.caamr.org.
In 2009, Anderson died in an accident at Spokane Community College. Money raised by this relay race will go to a college fund for his two young daughters.
Senior softball season starts
The Vancouver Metro Senior Softball Association is starting its 18th season on May 14.
A league for players who are 60 and older, there are 10 teams with more 150 players signed up to play this year. Each team plays one doubleheader a week on the Clark College softball field. The season runs for 16 weeks, with games scheduled on weekdays through August.
Anyone interested in joining the league, or learning more about it, may contact John Aarhus at jtaarhus@comcast.net.
COMMUNITY SPORTS NEWS is published each Tuesday. To submit items for consideration, send e-mail to paul.danzer@columbian.com, or call 360-735-4521.
