LENNOXVILLE, QUE –
Zach Bye scored six goals and
Owen Howard tallied twice including the game-winner midway through the final quarter as McGill escaped with a wild 11-10 road victory at Bishop's, in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association, Thursday.
The result put a damper on the Bishop's Homecoming celebrations at Bruce Coulter Field and improved division-leading McGill's unblemished record to 5-0, including a two-game sweep over BU this season. It's the best start for the Redbirds since 2019 when they posted an umblemished 10-0 record in the CUFLA East.
McGill led 5-1 after the opening quarter and took a 9-4 lead into halftime but watched in horror as the Gaiters roared back to tie the score at 10-10 after three quarters. But Howard, a 5-foot-8, 167-pound midfielder from Cincinnati, Ohio, broke the Gaiters' backs when he converted a pass from
Mark Symon and struck pay-dirt with 8:51 remaining. The Redbirds played shutdown ball the rest of the way but lost possession in the final minute. Defender
Ryan Badour, an engineering senior from Oakville, Ont., saved the day when he forced a turnover with 15 seconds left on the clock.
"Badour was easily our best player down the stretch," said a relieved McGill head coach
Nicolas Soubry. "He made a ton of plays in the last quarter, blocking three shots, single-handedly clearing the ball (out of danger) three times and he used his body to cause at least three turnovers. He really controlled that last quarter to help us get the W."
The Gaiters took seven of the 13 penalties called, including four of the last five infractions.
"We were lucky to squeeze that one out," Soubry admitted. "Mistakes were made and we got into penalty-trouble. We have a talented and hard-working team and that was a key factor in this win."
Bye's offensive explosion was his second six-goal performance of the season and marked the 15th time that a McGill player had tallied at least a half-dozen in a game. He now leads the league with 18 markers in five contests. Bye is also tied for the CUFLA points lead at 22 with
Zach Tarr (Nipissing) and
Cam York (Carleton).
"Zach is definitely one of the top players in the league," said Soubry. "He's one of the few players who can really shoot equally well with either hand. You don't see that very often in our league. It gives him an advantage because if you block him from one side, he just switches hands and shoots from the other side."
Rounding out the scoring for McGill with one goal apiece was
John Miraglia,
Torsten Blodgett and
Liam Miletich.
For the Gaiters,
Liam Reynolds scored four and teammate
Maxwell Chiarella registered a hat-trick in a losing cause.
Thomas Jones added a pair and
Jared Cook had one.
Shots on goal were not available at source.
Sebastien Elie started between the pipes for McGill and collected the win. He was replaced at halftime by
Henry Komosa, who conceded four goals in 10 minutes, before Elie returned to the net for the final 20 minutes.
Jacob Legault started for Bishop's and gave up nine goals before being replaced at halftime.
Connor Bagnell was beaten only twice over the final 30 minutes but was charged with the loss.
Bishop's (1-5), which sits fifth in the six-team CUFLA East, returns to action on Sept. 26 when they face a challenging road trip to Peterborough, Ont., where they will confront second-place Trent (5-1).
McGill (5-0) will host Ottawa on Sept. 28 in a 1 p.m. start at Percival Molson Stadium. Two day after that, McGill willhost Carleton in the third annual Legacy Game, which will feature pre-game and half-time shows in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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
