Cage - I agree with on the age thing and how single age year is the best way to have fair and competitive tournaments - but lacrosse is different from other sports because the college recruiting and the disproportionate number of college spots available to the relatively low number of high school kids that play. Lacrosse is a sport that sees some high schools sending 10 - 15 players a year play college lacrosse and most at great higher education facilities. the recruiting is getting younger and younger and IMHO a college coach does not want to see U15 game with 8th/9th and 10th graders in it. He wants to see a 2016 game that he knows he is comparing rising sophomores against rising sophomores - I think that a majority of soccer players are playing for the love of the game and to win championships at the club level while a majority of the lax players are trying to get recruited.
an example of what I am saying would be this weekends laxfest - all the chatter is about cheating and age and sandbagging divisions up to the eighth grade - but you talk to any HS kid or parent the only thing you hear is what coach from what school is on what field. It's Tuesday afternoon and I still have no idea who won the HS division and my kid played in it. | 
