MONTREAL –
Mark Symon scored twice and added a helper as McGill doubled Carlton 8-4 in men's lacrosse to capture the team's third annual Legacy Game, in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The result, on a rare Monday night event at Percival Molson Stadium, improved McGill's perfect record to 7-0 in the East Division of the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association standings. Carleton, which sits third in the six-team CUFLA East, dropped to 3-4.
After the final buzzer, the Legacy Game Trophy, a hand-carved lacrosse stick and engraved plaque, was presented to
Cylis Charlton – from the Shuswap nation in British Columbia – who accepted on behalf of the team.
The eight goals scored by McGill matched the team's lowest offensive output in seven games this season, an 8-5 win over Queen's on Sept. 14.
"It was actually a good change of pace for us," said McGill head coach
Nicolas Soubry. "The Carleton coaching staff had a really nice strategy against us. It wasn't the high-scoring style of game that we have been used to and it was a good defensive battle for us. Our defence played well today. We played a very physical game and I like the way we pressured them, especially on our 'ride'. Our pressure forced some costly mistakes and that led to the win.
"That said, our goalie made some big saves at key times which helped us keep momentum and ball possession."
Recording the win between the pipes for McGill was
Joe Walsh, who opened the game with a huge save, then fired a quick Hail Mary pass downfield that led to the game's opening goal by
Alex Erbstein at the 1:50 minute mark. Walsh played the full 60 minutes and made nine saves.
The Redbirds, who had a 26-13 margin in shots on net, led 1-0 after the opening period and took a 6-2 advantage into halftime. A rare scoreless third period was followed by a 2-2 saw-off in the final stanza.
The aforementioned Symon was one of seven McGill players to find the back of the net. He put the Redbirds ahead 4-1 in the second quarter and minutes later, made it a 6-1 advantage. Symon is second on the team in points and currently ranks 11th in the CUFLA scoring race with a 13-5-18 record in seven games,
Other McGill marksmen included
Owen Howard,
Sam MacDonald,
Charles Larochelle,
Olivier Pomerleau and
John Miraglia.
Redbirds sniper
Zach Bye, the league's leading sniper, was held goalless for the first time this year and saw his scoring streak end after six games. He did, however, collect a pair of assists and now has a 20-9-29 record in seven contests, one point ahead of Carleton's
Cam York, who scored twice and added a helper.
Rounding out the Ravens scoring was
Joey Gasperetti and
Michael Murawsky.
Carleton 'keeper
Thomas Kiazyk saved 18 of 26 shots and took the loss.
The Ravens (3-4) will host winless Ottawa (0-6) on Friday (Oct. 4). The next day, McGill will be heavy favourites to extend its seven-game win streak when taking on the Gee-Gees with a 6 p.m. start in the nation's capital.
GAME NOTES: McGill is 3-0 lifetime in the Legacy Game, which was created in 2022 with representatives from McGill Athletics and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, including the First Peoples' House. These groups wanted to combine platforms to promote a discussion on Truth and Reconciliation outside of a purely academic narrative... Instead of wearing the team's traditional red jerseys, McGill donned orange jerseys for the game, in honour of the event, which is also known as Orange Shirt Day... The national anthem was preceded by a moment of silence in memory of all the indigenous
children who never returned home and for the survivors of residential schools… After the game, both teams came together in a large circle, dressed in commemorative orange T-Shirts… The halftime show featured a lacrosse game between two youth teams, one from Kahnawake and one from the West Island Vikings…
Michael Kanetakeron Mitchell, a Wolf-clan member from the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, presented a brief speech to the crowd before the opening faceoff... A couple of indigenous coaches were acknowledged, including
Stone Jacobs, an assistant coach with the Redbirds and
Ellwood "Ted" Montour, a long-time Carleton coach who passed away last August… Also on hand was
Travis Gabriel, a lacrosse stickmaker from Kanesatake, who has addressed the Redbirds on an annual basis for many seasons.
BOXSCORE
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
