LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
October 27, 2006
WATERLOO - Success on the field has garnered the defending Ontario University Athletics lacrosse champion Laurier Golden Hawks a healthy amount of attention. While the Hawks have established themselves as the dominant program in the league on the heels of three straight OUA banners, three other teams will be looking to dethrone Laurier as the latest title winner. The No. 2 seed Queen's Golden Gaels (9-1-0) face the No. 3 Toronto Varsity Blues (6-4-0) in one OUA semi-final, while the No. 4 McGill Martlets (6-4-0) take on the host Hawks (9-1-0) at University Stadium in Waterloo, Ont. Saturday, October 28. The two winners will meet in the OUA final Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Laurier didn't drop a match all season in 2005 en route to their third consecutive banner but the powerful Hawks did taste defeat for the first time in a couple seasons when the Blues scored a dramatic goal with 20 seconds remaining for a massive 14-13 victory back on October 1. For Toronto, it was proof they could compete with the best in the league. Laurier coach Lynn Orth saw it as a wake-up call for her talented team.
"An unbeaten streak is just that - it doesn't really mean anything," Orth says of the surprising loss. "No one blamed each other. The discussion after that game was better than if we had won the game in the last 20 seconds. We refocused well and realized we just can't show up and win. We're not invincible."
The Hawks displayed great resolve following the Toronto loss, out-scoring opponents 51-19 in four straight wins to close the season. Laurier's been led by offensive phenoms Kirsten Gerrie and Erica Howard, who finished one-two in the league scoring race. Gerrie, the 2005 goal scoring leader as a rookie, exploded for 33 goals and 21 assists to top the OUA. Howard tallied 25 goals and 18 assists for 43 points, seven ahead of the third-place finisher Jennifer Held (27-9-36) from the Blues.
"They play very well off of each other," Orth comments of the second-year attacker Gerrie and her fourth-year teammate Howard. "Their styles really complement each other."
Orth credits much of her team's success at the offensive end on a free-flowing passing system that produces about two thirds of the total goals with an assist, an unheard of percentage in lacrosse. Scoring won't be much of a problem with the Hawks in a good rhythm but against McGill, Laurier will have to focus on key veteran players like fourth-year midfielder Claire Maturo and fifth-year attack Rosalie Madden. Maturo led the Martlets with 20 goals in 10 matches, while Madden chipped in 14.
The second semi-final is an intriguing match-up as the surging Blues meet a strong Golden Gaels team that dropped just a single game all season, a low-scoring 6-3 loss to Laurier last week. Toronto, led by former Golden Gael star Held, started the year horrendously with three straight losses out of the gate but a 16-9 win over Western on October 1, followed by the upset over Laurier later that day, helped the Blues to a sparkling 6-1-0 finish.
"It was huge," Blues coach Todd Pepper says of the victory over the Hawks. "Everybody in the league did a double take when they saw that result. It was quite the shock."
The win instilled much-needed confidence in a Blues team that was trying to find an identity after working in new personnel this season, including rookie goalies Cora Mitchell and Alex Baczynskyj. Brampton, Ont. native Held has provided the necessary offence, finishing second in OUA goals to Gerrie, and third-year veteran Katie Godfrey has been solid with 14 goals and seven assists. Toronto's strength is in midfield and that unit will need to be at their best to handle a gritty Queen's side that allowed a league-low 43 goals.
"The last time we played them, we scored the first three goals and were playing really well," says Pepper, referring to a 9-5 Gaels win two weeks ago. "But Queen's came back. They're an excellent team."
The Gaels came within a goal of dethroning Laurier in last year's final, eventually succumbing 8-7 in overtime. Both Queen's and Toronto have given the favoured Hawks trouble the past two seasons but Orth's team isn't looking ahead to the final, knowing that McGill will be a tough test in the semis. The Hawks do, however, realize what's at stake with a potential fourth straight title in their grasp and a host of veterans playing for the final time in their university careers.
"For eight of my players, it's their last year," says Orth. "They're very hungry."
OUA Lacrosse Championship
October 28, 2006
OUA Semi-Finals at University Stadium
No. 4 McGill vs. No. 1 Laurier 11:00 a.m.
No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 2 Queen's 1:00 p.m.
October 29, 2006
OUA Bronze Medal Game 12:00 p.m.
OUA Final 2:00 p.m.
- OUA -
Laurier didn't drop a match all season in 2005 en route to their third consecutive banner but the powerful Hawks did taste defeat for the first time in a couple seasons when the Blues scored a dramatic goal with 20 seconds remaining for a massive 14-13 victory back on October 1. For Toronto, it was proof they could compete with the best in the league. Laurier coach Lynn Orth saw it as a wake-up call for her talented team.
"An unbeaten streak is just that - it doesn't really mean anything," Orth says of the surprising loss. "No one blamed each other. The discussion after that game was better than if we had won the game in the last 20 seconds. We refocused well and realized we just can't show up and win. We're not invincible."
The Hawks displayed great resolve following the Toronto loss, out-scoring opponents 51-19 in four straight wins to close the season. Laurier's been led by offensive phenoms Kirsten Gerrie and Erica Howard, who finished one-two in the league scoring race. Gerrie, the 2005 goal scoring leader as a rookie, exploded for 33 goals and 21 assists to top the OUA. Howard tallied 25 goals and 18 assists for 43 points, seven ahead of the third-place finisher Jennifer Held (27-9-36) from the Blues.
"They play very well off of each other," Orth comments of the second-year attacker Gerrie and her fourth-year teammate Howard. "Their styles really complement each other."
Orth credits much of her team's success at the offensive end on a free-flowing passing system that produces about two thirds of the total goals with an assist, an unheard of percentage in lacrosse. Scoring won't be much of a problem with the Hawks in a good rhythm but against McGill, Laurier will have to focus on key veteran players like fourth-year midfielder Claire Maturo and fifth-year attack Rosalie Madden. Maturo led the Martlets with 20 goals in 10 matches, while Madden chipped in 14.
The second semi-final is an intriguing match-up as the surging Blues meet a strong Golden Gaels team that dropped just a single game all season, a low-scoring 6-3 loss to Laurier last week. Toronto, led by former Golden Gael star Held, started the year horrendously with three straight losses out of the gate but a 16-9 win over Western on October 1, followed by the upset over Laurier later that day, helped the Blues to a sparkling 6-1-0 finish.
"It was huge," Blues coach Todd Pepper says of the victory over the Hawks. "Everybody in the league did a double take when they saw that result. It was quite the shock."
The win instilled much-needed confidence in a Blues team that was trying to find an identity after working in new personnel this season, including rookie goalies Cora Mitchell and Alex Baczynskyj. Brampton, Ont. native Held has provided the necessary offence, finishing second in OUA goals to Gerrie, and third-year veteran Katie Godfrey has been solid with 14 goals and seven assists. Toronto's strength is in midfield and that unit will need to be at their best to handle a gritty Queen's side that allowed a league-low 43 goals.
"The last time we played them, we scored the first three goals and were playing really well," says Pepper, referring to a 9-5 Gaels win two weeks ago. "But Queen's came back. They're an excellent team."
The Gaels came within a goal of dethroning Laurier in last year's final, eventually succumbing 8-7 in overtime. Both Queen's and Toronto have given the favoured Hawks trouble the past two seasons but Orth's team isn't looking ahead to the final, knowing that McGill will be a tough test in the semis. The Hawks do, however, realize what's at stake with a potential fourth straight title in their grasp and a host of veterans playing for the final time in their university careers.
"For eight of my players, it's their last year," says Orth. "They're very hungry."
OUA Lacrosse Championship
October 28, 2006
OUA Semi-Finals at University Stadium
No. 4 McGill vs. No. 1 Laurier 11:00 a.m.
No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 2 Queen's 1:00 p.m.
October 29, 2006
OUA Bronze Medal Game 12:00 p.m.
OUA Final 2:00 p.m.
- OUA -