MONTREAL – Co-captain
Isaiah Cree from the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York, scored a game-high five points as McGill defeated visiting Queen's 9-5 in the second annual men's lacrosse Legacy Game – which pays tribute to the sport's native roots – to highlight an emotional National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, at Percival Molson Stadium, Saturday.
Commemorative orange T-shirts designed by the Indigenous people to mark the occasion, were worn by all the players in a moving post-game ceremony of togetherness.
Deep Saini, the new McGill principal and vice-chancellor, was on hand for the game, dressed in orange attire, and presented a hand-carved lacrosse stick to the team.
A 23-year-old senior in international development studies, Cree scored three goals and collected assists on two other markers. The six-foot, 199-pound attackman upped his season totals to 10 points, including five goals, in five games.
McGill, which also unveiled new orange uniforms, jumped into a huge 6-0 lead after the opening quarter and extended that to 8-1 by halftime. Queen's rallied with four consecutive goals in the second to narrow the deficit to 8-5 but McGill's
Rowan Birrell tallied his second of the game to put out the fire with 44 seconds remaining in the contest.
Other Redbirds scorers were
Dylan James and
John Miraglia, with two goals apiece, and
Louis-Antoine Habre with one.
Reed Allen tallied twice for the Gaels, with singles going to
Jack Fuller,
Winston Bashford-Land and
Jacob McLean.
Queen's took six of the 11 penalties called and McGill had a 14-10 edge in shots on net. Goaltender
Joseph Boehm made five saves for the victory. Gaels netminder
Ryan Greenfield started and took the loss, conceding eight goals on 10 shots. He was replaced at halftime by understudy
Ryan Gemus, who kicked aside three of four shots faced.
The victory moved McGill (3-2), two points ahead of Queen's (2-3) in the CUFLA East standings. The Redbirds will host Bishop's (1-3) on Wednesday (Oct. 4) in a 7 p.m. start at Molson Stadium. Queen's will return to action on Oct. 6 when they travel to meet division-leading Carleton (5-1) in the nation's capital.
GAME NOTES: The halftime show featured dancers from Kahnawake who performed a smoke and pow-wow style dance... The ceremonial orange shirts, which featured Indigenous artwork created by
Brandon Lazore, are available at the Redbird Sports Shop located inside the Currie Gym at 475 Avenue des Pins ouest.
SCORING SUMMARY
CUFLA STATS & STANDINGS
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
