LVLA Semifinals Preview and Predictions

What an entertaining regular season. There's been a great deal of parody these last few months, which has made for some incredible games and wild finishes.   I expect no different in the playoffs.   #1 Palo Verde Panthers (8-1) vs #4 Coronado Cougars (4-5)   Palo Verde received the #1 seed after going 8-1 in the LVLA this season. Their lone loss was to Bishop Gorman back at the beginning of March. Since then they have won 7 LVLA games in a row, and they have had a ton of guys playing at a high level. They may have some of the best middies in LVLA in Langston Goodwin, Benn Carvalho, and SSDM Nick Lahkderi. Their attackmen, Mason Robinson, Slater Salinas, Seth Salinas, and Parker Nielson consistently produce and can beat you from the perimeter or inside. Unfortunately it looks as though Luke Rava is out with an arm injury. I have also been a fan of their defense. They've been been reliable and goalie Jojo Aragon has shown poise in the net. Facing off for them will be Asher Startita, who can help them play make it, take it when he's in a groove.   The Cougars on the other hand, are a very strong #4 seed. They lost multiple games by just one or two goals. Including a two goal loss to Palo Verde two weeks ago. Their top performing players on offense have been Jason Koa Hernandez, [player_tooltip player_id='127435' first='Andrew' last='Viloria'], Henry Pack and Scotty Lennox. While they've also had some good defensive play from Liam Hunsaker, DJ Rogers, Eaun Driscoll, and Bo Pippenger. Goalie, [player_tooltip player_id='125048' first='AJ' last='Landy'], makes tough saves and when he is on he is on. Coronado has been having both Josh Wall and Bo Pippenger face off, and both guys have the ability to start fast breaks thanks to their speed.   Prediction: Palo Verde's offense may be too much for the Cougars to keep up with tonight. They simply have weapons everywhere and they also don't mind sharing the rock. I believe it will be fairly close, but I predict that the Panthers come out on top.   If the Cougars want to pull off the upset, they'll need everyone to chip in and a bigtime performance from their defensive unit + goalie.   #2 Bishop Gorman Gaels (7-2) vs #3 Faith Lutheran (5-4)   Bishop Gorman drew the #2 seed after a very successful regular season. They only suffered 2 LVLA losses, losing to Faith 4-11 at the beginning of the year and they also lost to Palo 10-8. [player_tooltip player_id='126834' first='Ben' last='Urso'], Diesel Riiber, [player_tooltip player_id='124923' first='Ryan' last='Cambeiro'] have been the leaders on offense. On the other end of the field, Aden Anderson has held it down in goal. I also need to mention Juniors, Beau LaVoie and Merek Mastrov who have also been wreaking havoc with their long poles all season. They have great positional size and throw some hard and crafty checks. At the X, they have [player_tooltip player_id='124875' first='Xander' last='Iway'] who can win the clamp and get out of their in a hurry.   Faith Lutheran grabs the #3 seed after going 5-4. They have been slightly up and down this season due to different guys being in and out of the lineup. But they do have a few guys back for the playoffs, including Austin Marchesi and Ashton Bittner. Both of them made immediate impacts last week and they look hungry after missing time. Sophomore, Weston Schultz, has been steady for them though and seems to rack up at least 2-3 goals every time he suits up. Attackmen, Milo Anderson, also always performs at a high level and the team thrives off his energy when he gets hot. Then the Crusaders also have defensive standouts, [player_tooltip player_id='125267' first='Hudson' last='Pavicich'], Wyatt Carroll, Blake Nguyen, and Daniel Auon in net. A very cohesive group that can completely shut down the other team. RJ Jones will likely be at the X for for them, and he often uses his legs to help the Crusaders gain possession.   Prediction: This isn't an easy prediction to make. The Gaels offense is fun to watch when they're clicking, but they can get very quiet. The Crusaders are also a team that sometimes slows down on offense, and they may be without star middie Liam Schulz tonight who can facilitate the offense with his wheels. With all of that being said, I predict the Gaels win a nail biter. Diesel Riiber seems to thrive in the moment, and D1 commit Aden Anderson can turn into a brick wall when he's locked in.   In order for the Crusaders to knock off the Gaels, they will need their underclassmen to step up and they will also need to prevent Bishop Gorman from going on big runs.

What an entertaining regular season. There's been a great deal of parody these last few months, which has made for some incredible games and wild finishes.