Men's Lacrosse | 9/8/2018 11:37:00 PM

MONTREAL -- Seth Obadia scored five goals and freshman Andrew Chase added a pair, including the winner, as McGill outlasted the visiting Nipissing Lakers 13-12 in double overtime to open play in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association before a crowd of 253 at Percival Molson Stadium, Saturday.

The Redmen led 3-2 after the opening quarter and took a 9-4 advantage into halftime but self-destructed in the second half with undisciplined play, taking 10 of the 17 penalties called in the game. Nipissing won the third quarter 3-1 and then took the fourth stanza 4-1 to force an automatic two overtime periods. McGill outscored the visitors 2-0 in the first four-minute extra session with goals from Obadia and Chase, at 2:58 and at 3:52, respectively. Nipissing replied at 3:04 of the second extra period with a goal by Will Craig, his third of the contest.

"We looked brilliant at times and awful at others. We were mentally weak, made too many mistakes," said a relieved Tim Murdoch, in his 16th season as head coach of the Redmen. "There were several offsides and bad decisions. We had a long meeting after the game. I told them that they had an A- on the midterm but a D- on the final, which is not a pretty final grade. We were happy to win but very much reflective on how we had to do better the next day against Queen's."

Obadia, a first-year transfer from Lafayette College, an NCAA Div. 1 program, also added an assist to finish with a six-point soiree in his McGill debut. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound attackman from Port Washington, N.Y., opened the scoring at 4:36 of the first quarter. He added a hat-trick in the second stanza, improving McGill's lead to 4-3, 7-4 and 9-4, respectively, then gave the Redmen a 12-11 edge in the first overtime period.

"Seth had a really nice game, played with a lot of poise," said Murdoch. "He had two years of Div. 1 experience in the NCAA, so he and our two other NCAA transfers -- Andrew Chase and Cougar Kirby -- inject a lot of maturity, confidence and high-end game play into our offence. They're going to be key contributors all season."

Kirby, a sociology major from Kahnawake who just transferred to McGill from the University of Albany, tallied once in his debut, played before a large group of family and friends. 

Senior Maxime Murdoch, a co-captain, added a pair of goals, with singles going to junior Connor Plante of Burlington, Vt., junior Kieran McKay of Richmond, B.C., and Colton Campbell, a sophomore from Boulder, Col.

"Plante was especially impressive in anchoring the defensive midfield group. He had no points in his entire 2017 season, so his two-point performance in one game, including a shorthanded goal, really sparked our team," noted Tim Murdoch.

Also netting a hat-trick for Nipissing wasTanner Poole. Rounding out the Lakers scoring, with two goals apiece, was Scott Dominey, Sam Rooney and Riley Sloan.

Goalkeeper David Pelliccione, an economics junior from Woodbridge, Ont., made 12 saves on 19 shots to collect the victory between the pipes for McGill. Ravens' keeper Andrew Wood was charged with the loss, conceding 13 goals on 18 shots.

The Redmen thoroughly dominated on faceoffs, winning 25 of 28 draws for a spectacular 89 per cent success rate. Sophonmore Gardie Herr of Princeton, N.J., was 15-1 while Julian Smith-Voudouris, a junior from Stouffville, Ont., was 10-2.

McGill (1-0) will host Queen's on Sunday at Molson Stadium (1 p.m.). The Gaels (0-1), a long-time Redmen rival, were beaten 8-2 at Bishop's on Saturday.

LINK TO SCORING SUMMARY