PETERBOROUGH, ONT – Connor Murphy scored three goals and added an assist as his top-seeded Western Mustangs defeated McGill 7-4 to capture the Baggataway Cup as champions of the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association, Sunday, at Justin Chiu Stadium.
 
McGill, which posted a 10-4 record overall during the season, including a 7-3 third-place finish in the CUFLA East, reached the final with a 9-8 upset over Guelph on Friday and an unexpected 10-8 decision over higher-seeded Carleton on Saturday.

It marked an eighth league title for the Mustangs who were making their 12th appearance in the final, compared to McGill's sixth appearance in the championship game and two Cup victories.

Western, the beneficiary of a first-round bye as the CUFLA West pennant winners, only had to play one post-season contest to reach the final, while McGill had to play three to qualify for the showcase event. And the third-seeded Redbirds were playing their third game in 48 hours, with an injury-depleted roster, dressing 10 fewer players than the Mustangs.

The Mustangs struggled in the first half but slowly pulled away in the latter stages. Western, which had a 20-11 advantage in shots on net, led 1-0 after the opening quarter, 2-1 at halftime and 4-3 after three. The Mustangs had more gas in the tank during the final stanza, outscoring McGill 3-1 down the stretch, including an empty-netter in the final minute.

Rounding out the scoring for Western was Chris da Silva with two, Marc Smorenburg and Chris Dong. Mustangs goaltender Michael Orlando made seven saves for the win

John Miraglia of Memphis, Tenn., netted two markers for McGill to conclude his impressive campaign with 22 goals in 14 games overall. The 20-year-old political science sophomore scored goals in every game this season.

Teammate Alexander Erbstein, a junior midfielder from Gulf Stream, Fla., also scored twice. He was one of four McGill players named to the All-Tournament team, along with attacker Rowan Birrell, faceoff specialist Samuel MacDonald and goaltender Joseph Boehm.

Boehm, a computer science senior from Waterloo, Ont., registered 13 saves in the final to finish with 37 in the tourney and was named as McGill's player of the game. It was a fitting honour for the Redbirds co-captain, who was suiting up for the last collegiate game.

MacDonald, a kinesiology junior from Guelph, Ont., was thoroughly dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 78.2 per cent of his draws (43/55) over the the tourney. He was overlooked for the top berth in the CUFLA all-star voting but received honourable mention.

Birrell, a biology sophomore from North Vancouver, B.C., was the tourney goal-scoring leader with 10 in three games. He was double-teamed in the final and kept off the scoresheet.

"We ran into too many injury issues and having to play one more game (over the weekend), we were burned out for the last one," head coach Nicolas Soubry noted. "It's a lesson in having to take care of our bodies better and having to work around a 35-man roster."

An array of ailments proved significant as both of the team's all-stars – scoring leader Dylan James (hamstring) and defender Logan Glick (knee) – were out, along with Massimo Thauvette, Jack Buzby, Benjamin Buzby and Kyle Glick, among others. In addition, there were a number of walking wounded, a group that included Chris Koran and Isaiah Cree who were were hobbled but dressed and saw limited duty.

"I would be more in favour of restructuring our championship tournament to a four-team format (instead of six), with a semifinal and final," noted Soubry. "That would be fairer to the teams involved in terms of player safety, looking at games played versus recovery time."

Six McGill seniors are expected to graduate this year and will not be returning: Isaiah Cree, Joseph Boehm, Henry Fowler, Dylan James, John Hicks and Louis-Antoine Habre.

"We're really going to miss those guys, they're irreplaceable," said Soubry. "What they brought to the team in terms of skill and leadership will be difficult to replace."

Soubry also singled out his volunteer coaching staff for some kudos. They included Stone Jacobs, Maxime Murdoch, Simon Hudson, Marc-Antoine Pion and Kevin Miao, the team's hybrid assistant coach/manager. 

BOXSCORE

20203 CUFLA BAGGATAWAY CUP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

GOALTENDER
Joseph Boehm, McGill

DEFENDER
Landon Masse, Western
Ben MacDonnell, Trent
Kaz Nizielski, Western

LONG-STICK MIDFIELDER
Liam McCrimmon, Brock

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER
Sam Van der Zalm, Western

FACEOFF SPECIALIST
Samuel MacDonald, McGill

MIDFIELD
Chris Dong, Western
Chris da Silva, Western
Alexander Erbstein, McGill

ATTACK
Rowan Birrell, McGill
Jaden Patterson, Brock
Robbie Baxter, Guelph

2023 CUFLA BAGGATAWAY CUP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Nov. 4
QUARTER-FINALS
McGill 9, Guelph 8
Brock 9, Trent 7
 
Nov. 5
SEMIFINALS
McGill 10, Carleton 8
Western 9, Brock 1

Nov. 6
BAGGATAWAY CUP FINAL
Western 7, McGill 4


SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca