On Saturday Sept 24, at the newly refurbished Forbes Field, McGill Redmen Lacrosse (4-1) faced off against the Queen’s Gaels (1-4). McGill scored first and maintained its dominance for the rest of the game, finishing with a 15-8 score line.
Thanks to a strong first half of the season, the Redmen find themsleves ranked second in the CUFLA East Division.
“We’re at one loss right now,” Midfielder Bohe Hosking said. “But we’re still confident.”
McGill’s only loss of the season was against Trent University, who are currently undefeated in CUFLA play. McGill led for most of the game, but Trent had a strong fourth quarter and scored the game winner in the last minute of play.
“We had a tough one against Trent,” fourth-year attacker Spencer Bromley said. “You never like to lose, but it was a good game and I think we’re off on the right foot.”
Bromley, who leads the team with 21 points, scored four times and assisted once against Queen’s on Saturday afternoon. Attacker Goose Bolton also notched five points, scoring three times along with a pair of assists, while midfielder Emile Sassone-Lawless was credited with five assists.
Though the point leaders from Saturday’s game are all seasoned veterans, many of the rookies also made valuable contributions. The wide score line afforded Head Coach Tim Murdoch the flexibility to give minutes to players who haven’t had much field time so far this season.
“Some of our freshmen stepped in and played key roles,” Murdoch noted. “[It’s] very inspirational for our [starting lineup], who are playing ahead of these guys, to see them step in […] and perform.”
Saturday’s game was their home opener, and a dedicated group of fans watched from the hill behind Forbes Field. As the Redmen look to repeat after a national championship last year, they’re hoping to garner even more support from the McGill community.
“We just like seeing the bleachers packed,” Hosking said. “Hopefully that can happen with a few [more] home wins.”
The Redmen have seven more regular season games, four of which are at home. Next weekend, they’ll travel to Ottawa to play against the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton Ravens. They’ll then return to host the Bishop’s Gaiters on Oct. 6 at Molson Stadium.
Quotable: “Everyone wants to beat us, so everyone is good competition.”—Spencer Bromley.
Stats corner: It only took Goose Bolton 62 seconds to score McGill’s first goal of the game.
Moment of the game: Rookie defender Alessio Marcogliese scored the first goal of his McGill career by carrying the ball from the half and whipping it past Queen’s goalie.
