News

Burst explodes for five goals as lacrosse squad crushes Concordia 18-4

Published: 1 September 2011

(PHOTO BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)

MONTREAL -- Ross Burst, a sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., scored five goals and set up two others as McGill trounced Concordia 18-4 in men's preseason lacrosse at Molson Stadium, Thursday.

McGill co-captain Jishan Sharples of Vancouver, B.C., freshman Leland de Langley from Orton, Ont., law student Antoine Champagne of Montreal, and rookie All-American Alex Rohrbach of Princeton Junction, N.J., each scored twice. Singles went to Mike Ting of Sudbury, Mass., Connor Goodwin of New Westminster, B.C., J.J. Miller of Odenton, M.D., Nolan Prinzen of Summit, N.J., and James Vickery and Wrentham, Mass.

Replying for Concordia was Tom Marshall of Nepean, Ont., Mike McCullogh of Beaconsfield, Que.,, Costa Tsitouras of Kirkland, Quw., and Michael Vesprini of Burlington, Ont. Montreal native Kevin Lachapelle allowed all 18 goals in nets for the Stingers and was saddled with the loss.McGill totally dominated possessions, winning over 90 per cent of the face-offs, equally distributed face-off duties among the team's top draw man and NCAA transfer, J.J. Miller, supported by Sharples, plus newcomer Brendan Leigh of Watchung, N.J., Brandon McLean of Victoria, B.C., and rookie Jordan Sanford of Biddeford, Maine.

McGill led 5-2 after one quarter, 9-3 at halftime and 18-3 after three stanzas. Coach Murdoch installed the starting team in the third quarter, and they blanked the inexperienced Stinger squad 8-0.

"This game was an opportunity to get the cobwebs out of our sticks and to play our entire roster as equally as possible," said McGill head coach Tim Murdoch. "We're delighted that Concordia will be joining CUFLA in 2012 and we expect to see more tightly contested games in the future."

Murdoch managed to play his entire 36-man roster fairly evenly throughout the contest, as his coaching staff had a chance observe all 17 rookies and 19 returnees to get a good look before final roster cuts are made as the team prepares for its 10th season as a member of the Canadian University Lacrosse Association.

The Redmen defence had a quiet night but Kyle Robinson of New Westminster, BC), co-captain Jon Rathauser of Belle Mead, N.J., and senior strongman Jeff O'Neill of Markham, Ont., played key roles in shutting out Concordia in the third quarter,

The long-stick middies, led by All-Canadian Dave Hogarth of Toronto, kept Concordia from getting close to the net. Defensive midfielders Conor Barker, also from Toronto, and freshman Jack Stewart of North Salem, N.Y., played well and neutralized the Stingers' midfield.

Goaltending duties were split by quarter among McGill's four goalies. Simon Hudson from Seattle, got the start and was credited with the victory. He allowed two goals in his 15 minutes. Hudson was relieved in the second quarter by freshman Jamie Spagnuolo (1GA) of Burnaby, B.C., who gave way to NCAA transfer Ward Waesche (0GA) from Greenwich, Conn., and freshman Riley McGillis (1GA) from Peterborough, Ont., who finished the game.

The Redmen (1-0) will head to Ontario next weekend to launch the CUFLA regular season with back-to-back games against University of Toronto on September 10 and Trent University in Peterborough on September 11.

REDMEN RAP: Tthe Redmen are now 2-0 lifetime against the Stingers. McGill will play Concordia in another exhibition game scheduled for September 18 on a neutral field in Westmount's King George Park.

FINAL McGill 18, Concordia 4

GOALS BY QUARTER:

Concordia : 2-1-0-1: 4

McGill : 5-4-8-1: 18

McGill Scorers

Ross Burst, 5 goals, 2 assists

Nolan Prinzen, 1 goal, 2 assists

Antoine Champagne, 2 goals

Leland de Langley, 2 goals

Alex Rohrbach, 2 goals

Jishan Sharples, 2 goals

Mike Ting, 1 goal, 1 assist