Coming off an emotional win over the Bishop's Gaiters on Thursday night, the McGill men's lacrosse team (7-3) suffered a major letdown on Saturday afternoon, losing 12-7 to the Trent Excalibur (7-2) at Molson Stadium. In a clash of two lacrosse powerhouses, McGill was outplayed from start to finish, as the visitors outworked and outmuscled the uncharacteristically timid Redmen.
The game looked to be in McGill's favor soon after the opening whistle, as senior midfielder Scott Bailey opened the scoring four minutes into the game. The Redmen kept the pressure on the Trent defence, but were unable to find the back of the net for a second time in the first quarter. McGill's inability to capitalize left the door open for the Excalibur, who answered Bailey's goal with three markers in a five-minute span to swing the momentum in their favour.
"Perhaps it was tough to have a big emotional win over Bishop's on Thursday night, and then have to turn around and play [Trent]," said Redmen Head Coach Tim Murdoch. "[Trent is] very, very good. They just outplayed us in a lot of the fundamental aspects of the game. They won the ground ball battles, they scored on offensive opportunities - they were just a better team tonight."
Trent continued their strong play in the second quarter, controlling most of the possession. The Excalibur's Mack O'Brien notched the third of his six goals with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter and Trent finished the half up leading six to two.
McGill rallied to start the second half, with freshman Ryan Besse scoring a quick goal to pull the Redmen within three. However, this was as close as McGill would ever get. Trent responded with five unanswered goals to put the game out of reach. The Excalibur were relentless in their attack, cycling the ball and finding open attackers in great scoring position.
Despite entering the fourth quarter trailing 11-4, the Redmen showed impressive heart and hustle, outscoring Trent 3-1 behind goals from Greg Henry, Will Edwards and Jishan Sharples. The Redmen attack was finally able to break through the tough, physical Excalibur defence with quick passes and better player movement. McGill's defensive line, along with star goaltender Guy Fox, were also successful in neutralizing O'Brien and the dangerous Trent attack, a positive aspect that Fox believes will help the team in the coming postseason.
"We didn't bring our best [effort] to start out the game," he said. "I'm glad that we dug deep in the second half, and tried to make a comeback in the fourth quarter. We showed Trent who we really are and we hope to see them in the playoffs."
Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive Redmen loss to the Excalibur. While certainly stinging from the loss, Murdoch is determined to use the result as motivation for his team heading into the playoffs.
"Strangely enough, with a loss we might have a little bit of a psychological advantage," said Murdoch. "The [other] three games we had with them ended in a tie and went to overtime. They were the better team tonight. We had an off night and we'll get it back next weekend."
The loss knocked the Redmen out of first place in the CUFLA Eastern Conference. McGill will finish in second or third depending on the outcome of Bishop's final two games.
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