There is a clear division between the good teams and the bad in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association's Eastern Conference. And with a pair of 18-8 wins over the weekend, the McGill Redmen left no doubt as to what half of the conference they belong to.
Victories over the Queen's Golden Gaels (0-5), and the Carleton Ravens (3-3) propelled the Redmen (5-2) into a three-way tie for first place in the CUFLA East.
The Redmen were clearly the superior side from the opening whistle against the Golden Gaels on Saturday night. McGill spent almost the entire first quarter in Queen's half of the field, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and limiting the Gaels to two shot attempts in the period.
"You can't afford to be complacent," said McGill Head Coach Tim Murdoch. "As in any sport it's always tough to motivate your guys when you know your opponent is the weaker team. But we're in a playoff hunt where every goal counts."
The Redmen were led by rookie attackman Ryan Besse, who racked up three goals and four assists. The diminutive 5-foot-9 freshman showed great willingness to go into the high traffic areas and take a beating, as all three of his goals were scored from within five feet of the net.
"We were bouncing back off of a tough [7-6] loss against Bishop's [on Thursday] so it was really important that we play a strong game," said Besse.
Besse and midfielder Sean Simeson in particular used their speed and vision to find seams in the slower Queen's defence. Simeson, who finished with two goals and an assist, set up Besse on the first goal of the second half with a beautiful 40-yard run and a thread-the-needle pass that found Besse alone at the side of the net.
Other strong McGill performances came from midfielder Scott Bailey, who tallied four goals, and attackman Luke LaCava, who notched two goals and two assists.
The outcome was not all positive for the Redmen, however, as goaltender Guy Fox suffered a leg injury midway through the fourth quarter. Fox has split time with freshman Simon Hudson throughout the year, although the fourth-year goaltender played the entirety of the big games against Trent and Bishop's - the only two teams who have defeated the Redmen this season. Hudson will be asked to fill in as a starter for "at least a week" while Fox recovers.
Hudson got off to a good start with a win in his first full game - an 18-8 victory over Carleton on Sunday afternoon. Greg Henry, Mike Ting, Nick Moreau, and Alex Kruse all notched hat-tricks to lead the Redmen to another blowout win.
The Redmen will face the Ravens again on Wednesday night, before travelling to the U.S. for a pair of exhibition games against Plattsburgh State and the College of the Holy Cross. McGill closes out the regular season with home games against Trent and Bishop's.
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