MONTREAL –
Mark Symon of New Canaan, Conn., scored four goals and
Joshua Jewell of La Canada, Calif., added a hat-trick as the McGill Redbirds opened their season on a high note with a 12-7 come-from-behind victory over visiting Bishop's in Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association action before 591 at Percival Molson Stadium, Sunday.
McGill, the defending CUFLA East champions, rallied from a 2-0 deficit after the opening quarter with six consecutive goals to take a 6-3 halftime lead. The Redbirds held a 9-6 margin after three quarters and took the final stanza 3-1.
"We started well but weren't finishing on offence early on and had to get settled on defence," said
Nicolas Soubry, in his third year as head coach at McGill. "It took us a while but once we started scoring, things settled down and turned around real quick for us. I was happy with the way we played."
Jewell did the heavy lifting early on, scoring three of McGill's first four markers as the home side regained control at 4-2 with just under six minutes remaining before halftime.
"We're not surprised to see him break us out of an offensive slump," Soubry noted. "He's probably our best fundamental player. He does everything very well and is Mr. Reliable in any situation."
The Gaiters came to life in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 8-6 but Symon then put the game out of reach with his four goals down the back stretch.
"Symon was basically our fourth attackman last year but we played him in different positions, usually at midfield," said Soubry. "So it was nice to see him get going as our top scorer from the attack position this year. Its always fun to see a guy develop by putting in the work to get more minutes of playing time. He's working with a lot of younger players now and his results today are a testament to his development over the past two years.'
Owen Howard, a senior midfielder from Cincinnati, Ohio, added a pair of goals for the Redbirds, with singles going to junior midfielder
John Miraglia of Memphis, Tenn., freshman
Zach Bye from Greenwich, Conn., and rookie
Torsten Blodgett of Vancouver, B.C.
Samuel MacDonald, a science seniior from Guelph, Ont., played a key role in the possession game for the Redbirds, winning a stellar 18 of his 22 faceoffs.
Alexander Lizotte, who hails from Billerica, Mass., paced the Gaiters with three goals in a losing cause. Rounding out the scoring for the visitors was
James Naysmith,
Thomas Jones and
Markus Young.
The Redbirds had a 29-17 edge in shots as starting goaltender
Sebastien Elie, a transfer from Bishop's, saved five of eight shots in 30 minutes of play. He was replaced at halftime by
Joe Walsh of Coronado, Calif., a transfer from Colgate who turned aside five of nine shots and was credited with the victory.
Jacob Legault took the loss between the pipes for BU. He had 17 saves on 29 shots.
Both teams will resume their respective schedules on Sept. 14, when Bishop's (1-1) will host Carleton (0-1) and McGill (1-0) will host Queen's (1-1) in a 7:30 p.m. start.
SCORING SUMMARY
CUFLA STATS & STANDINGS
2024 McGILL REDBIRDS LACROSSE ROSTER
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
WEBSITE:
www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
