Banner Season: Defending champion Gaels among three teams to pick up Day 1 victory

Kingston, Ont. (via Queen's Gaels) - Friday marked the first day of round robin play for the OUA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Defending champions, the Queen’s Gaels, kept their record clean on their quest for the Patterson Cup, played at home at Tindall field.

QUEEN’S [9] VS. LAURIER [7]

Starting off the first day of the OUA Women’s Lacrosse Championship, the Queen’s Gaels defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks in a close matchup. The game ended 9-7 in favour of the Gaels.

Queen’s Kiara Mckelvey, and Laurier’s Rayne Blasutti lead their teams in goals with three a piece.

The first quarter started with a strong offensive effort from both teams. The Gaels found the back of the net twice in quick succession with goals from Abby Lee and Kennedy Lynch, and later an additional goal from Lee.

The Golden Hawks responded with two goals of their own from Kara Patton and Riley Marwich, bringing the score to 3-2.

The Gaels, led by strong defence, shut out the Golden Hawks in the second. They also added two more points to their score, bringing the game to 5-2.

Both teams upped the momentum heading into the second half, with Laurier putting up an additional two points in the third with goals from Blasutti and Megan McGrath. Queen’s also added a goal to their score from Summer Thomas.

With not much time left Laurier turned up the pressure, scoring three goals in the fourth.

The Gaels also accrued three points of their own during the fourth, securing the win with help from big efforts from Mckelvey and Charlotte Sawicki.

TRENT [16] VS TORONTO [10]

Continuing the tournament, the Toronto Varsity Blues faced off against the Trent Excalibur. The Excalibur emerged victorious 16-10.

The Blues’ Rheanna Swanson had a standout game, giving Toronto six points. Trent’s point leader, Natalie Fournier wasn’t far behind, racking up five goals.

The game started with a back and forth between both teams. Trent found the back of the net three times in the first, with Fournier putting up two goals and Tyler McDonald adding one as well. The Varsity Blues scored two points of their own, both from the efforts of Swanson.

In the second, the Exalibur gained momentum, led by goals from Fournier and McDonald. Toronto didn’t let the Excalibur pull too far ahead though, with Swanson and Mary Frost finding the back of the net. Heading into the second half Trent lead 8-4.

The Varsity Blues opened the second half quickly with another goal from Swanson. Trent kept up with Belle Shawe finding the net soon after.

From there, the Excalibur found their stride, responding to every Toronto goal with one of their own. They built up their lead with five goals in the third, three from Grace Shaughnessy and one each from Katelyn Buckton and Shawe.

In the fourth Trent solidified their lead, putting up three more goals. Despite points from Lillian Brooks and Alexei Dokis-Dupius, Toronto was unable to pull ahead leaving the win to the Excalibur.  

WESTERN [15] VS GUELPH [3]

In the third match of the day, the Western Mustangs took down the Guelph Gryphons 15-3. Western’s Reese Whiteman and Timmia Bomberry put up three goals each, helping lead their team to victory.

The Gryphons Maya Gazzola scored almost immediately, with teammate Payton Curtis also scoring in the first half.

The Mustangs fought back, with Jamie Atkinson finding the back of the net early on in the first.

With 5 minutes left in the first, the Mustangs tied up the game, aided by a goal from Quinn Kolwich. From there they took off, accruing two more goals from Gazzola and Rylan Weatherdon.

Western continued their momentum into the second with a goal from Bomberry. They followed it up with three more, two from Whiteman and an additional goal from Kolwich. Western led 8-2 heading into the second half.

The Mustangs increased the gap in score through the third, adding another goal early on. Despite strong efforts, the Gryphons were unable to score and Western pulled ahead with 3 more goals from Tenley Hill, Whiteman, and Kolwich.

In the fourth, Western racked up more points with Guelph added one more goal in the fourth with a final push from Reese Wilkins.

LAURIER [9] VS ONTARIO TECH [9]

In the final match of Day 1, the Laurier Golden Hawks and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks finished in a 9-9 draw.

Ontario Tech’s Jailyn Joensen led all scorers in the game with four goals, while Delaney Keen, Olivia Purcell, Ryane Blasutti, and Madi Snyder each scored two goals for Laurier.

Kendra Orr opened the scoring for Ontario Tech with two goals before Blasutti responded for the Golden Hawks to cut the Ridgebacks’ lead to 2-1.

Joensen next scored two to increase Ontario Tech’s lead before Laurier fought back to take a 5-4 lead, with goals from Keen, Purcell, and Snyder.

Samantha Blair and Catherine Vinkovic with two also scored for the Ridgebacks in the second half, while Joensen added another two, including the game-tying goal with just 46 seconds to play.

Riley Marwick scored for the Golden Hawks while Blasutti, Snyder, and Purcell added their seconds of the game.