Jagermeister defeated Middlebury for the second consecutive year in the Masters championship this afternoon, running away in the second half for an 11-7 victory.  It was very similar to last year’s 10-6 win for the boys in orange as they completed their second consecutive unbeaten tournament.  Jager got superior goaltending all week long from Sean O’Rourke and got three goals and one assist from Tournament MVP Mark DiGiovanni to get the win.

After a close first half that saw Jager ahead 4-3, Jager’s good defense and transition game led to three quick goals that opened the game up to 7-3 midway through the third.  Three different players scored in the run for Jager and they never looked back.  Middlebury had a little bit of difficulty getting good possessions against the rangy and aggressive defenders of Jagermeister.  Face-offs were key in the game as well with Jagermeister winning a total of 15 of 27 draws.

Monday Results:
Championship:  Jagermeister 11, Middlebury 7 - scoreboard
3rd Place:  Lax Gear over Olympic Club (forfeit)
5th Place:  Team MAC/Vipers 8, Lacrossewear 6 - scoreboard
7th Place:  Breakaway 17, Rhinos 8 - scoreboard

Final Rankings:

1. Jagermeister
2. Middlebury
3. Lax Gear
4. The Olympic Club
5. Team MAC/Vipers
6. Lacrossewear
7. Breakaway
8. Rhinos

Masters Division All-Tournament Team

Attack:
#9 Mark DiGiovanni – Jagermeister
#10 Seth Low – Middlebury
#4 Peter Milliman – Lax Gear

Midfield:
#20 John Atherton – Middlebury
#20 Jim Koppler – Jagermeister
#5 Jeremy Guski – Jagermiester

Defense:
#34 Jed Raymond – Middlebury
#33 Sean Monahan – Jagermeiser
#34 Troy Ergenbright – Lax Gear

Long Stick Midfield:
#12 Ben Foucht – Team MAC/Vipers

Face-off:
#1 Garth Heth – Lax Gear
#32 Kevin Owens – Jagermeister

Goaltender:
#10 Sean O’Rourke – Jagermeister

It will be a rematch of the 2008 Masters championship tomorrow at Athletic Field as both Team Jagermeister and Middlebury moved through their semifinal opponents.  Last year, Jager defeated Middlebury 8-6 in an exciting game and tomorrow’s match-up should be just as good.  In the premiere game of the day in any division, Middlebury survived a late game-tying goal by The Olympic Club and a 30 minute lightning delay before getting the winning tally from tournament vet John Watts in overtime.  After Peter Ericson scored a spectacular goal while falling down to take a 5-4 lead for Middlebury, O-Club got the dramatic equalizer with just :17 left in the fourth quarter to take the game to overtime.

Tournament officials delayed the start of the overtime period by about 30 minutes to wait for the fast-moving storm to move through the valley and Middlebury wasted little time in getting the winner from Watts on a low bouncer.  The rain made things a bit sloppy in the closing moments, but both teams played with the excitement and heart we have come to love in the Masters division over the years.  In the earlier semifinal, Jagermeister jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter of their game against Lax Gear and coasted in for a 10-6 victory behind the strong goaltending of Sean O’Rourke.  It was Jager’s second straight semifinal win over Lax Gear and they will once again be the favorites in tomorrow’s finals, but the Middlebury boys should not be trifled with and the game should be a good one.

Results:

Semifinal #1 – Middlebury 6, Olympic Club 5 (ot) - scoresheet
Semifinal #2 – Jagermeister 10, Lax Gear 6 - scoresheet
Consolation – Team Vipers/Mac 18, Rhinos 8 - scoresheet
Consolation – Lacrossewear 15, Breakaway 9 - scoresheet

Monday Games:

See Bracket/Schedule in the upper left for full schedule.

With 8 teams competing in this year’s Masters division, the first day of competition in the Masters Division was full of blowouts. In the closest game of the day tournament new comer and California club lacrosse staple, the Olympic Club, easily handled the Masters version of Team Lacrossewear, 11-6.  Tournament veterans Middlebury and Jagermeister both scored 16 goals in route to double digit victories. Lax Gear rounds out what should be an extremely competitive and talented winners side of the bracket.  With excellent offensive talent across all four winning teams tomorrows games should feature high scoring action.

Masters Schedule for Sunday Games:
Semifinal #1 – Middlebury vs. Olympic Club – 2:30 pm – Athletic Field
Semifinal #2 – Jagermeister vs. Lax Gear/Silver Oysters – 12:30 am – Athletic Field
Consolation – Team Vipers/MAC vs. Rhinos – 10:30 am – Athletic Field
Consolation – Team Lacrossewear vs. Breakaway Lacrosse – 4:30 pm – Athletic Field

See Bracket/Schedule in the upper left for full schedule.