Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Thunder Ducks Take Home First SOLL Championship


The first SOLL Championship Sunday included some close games and fun lacrosse play.  With every team in the league having at least 2 losses, the championship was up for grabs.

In game 1, the #3 seed Honey Badgers took on the #6 seed Free Agents.  The young Honey Badgers team, with their two elder statesmen, were looking to warm up against the Free Agents in anticipation of a match up against the #2 seed Brojans in the next round.  The Free Agents however, had other things in mind.  

SOLL regular season scoring leader Scott Wishart #17
The game was close throughout with the score being tied for the majority of the game.  Young James Holak, a 6th grader and new player to the Free Agent team helped to keep the game close by leading the team with 3 goals.  Jack O’ Connell, also a 6th grader and new to the Free Agent team helped to control the high scoring Honey Badgers team on defense.  The Free Agents held the Honey Badgers to 8 goals and the game ended in an 8-8 tie.  However, Honey Badger Treven Smalley scored 2 goals for the Free Agent team as a fill-in player and those goals did not count in the final tally allowing the Honey Badgers to eke out an 8-6 win in the first round of the playoffs.

Iziah Schramm, playing lacrosse for the first time ever this summer also scored 2 goals for the Free Agents.  The Honey Badgers were led on offense by Dan O’Connell, Bryce Holak and Jesse Larson who each scored 2 goals.  Holak and O’Connell also added an assist each.  Aaron Kilpo added a goal and an assist and Andy Holak scored one goal.

The second game of the night featured #4 Fighting Aye-Aye’s against #5 Broseidon.  The score was knotted up for much of the game before the Aye-Aye’s pulled away behind the prolific scoring of Frank Napoli and Cooper Carlson to win 20-13.  Napoli poured in 8 goals and added 2 assists while Carlson scorched the net for 6 goals and 1 assist.  Tyler Kolquist added 3 goals, Steve Halver added 2 and Mac Johnson pitched in one goal.  Zack Zierden led the way for Broseidon with 5 goals while Zach Galo and Kevin Marshall added 3 goals apiece and Luke Hannan tallied 2 goals.  TJ Vallie saved Broseidon from even more scoring by standing tall between the pipes with 14 saves.  

The first final four game featured the #1 seed Thunder Ducks against first round winner Fighting Aye-Aye’s.  This game was close until the final minutes of the game when the Thunder Ducks pulled away to win 14-11.  Scott Wishart, the regular season scoring leader, led the Thunder Ducks with 5 goals and 5 assists while Mike Hillman scored 3 goals, Alex Rogers scored two goals and added one assist, Frank Rush added one goal and one assist, and Nick Teresi, Beau Hughes and Tanner Fritsinger each pitched in with one goal.  The Aye-Aye’s were led by Frank Napoli with 5 goals and Cooper Carlson with 3 goals.  Steve Halver added two goals and Tyler Kolquist scored one goal.

The next game proved to be one of the most exciting games of the season with the score knotted up nearly the entire game and ended with a controversial call.  The #2 seed Brojans took on the #3 seed Honey Badgers for the right to play in the first SOLL Championship game.  The game see-sawed back and forth with no team ever leading by more than 3 goals.  The Brojans led by 3 goals late in the game and it looked like it would be a #1 versus #2 championship game before the Honey Badgers stormed back to tie the game.  The Brojans would then take a one goal lead right up until the end before a late goal by the Honey Badgers would tie the game again and send it into overtime. 

BRAVEHEART!
The final overtime period would be decided by Braveheart.  Bryce Holak came out for the Honey Badgers and Doug Jensen would take the face off for the Brojans.  Holak won the opening faceoff and took the ball down the field before solid defense by Jensen and good goalie play would force Holak’s shot to go wide.  Jensen then took possession and made a contested shot on goal that was saved by the 2012 SOLL saves leader Pat O’ Connell, with another fearless play in the net.  On the ensuing loose ball, Holak would pick up the ground ball while Jensen’s head would come off his shaft.  Holak’s shot on goal would be saved by goalie Tyler Altringer making a tremendous play on the ball.  With a new stick Jensen would take the ball upfield again.  Amazingly, on another ground ball, Jensen’s head would come off his back up stick!  This time Holak, with Jackson Schwartz rushing on the field to cover for Jensen, would come down the field and bury the ball in the back of the net for a 16-15 Braveheart win for the Honey Badgers.  There was some confusion on the final play and a questioning of whether or not to continue play after a player’s head comes off his stick in Braveheart.  An explanation of the ruling based on a conversation with head lacrosse referee Dan Heldt can be found HERE

Doug Jensen led the Brojans and all scorers with 7 goals.  Joey Keating scored 3 goals, Graham Gallop and Brad Sandeen each added 2 goals and Ben Dunnell scored one goal for the Brojans.  Bryce Holak led the Honey Badgers with 6 goals while Jeff Wright would add 3 goals, Jesse Larson and Jack Norlen chipped in with 2 goals each and Dan O’ Connell and Aaron Kilpo each scored one goal.  Both Tyler Altringer and Pat O’ Connell were strong in the net.

The Honey Badgers would continue their strong play into the final Championship game with the #1 seeded Thunder Ducks.  The Honey Badgers played well, hanging with the Thunder Ducks goal for goal until the second half.  The Thunder Ducks would pull away from the Honey Badgers to take the first SOLL Championship with a 15-12 win.
2012 SOLL Champions - Thunder Ducks
Alex Rogers led the Thunder Ducks with 6 goals and one assist while Scott Wishart had 3 goals and an assist, Beau Hughes and Nick Teresi added two goals and Mike Hillman and Nevada Shelton each added a goal.  Frank Rush added an assist.   The Honey Badgers were led by Jesse Larson with 4 goals, while Aaron Kilpo, Bryce Holak and Dan O’ Connell each had 2 goals and one assist and Andy Holak added 2 goals.  Jeff Wright added one assist.
2012 SOLL Runners Up - Honey Badgers
The first SOLL season was fun and high school players continued to improve their lacrosse skills over the summer.  We're looking forward to our upcoming winter lacrosse season with the 2nd season of the Northcoast Indoor Lacrosse League starting play in December.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Playoff Matchups Set and Stats Updated

The final playoff matchups are set with the #1 Thunder Ducks and #2 Brojans receiving first round byes.  The Thunder Ducks receive the #1 seed based on head-to-head wins versus the Brojans.  #3 seed Honey Badgers will take on #6 seed Free Agents at 3:00 p.m. while the #4 seed Fighting Aye-Aye's will take on #5 seed Broseidon at 4:00 p.m.  Semifinal matchups will take place at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. with the 1st SOLL Championship game starting at 7:00 p.m.  All games at Park Point.  Here's the schedule:

PLAYOFFS - Sunday August 12 @ Park Point:

Seeds 1 and 2 receive first round bye*

3:00 p.m.:   Free Agents vs. Honey Badgers

4:00 p.m.:   Broseidon vs. Fighting Aye-Aye's


Final Four:
5:00 p.m.:  lowest seed vs. Thunder Ducks

6:00 p.m.:  next seed vs. Brojans
7:00 p.m.:  SOLL Championship Game


*Thunder Ducks get #1 seed based on head-to-head versus Brojans

Final 2012 SOLL regular season stats have been updated on the STATS page.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Week 8 Scores

Week 8 - Sunday August 5 @ Park Point:

Free Agents  7    Brojans  14
Honey Badgers  12    Fighting Aye-Aye's  9
Thunder Ducks  10    Broseidon  12

Stats from the last two weeks will be updated soon.  Playoffs next week.  Schedule will be posted tomorrow.  Please get all of your players to these final games of the season.

Week 7 Scores

Week 7 - Thursday August 2 @ Park Point

Thunder Ducks 11   Brojans 8
Free Agents  4    Fighting Aye-Aye's   0
Broseidon  15    Honey Badgers  23

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Standings and Stats Updated

Standings and stats updated after week 6

Week 6 Scores

Thunder Ducks drop their first game of the season, Brojans continue to roll and Honey Badgers put in 15 goals again!

Week 6 Scores:

Brojans  11    Broseidon  8
Fighting Aye-Aye's  8    Thunder Ducks  5
Free Agents  10    Honey Badgers  15

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Stats, Standing and Scores all updated after Week 5

Stats after week 5 updated along with Standings and Scores.

Week 6 games:

6:00 p.m.  Brojans vs. Broseidon
7:00 p.m.  Fighting Aye-Aye's vs. Thunder Ducks
8:00 p.m.  Free Agents vs. Honey Badgers

Monday, July 16, 2012

Week 5 Scores

Brojans    15       Free Agents    4
Fighting Aye-Aye's    15       Honey Badgers    14  (OT)
Broseidon    11       Thunder Ducks    15

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Stats, Standings and Scores Updated

Stats, standings and scores updated from Week 4. 

Games this week are:

6:00 p.m.  Brojans vs. Free Agents
7:00 p.m.  Fighting Aye-Aye's vs. Honey Badgers
8:00 p.m.  Broseidon vs. Thunder Ducks


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Week 4 Scores

Week 4 was hot and humid.  Game play was relaxed and players were having fun.  The Brojans and Honey Badgers battled a little in a close game that the Brojans pulled out with a goal in the final minute.

Week 4 Scores:

Free Agents  5     Thunder Ducks  9
Honey Badgers  13    Brojans  14
Broseidon  8    Fighting Aye-Aye's  14

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Week 3 Scores

Week 3 saw the Brojans fall from the ranks of the undefeated and the Thunder Ducks remain the only undefeated team in the league.  The Fighting Aye-Aye's picked up their first win against the Free Agents who lost another close game, and the Honey Badgers picked up another win over Broseidon to move to 2-1.

Week 3 scores:
Brojans     Thunder Ducks  14
Fighting Aye-Aye's  12    Free Agents  11
Honey Badgers  15    Broseidon  10

Photos from week 3 have been posted to our Photos page, and our scores and standings page has also been updated.  Stats will be updated by tonight.


Week 2 Scores

Scores from week 2:

Brojans 12 Fighting Aye-Aye's 10
Broseidon 16 Free Agents 11
Thunder Ducks 16 Honey Badgers 12

Stats will be updated soon.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Exciting Games on Opening Night!

Some exciting games last night in our opening night of SOLL play.  The field at Duluth Heights was in great shape and stayed that way after 3 games.  The field drains really well and should be a great place to play league games this summer.

In the first game, the Fighting Aye-Aye's (name change, or is this what it'll be?) led most of the game by a few goals until the Thunder Ducks came back and took the lead at the end of the game, holding off the Aye-Aye's with some ball control to win in a high scoring affair 17-16.

In game 2, the Brojans led most of the way before Broseidon came back to tie it up late in the game.  The Brojans scored two goals late to come up with the win 12-10.

In our final game of the night, the Honey Badgers also led for most of the game before the Free Agents, with several fill-in players, stormed back to tie the game and take the lead 10-9.  The Honey Badgers scored the tying goal with about 30 seconds left to send it to braveheart.  For the braveheart, the Honey Badgers sent out long-pole Alex Hnatko who won the faceoff and promptly took it down to bury it in the back of the net and win the game for the Honey Badgers 11-10.

It was a fun first night of summer lacrosse in Duluth.  Week 2 will be this Sunday June 24 with games starting at 6:00 p.m.  Check the schedule to see what time you play.

Also, there is still time for players to register.  The Free Agent team is in need of players, so please register now or at the fields on Sunday.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Games are On

Games are on tomorrow night.  A couple changes to the schedule so check to make sure what time you play.  See you tomorrow night!

Opening Night Tomorrow...Depending on Weather

Opening night in the SOLL is scheduled for tomorrow night Thursday June 21 as long as the weather holds and the field is not underwater.

The teams are:  Honey Badgers (Holak), Broseidon (Galo), Thunder Ducks (Wishart), Fighting Aye-Aye's (Halver), Brojans (Dunnell) and Free Agents.

Tomorrow night, Thursday June 21 schedule:

6:00 p.m.  Thunder Ducks vs. Fighting Aye-Aye's
7:00 p.m.  Broseidon vs. Brojans
8:00 p.m.  Honey Badgers vs. Free Agents

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Teams Page Updated

Teams page has been updated.  If you haven't picked a name for your team yet, a name has been assigned to your team.  Please get me your team name as soon as possible, or the name listed will be your league name. 

Team rosters are pretty full, but we still have 4 free agents.  We have only 5 teams and I was hoping for 6.  If you know of any players still wanting to play that are not on one of the teams listed, have them register and we can form another team.  We need to know this very soon.  I will have to create a schedule tomorrow.  Without another team, all team rosters will be very full.

Monday, June 11, 2012

SOLL Game Dates Set

The tentative SOLL game dates are as follows. Opening day is Thursday June 21:

Thursday June 21: Week 1
Sunday June 24: Week 2
Sunday July 1: Week 3
Sunday July 8: Week 4
Sunday July 15: Week 5
Sunday July 22: Week 6
Thursday Aug 2: Week 7
Sunday Aug 5: Week 8
Sunday Aug 12: Playoffs

Players must get register and pay their player fee prior to opening day. Please send me your rosters as soon as they are finalized.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Start Registering and Setting Up Teams Now

If you plan on playing this summer in the SOLL, you need to register online as soon as possible and begin setting up your teams.  The league will start in about 2 weeks, so there is a lot of scheduling and planning that needs to be done very soon.  Please go HERE to register.  The player fee is $45 and can be paid securely online HERE.

League games will be played on Sunday evenings.  However, due to a conflict for the league commissioner, the first week may start on a weekday.  Stay tuned for league schedule and start date.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Welcome to the Superior Outdoor Lacrosse League!

The Superior Outdoor Lacrosse League is a summer outdoor 7 v. 7 league whose primary goal is to provide a fun off-season lacrosse opportunity for Northern Minnesota high school lacrosse players.  Games will be played at a Duluth area city park field.  Tentative location for league games will be Duluth Heights park.  The league is open to area high school players and adults (except current collegiate lacrosse players) and will begin play in mid-June.  Schedules will be released once all players and teams are set.  Registration and additional information coming soon! Stay tuned!