After a tough loss against Trent Excalibur (5–1) on Sept. 23, the McGill men’s lacrosse team (3–2) returned to Percival Molson Stadium with hopes to bounce back against the Queen’s University Gaels (2–1) in their second annual Legacy Game. 

The first Legacy Game was played on Sept. 30, 2022, created in collaboration by representatives from McGill Athletics and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, including the First Peoples’ House. The game is intended to provide a platform to discuss Truth and Reconciliation while also recognizing the Indigenous roots of lacrosse. Lacrosse originated within Indigenous communities well before the arrival of settlers and was often used to settle disagreements between communities. In these games, hundreds of players would take the field and it is believed by the Haudenosaunee peoples that lacrosse is a gift from the Creator and that playing the sport shows appreciation and thanks to the Creator.

The Redbirds also sported orange jerseys during the game with Indigenous designs. The shoulder detail represented traditional Indigenous tattoo patterns, while the sleeve detail presented a Skydome pattern that illustrates the skyworld, the earth, and plants that exist in both the skyworld and on earth. The waistband detail represented the grasses and fields, with a pattern illustrating the residential school children who have been found and recovered, below. 

The Redbirds had a shaky start as they lost control of the ball in the first two minutes of play, however,  a goal by midfielder Louis-Antoine Habre from the top of the crease opened the score for McGill. Two minutes later, midfielder Dylan James scored from the side of the net before John Miraglia notched the third goal of the game. With seven minutes left in the first quarter midfielder Rowan Birrell scored to make it 4-0. 

After a foul by the Gaels, James netted his second goal of the game, followed by a rush by Miraglia to score the last goal of the quarter and give McGill a dominating 6-0 lead. 

In the second quarter, Queen’s forced the Redbirds back on their heels, but with five minutes remaining in the first half, goalkeeper Joseph Boehm made an excellent save before passing the ball to James who sent captain Isaiah Cree down the field to score his first goal of the night. Two minutes later, the captain scored his second and with just seven seconds remaining Queen’s was able to bury a goal, bringing the score to 8-1 at the half.

Queen’s sank their second goal of the game just three minutes into the third quarter, quickly landing another one two minutes later. The Gael’s fourth straight goal moved the score to 8-4, with three minutes left to play in the quarter.  

In a post-game interview with The Tribune, Birrell described how he felt after the end of the third quarter. 

“There wasn’t anything dropping. It was like we were getting some looks and we’re getting them early on in our shot clock too. We weren’t wasting [time]. We were possessing a lot,” Birrell explained. 

After a frustrating third quarter, Queen’s was able to score one last goal before McGill regrouped and ended the game strong. In the seventh minute of play Birrell attempted a shot on goal that was ultimately blocked. Birrell recovered the rebound and was able to get the ball in the net, setting a final score of 9-5. 

Head coach Nicolas Soubry emphasized the importance of getting on top early moving forward in order to prepare his team for the next game. 

“It is good to start fast. So starting the game fast and getting those goals early really helped us at the end there,” Soubry said.

The Redbirds will play next against the Bishop’s Gaiters (1–3) on Oct. 4.

Moment of the game: Birrell redeemed himself from a blocked shot in the third quarter, scoring the last goal of the game, and giving McGill a four-goal advantage. 

Quotable: “For me personally, to have this how big it was, like the ceremony, everything. It’s just surreal. [….] Hopefully, there’ll be more than just two guys in the team that are Indigenous.”

– Isaiah Cree on the importance of the Legacy Game

Stat Corner: The Redbirds lost their 18-year win streak over the Gaels last year, which spanned from 10/24/2004 to 9/30/2022.