On Oct. 29, McGill Redbirds’ lacrosse faced off against the Queen’s University Gaels in a single-elimination playoff game to clinch a spot in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) playoff tournament, otherwise known as the Baggataway Cup.
Motivated and eager to win, the Redbirds opened the scoring mere moments after the opening whistle sounded when captain and attacker Isaiah Cree scored the first goal just 10 seconds into the game. However, the Gaels quickly countered with two back-to-back goals to go up 2-1. The Redbirds struck back thanks to another goal by midfielder Rowan Birrell giving the Redbirds evening out the score board. Following a few exchanges, Cree had the opportunity to bury his second goal of the afternoon and tie the game.
The growing goal tally galvanized midfielder Alexander Erbstein, who netted another with under two minutes remaining, and the quarter ended with midfielder Mark Symon’s goal with just 10 seconds left to set the score 5-2.
After a particularly intense first quarter that the Redbirds dominated, the second quarter was quiet until the Gaels shrunk the point gap, scoring with three minutes on the clock. However, midfielder John Miraglia responded with McGill’s sixth goal with just eight seconds left in the half.
Cree opened the second half of the game with back-to-back goals, giving McGill an 8-2 lead. The Gaels’ frustration erupted into several scuffles. Defender Ryan Badour served his first of four penalties that afternoon for slashing. With two minutes left in the third quarter, defender Kyle Glick suffered an injury following a multi-player collision and had to be escorted off the field.
This change in pace allowed the Gaels to sneak two goals past Boehm to start the fourth quarter, bringing the score back to 8-4. After expert passes between midfielders Rowan Birrell and Massimo Thauvette, Birrell buried the ball past the Gael goalkeeper, restoring the five-goal gap..
After the Redbirds regained possession, Birrell successfully faked out Queens’ defense and passed the ball. Midfielder Owen Howard successfully picked it up, passing it back to Birrell, who narrowly missed.
As the game came to a close, the Redbirds continued to apply pressure to Queen’s defense line in an attempt to extend the goal gap. When the referee’s whistle echoed, the score was settled and McGill secured the 9-5 win.
“I think the big thing today was having our entire lineup really contribute,” assistant coach Maxime Murdoch said in an interview with The Tribune. “It was really a full team effort. We had a couple of guys that were a little more injured, some starters that we had to take out early. And we had some guys that usually don’t play as much get in there and really play well.”
The other team, you know, came back really strong at some point,” Murdoch explained. “We kind of just had to, had to do our thing. The biggest thing is really just having all these guys, that usually don’t play, get in there and really contribute to score goals.”
This win allows McGill to compete at the Baggataway Cup at the Trent University Excalibur, last year’s champions, on Nov. 3-5. They will face off against the University of Guelph Gryphons, currently second in the Western division, hoping to advance to the semi-finals. The last time McGill won the Cup was 2015.
Moment of the Game: After making an incredible save, Boehm pierced through the field to reach the 49-yard line, in front of the Gaels’ goal and passed to a teammate.
Stats Corner: The game saw seven penalties drawn, including four for McGill’s Badour, and one from Birrell.
Quotable:
“We win when we move on, we lose once we’re done. So all of them are make-or-break,” Cree said. “I really feel like we can really make a run this year.”
— Senior-year, captain Isaiah Cree reflecting on the significance of this buy-in game for the playoff.
