The Sports Informant

The Folsom-Cordova United took care of business early and often on May 9, dispatching of the visiting CITY Outlaws in the first round of the Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association playoffs with a 16-5 win at John Kemp Park in Folsom.

The United lit up the scoreboard for 11 goals in the first half and held the Outlaws scoreless in the second half to secure a spot in the Final 4 Championships next weekend.

Folsom-Cordova's Jacob Ziolkowski avoids a hit along the sidelines as he attacks. (Photo courtesy Tom Paniagua)

“We expected to get the better of them, but no one expects to get up 10 or 12 goals,” Folsom-Cordova coach Mike Messersmith said. “I was surprised we did as well with how poorly we played. It took a little while to get rhythm, and then we found what was working and stuck with that.”

The game could have been defined by a single play right before halftime. With Folsom-Cordova up 10-4, the Outlaws scored their fifth goal with six seconds left in the second quarter, providing a boost they may have taken into the second half. But when the United’s Brian Anderson won ensuing the face off, sprinted downfield and passed to teammate Paul Clark, who flung a shot and scored before the buzzer, the Outlaws were deflated for good.

The second half was a complete shift, as the offensive output slowed to a crawl. The United’s defense completely shut down the Outlaws, while Folsom-Cordova’s Ryan Platt scored four of the team’s final five goals.

“After being completely shut down last week in the Orangevale game, it felt good to come out and put a couple in the goal,” said Platt, who scored six goals total in the game. “I felt like I had to step up and help the team.”

Platt added an assist in the game for Folsom-Cordova, while Anderson finished with four goals and two assists, Clark had four goals and three assists, Tyler Sommer had a goal, Blake Oliaro scored one goal and Jacob Ziolkowski had two assists.

“It was great to win a home playoff game,” Messersmith said. “We’ve never won one here. To win and move onto the Final 4, that’s a first.”

The United essentially get home field advantage the rest of the way, as the city of Folsom will host the NCJLA Final 4 Championships May 16-17 at Livermore Park.

“For us to host it and be in it is really great,” coach Mike Messersmith said. “It will be a lot of fun, regardless of what happens. It’s good that we qualified for it because otherwise we’d all be working the snack bar for it.”

United's Ryan Platt scores one of his six goals. (Photo courtesy Tom Paniagua)

Oliaro was hurt in the first half of the match and will undergo an MRI to determine whether he can play next weekend or not. Word from United personnel in contact with Orangevale’s team was that the neighboring Rams lost at Petaluma earlier today, so a third match this season between the neighboring teams is off the table.

Facing second-seeded Petaluma will be a challenge for Folsom-Cordova, especially if Oliaro can’t play.

“If we play like this against Petaluma, we’re not moving on,” Messersmith said. “When you can play a stinker and win, you just have to count yourself lucky, and that’s pretty much what we did.”

The good news is Folsom-Cordova is capable of beating anyone, and they’ll get to do it at home. The bad news is that it has no idea what’s coming with its next opponent.

“It’s a huge advantage,” Platt said of playing at home again. “Last year we were two hours away. We knew coming in if we won, we’d be playing Petaluma. It should be an interesting game, but we’ve never seen them before.”