Major lacrosse tournament, recruiting showcase headed to Temecula

By: NATHAN MAX - For The Californian | Thursday, February 15, 2007 11:18 PM PST ∞

The biggest lacrosse tournament and college recruiting showcase in the Western United States will relocate this summer to Temecula, the event's organizers said Thursday.

The Adrenaline Shootout, formerly known as the Sonoma Shootout, will be staged July 18-21 at the John Blanche Memorial Soccer Complex. Last year, the event was held at Sonoma State University and drew approximately 1,000 players and 60 college recruiters from the NCAA Division I level through the club level.

"We simply outgrew the venue, and we wanted to supply the event with a top-notch facility that is convenient and conducive to the caliber of event we offer," said Adrenaline Lacrosse Director Alex Cade, who is also the starting goalie for San Francisco Dragons Major League Lacrosse team. "It went from one wine country to another."

The Sonoma Shootout began in 2002 when 10 teams played in front of a handful of recruiters. Sonoma State has hosted all five of the events to date.

The event has quickly grown alongside the rapid spread in lacrosse's popularity in the Western United States. Last summer, the event drew recruiters from top NCAA Division I programs Notre Dame, Navy, Princeton, Towson, St. John's and Bucknell, among others. The head coaches of California's only two NCAA-sanctioned programs, Division II Notre Dame de Namur and Division III Whittier, also attended.

The event brings in teams from all over North America. Last year's event brought in teams from as far away as Maryland, Florida, Minnesota and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This year's tournament will feature an elite high school boys division, a lower-tier high school boys division and a high school girls division.

The John Blanche Memorial Soccer Complex is a 50-acre facility with room for up to 30 fields, according to Chris Kingston, the facility's new business and sponsorship director.

"It's big for the complex in the sense that it's diversifying the complex," Kingston said. "We don't want to be known as just a soccer facility. We want to be known as a sports complex, so it's a huge deal for the facility to bring in not just a lacrosse tournament, but a lacrosse tournament of this size and this nature."

The story was first reported by WestSideLax.com.

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