Berkeley Lax's Playoff Run Ends

The Star: Berkeley's Nick Stinehour did all he could to keep his team competitive by scoring four goals, two of which were worthy of appearances on Sportscenter.

The Turning Point: The Yellowjackets were able to make things interesting by cutting the deficit down to five early in the fourth quarter. San Ramon Valley was able to squash any hopes of a comeback with three straight goals.

What's Next: Berkeley's season is over. Even though their ride stopped in the second round of the NCS playoffs, they can hang their hats on a third consecutive BSAL championship.

The Bottom Line: The Yellowjackets didn't give up until the final whistle, but the Wolves were simply a more talented team on Saturday night.

-------

Berkeley High School's playoff run came to a grinding halt on Saturday night. In front of their home crowd, the Yellowjackets couldn't keep up with the more determined squad from San Ramon Valley High School.

With their 14-6 win, the No. 3 Wolves (16-6, 10-4 East Bay Athletic League) will move on to the third round of the NCS Playoffs.

No. 6 Berkeley (15-8, 10-0 Bay Shore Athletic League) had a glimmer of hope starting at the middle of the third quarter; they were able to string together a few goals to bring an eight goal deficit down to five.

Yellowjacket Nick Stinehour, who was Berkeley's best player on the night, was able to complete a hat trick during the run. Sam Carpenter and Sean Scott were the other two Yellowjackets who notched goals.

San Ramon Valley responded strongly with three unanswered goals of their own.

“Quick fast shots from 30 yards, 25 yards out, they just put them on cage,” Berkeley's Ryan Jackson said.

The night was punctuated by the Wolves' scoring flurry coming out of the halftime. San Ramon Valley midfielder Brendan Clancy was able to find the back of the net within the first minute after the recess.

To make matters worse for the Yellowjackets, they were assessed a penalty following the goal on account of a late hit. Wolf Peter Tagliaferri made Berkeley pay dearly for the mistake with a goal early in the man-up situation.

San Ramon Valley was able to take control of the game in the early stages on the part of their aggressive defensive play. On several occasions they forced turnovers when the Yellowjackets were attempting to clear the ball. One such turnover directly led to the Wolves' second goal.

“They were riding hella hard; they locked up on us,” Jackson said. “People made bad passes.”

The lone bright spot in the first half for Berkeley came thanks to a spectacular play by Stinehour. Down four goals, the Yellowjackets were desperate for something to turn things around.

After bringing the ball up past midfield, Stinehour took on a bevy of defenders as he drove to the net. He eventually found himself face-to-face with Wolf goalie Cameron Bowlby, at which point Stinehour was able to finally put the Yellowjackets on the scoreboard.

“I kind of got hit at the end but all I remembered was the goal,” Stinehour said. “I saw it hit the net. It felt pretty good to get the ball rolling and get some momentum for the team.”

Even though the lacrosse season has come to an end for Berkeley, Jackson was able to look at the entire season in a positive light.

“I came from St. Mary's last year and we were 0 and like 15,” Jackson said. “Come here. Won league. Beat Piedmont three times in a row. Coaches helped me improve my talents. It's a great feeling.”

Download the movie

Download the movie