CUFLA FINAL: LaCava scores 4 but Guelph wins war

Field Lacrosse Association championships Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, Sunday.

Led by attacker Braden Gallant’s three goals and three assists, Guelph rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to capture the Baggataway Cup as national champs.

The Redmen led 4-2 after the opening quarter but were no match for Guelph’s high powered offence which featured a number of pro players and exploded for six unanswered goals in the second quarter to take an insurmountable 8-4 lead at halftime and an 11-7 stranglehold going in to the final stanza.

Attackman Jason Mainer, who scored four times and had one assist, was awarded the UnderArmor player-of-the-game award for the Gryphons, while LaCava earned similar honours for McGill.

“Saturday’s win (over top-seeded Brock) was such a big victory for our program, that it was tough for us to produce back-to-back great performances,” said McGill head coach Tim Murdoch. “It was a little bit like having a hangover out there today and we were outplayed by a better team.”

“We weren’t as disciplined, took a few penalties and it hurt us,” he added. “We let the game get away from us in the second quarter. Most of their scoring came on transition plays and EMOs (extra-man offence, the equivalent of a power play in hockey).

Junior Nick Moreau of Trumball, Conn., and sophomore Mike Ting of Sudbury, Mass., scored two goals apiece for the Redmen, with a single marker going to Scott Bailey, a third-year midfielder from Calgary.

Rounding out the scoring for Guelph was Justin Kirby-Wilson and Jay Thorimbert with two apiece, plus Scott Fitchett, Mike Gillan and Paul Ryan.

McGill finished at 11-5 overall, including a 7-3 second-place standing in the CUFLA Eastern Conference.

“We had a great season and the (Baggataway) Cup was only a few feet away from us,” said Murdoch. “We were third last year and second this year. You can do the math. Once I get over this loss, I will reflect back and no doubt be happy with the way the season went. We swept all three games from Bishop’s, then beat Brock, two teams that have been traditional powerhouses in the league. We only have three graduating seniors and expect to have 32 returning players, so the future is bright.”

The only expected losses are midfielders Arthur Phillips of Portland, Me., Ben McBeth of Keene, N.H., and team captain Dave Pinckney of Williston, Vt.



SCORING SUMMARY
(NOTE: all times count down from 20:00)

McGill 9 @ Guelph 14
(@ Ron Joyce Stadium, McMaster University)

FIRST QUARTER:
Scoring:
1. McGill: Luke LaCava (Pinckney), 18:18

2. McGill: Nick Moreau (unassisted), 14:55

3. McGill: Nick Moreau (unassisted), 12:39

4. Guelph: Justin Wilson-Kirby (Johnston), 5:30

5. Guelph: Paul Ryan (unassisted), 5:05

6. McGill: Scott Bailey (Moreau), 3:06

Penalties:
9:00 McGill: Safarik (Technical 0.5 minutes)
7:23 McGill: Farrer (Personal 1 minute)
20:00 Guelph: Gillan (Technical 0.5 minutes)

SECOND QUARTER:
Scoring:
7. Guelph: Braden Gallant (unassisted), 18:32

8. Guelph: Braden Gallant (unassisted), 11:42

9. Guelph: Jay Thorimbert (unassisted), 10:01

10. Guelph: Scott Fitchett (Wilson-Kirby), 7:01

11. Guelph 25 Jason Mainer (Thorimbert), 6:27

12. Guelph 25 Jason Mainer (Gallant), 0:20

Penalties:
(none)

THIRD QUARTER:
Scoring:
13. McGill: Luke LaCava (unassisted), 17:06

14. McGill: Mike Ting (Edwards), 15:00

15. Guelph: Jason Mainer (Gallant), 12:03

16. Guelph 21 Justin Wilson-Kirby (unassisted), 2:30

17. McGill: Luke LaCava (unassisted), 1:41

18. Guelph: Braden Gallant (Wilson-Kirby), 0:03

Penalties:
(none)


FOURTH QUARTER:
Scoring:
19. McGill: Mike Ting (Edwards), 18:08

20. Guelph 25 Jason Mainer (Gallant), 14:30

21. Guelph 7 Mike Gillan (unassisted), 10:26

22. Guelph 75 Jay Thorimbert (Mainer), 8:15

23. McGill 22 Luke LaCava (unassisted), 6:12


Penalties:
11:00 Guelph: Wilson-Kirby (Personal 1 minute)

SCORING BY QUARTER :
McGill : 4-0-3-2 -- 9
Guelph : 2-6-3-3 -- 14