OTTAWA -- Rookie
Patrick Brandell of St. Charles, Ill., tallied twice and added a pair of assists as the McGill men's lacrosse team defeated Ottawa 11-5 at Gee-Gee Field Saturday.
The victory avenged a shocking 11-10 loss to Ottawa in the 2016 quarter-final and helped the Redmen maintain a spotless 4-0 record atop the CUFLA East standings. McGill sits one win ahead of Trent (3-0) and Bishop's (3-0), who both have a game in hand.
McGill led 4-1 after the first quarter, 7-4 at halftime, and carried a 10-5 lead into the final frame, which they won 1-0.
Brandell, a month shy of his 21st birthday, was one of four McGill players to notch two goals in the win. The six-foot, 180-pound midfielder was joined by
Goose Bolton of Darien, Conn.,
Maxime Murdoch of Westmount, Que., and co-captain
Alexander Linton of Ridgewood, N.J., each of whom netted a pair.
"Linton was our player of the game," said head coach
Tim Murdoch. "He epitomizes the positive leadership style that we all need to emulate. He is never negative and always maintains a glass is half-full mentality. We will need to draw on that in games where we are under-performing."
Other scorers for the Redmen were
Liam MacDonald of North Vancouver, B.C., with one goal and two assists,
Emile Sassone-Lawless (1-1-2) of Ithaca, N.Y., and
Ian MacLeod of Bradenton, Fla.
"Our offence was unable to convert on several opportunities but (we) totally dominated face-offs, which allowed us to maintain possession," noted
Murdoch, who indicated that the hot, muggy conditions affected the play. "we were also undisciplined today and took too many penalties (10)."
Julian Smith-Voudouris, a sophomore from Stouffville, Ont., won 16 of 17 faceoffs. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound midfielder lost the game opening faceoff, which led to an Ottawa goal just 15 seconds into the contest, then won 16 straight.
McGill goalkeeper
William Waesche, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound economics senior from Greenwich, Conn., stood tall, allowing just five goals in the full 80 minutes.
His Ottawa counterpart,
Josh Howell, was in goal for all 11 Redmen markers and took the loss.
Replying for the Gee-Gees was
Keith Lee (2),
Spencer Corley,
Tyler Austin and
Fredrick Hartley.
The Redmen (4-0) face Trent (3-0) in Peterborough, Ont., on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3:30 p.m. in a battle for the CUFLA division lead, while Ottawa (0-3) hosts Queen's (1-2).
LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE
