The varsity lacrosse Redmen delivered a walloping 12-3 victory over the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues at Forbes Field Sunday.

The Blues started things off quickly, taking early leads. But once the game settled down and the refs eased up on their whistles, McGill was able to control possession and the game. The Redmen scored four unanswered goals for a 7-3 halftime lead, and cemented the win by outscoring Toronto 5-0 in the second half.

A lot of credit for the lopsided score goes to McGill goalie Guy Fox, who made some timely and spectacular saves.

Like his goalie, Head Coach Tim Murdoch is determined to keep expectations under control and take the games as they come. “Right now we’re 2-0 and on top of the East along with Bishop’s and Carleton. We talked about championships last year a lot; this year we’re just going to talk about beating Bishop’s in Lennoxville [to] knock them off and go 3-0and we’ll look ahead from there.”

It is probably too early to tell what the future holds for this team; it has many new parts and success will depend on how they gel. But Murdoch is optimistic, voicing “really, really high hopes for the rest of the season.”

The game against Toronto gave him reason to hope, not least in the offensive power of senior Noah Miller’s four goals. When asked about his top goal-scorer, coach Murdoch praised him effusively. “[Noah Miller] is a good example of an excellent athlete, a strong student and someone that brings a lot to the table on the field and in the classroom,” he said. “He’s a leader, and unfortunately he’s a senior so we only have him for this season.”

A blend of youth and experience should make this an exciting year, but the players and coaches are not caught up in it. The only thing on any of their minds is playing Bishop’s next week at Lennoxville and getting the win.

“We’ve got to carry [this momentum] into next week. We’ve got to take it day-by-day and our next challenge is Bishop’s on Thursday,” said Fox.

–Sam Hunter