Banner Season: Day 2 features hard-fought battles as medal games get finalized

Peterborough, Ont. - Ontario University Athletics’ Banner Season is in full swing and the 2018 OUA Lacrosse Championships brought five exciting games forward today. After the second day of play, we now know who will compete for the Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The biggest matchups of the day had plenty of action, but all five brought their own flare to the table today. In the end, the top two teams from the regular season earned the right to compete for the Patterson Cup in the 2:30pm Gold Medal game, while the host Excalibur will play for Bronze against their Eastern counterparts from the University of Toronto.

Game 1 – UOIT vs York

With the East division teams facing off in the 9-10 matchup in the first game of the day, one could be forgiven if they assumed the teams would lack enthusiasm. These two teams came to compete however, and proved that every game counts by providing one of the most exciting games of the tournament.

A back and forth affair for the majority of the game, these two teams ensured you never knew what would happen next. After a wild final three minutes in the first half that featured four goals in the final 3 minutes, the York Lions went into the break ahead 5-4. The second half brought more of the same, but the Lions would find themselves up 10-7 with just over five minutes left.

The UOIT Ridgebacks clearly did not want to just hang up their sticks as they scored with five minutes left, and again with just under two minutes left to put enough pressure on the Lions needing to take a timeout. The dogs from Oshawa wouldn’t let the break phase them though, and scored the tying goal with 11 seconds through #16 Samantha Gates’ third goal of the match to send this one to overtime.

York held control in the extra period, putting a goal away in the first of two overtime halves. The Ridgebacks would press hard in the final three-minute period, but just could not find the back of the net, giving the Lions their first win in their last game of the season, final score 11-10. Leading the way for the Lions on the scoresheet were #3 Sonya Mwambu with four goals and #17 Drew Batchilder with 3 goals and 2 assists.

Game 2 – Guelph vs Brock

The Guelph Gryphons and Brock Badgers put together an equally impressive game as the first of the day, although with a totally different outcome. These two teams played a very tight first half that featured tremendous ball control and great goaltending, and wrapped up at 1-0 for the Badgers. Brock’s Alyssa Godin was solid in goal throughout, while her counterpart for the Gryphons, 11 Shayla Larson made several highlight reel saves.

The second half had a few more balls in the back of the net, but this chess-style match suggested the teams were going to have to take advantage of any chances they saw. Guelph came out and did exactly that scoring four goals in the first thirteen minutes, including back to back goals for Teagan Raney right off the bat. The Badgers would see Linsdey Highfield score her second of the game with just under five minutes left, but it was too little, too late, with the Gryphons holding on for the 4-2 win.

Game 3 – Western vs McMaster

The reigning champion Western Mustangs clearly had a chip on their shoulder and wanted to prove they were still a top team, an unfortunate scenario for the McMaster Marauders. The Mustangs would score early and often, with two first-half goals a-piece coming from #10 Maya Koudmani and #23 Katy De Snoo.

De Snoo would put away another two goals in the second half, bringing her total for the game to five points (4G, 1 A). Even though the goaltending of McMaster player of the game, #30 Sabrina Schindel, the offensive output was too much for the McMaster Marauders. Western would take the game 10-3.

Game 4 – Queen’s vs Toronto

The Toronto Varsity Blues were hoping to take down the top seed from the East division on Saturday, after a quarter-final win over the Western Mustangs. The Queen’s Gaels on the other hand were looking to build off a very convincing victory in their first match of the tournament Friday night. The two teams would pressure each other early on, but only one goal a piece was on the board in the first 17 minutes.

Queen’s would turn on the jets in the final six minutes, scoring three goals in that span to take a 5-2 lead into the break. Strong passing and very limited mistakes would allow the Gaels to really take over the team in the second half. A tremendous attack was spearheaded by #6 Kiah Shanks’ four goals on the day, Queen’s would end up scoring the final eight goals of the game for the convincing 10-2 lead. With the win, the Gaels would find themselves looking to the final match of the day to see who their opponent would be in the Gold medal game on Sunday.

Game 5 – Trent vs Laurier

The final game of the day saw the host Trent Excalibur looking to keep the Laurier Golden Hawks grounded. The Hawks would fly, but the Excalibur joined them in what was an incredible display of the quality of play these OUA student-athletes are capable of. The action was fast and furious with both teams going back and forth. The teams both held solid amounts of possession through the first half, and it was fitting they would share a 4-4 tie at half, with balanced scoring on both sides.

The relentless pace of play didn’t seem to wear on the teams as they both came out firing in the second period as well. The work rate of the Excalibur’s #6 Shaunessy Kumka and the Golden Hawks’ #27 Katie Milligan was unbelievable. Both could be seen chasing down opponents, creating turnovers, and dominating in possession. The two would only find the score sheet once between them (Milligan), however they deserve much of the accolades. This midfield battle truly was just one of many stories from the match.

After putting the first two goals of the second half away, the Excalibur were looking to maintain possession and slow down play. Laurier slowly managed to chip away at the game plan, and the ball also started to sneak past the Green & White’s defense. The Hawks would ultimately score the next four goals, taking an 8-6 lead into the final 5 minutes. Trent would take one back with three minutes left, but after a draw win for Laurier, they would be unable to recover and maintain possession. The Golden Hawks secured the 8-7 win to line up a date with the Queen’s Gaels.

The final four games of the 2018 Championships kick off at 9:00 am tomorrow. The bronze medal game between Trent and Toronto will be at 12:30pm, and the Gold medal game featuring the Laurier Golden Hawks and Queen's Gaels is at 2:30pm.