On the heels of a massive 9-2 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters (0–2), the Redbirds (2–1) faced off against the Carleton Ravens (1–1) for their first home game of the season on Sept. 16. After taking a 10-5 loss in their Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) regular-season opener against the Ravens, the win over Bishop’s––McGill’s only CUFLA opponent within Quebec––gave the Redbirds a much-needed boost ahead of their re-match.
“We had a little bit of an effort issue and I thought yesterday [against Bishop’s], we really brought the effort,” head coach Nicolas Soubry told The Tribune. “We had a lot of alumni reach out and tell us stories about when they played versus Bishop’s. [They’re] our ingrained rival and I thought that really changed the motivation for the team.”
However, the game did not start out the way McGill had hoped. An early goal from Carleton set the tone for a dominant first quarter where the Ravens would go up 3-0 just six minutes into the game. After the third straight Carleton goal, the Redbirds called a timeout, attempting to reset the tone. In the dying minutes of the opening quarter, midfielder Dylan James got McGill on the scoreboard, swaying the momentum back in the Redbirds’ favour.
Three minutes into the second quarter, midfielder Joshua Jewell buried McGill’s second goal of the night and with just under four minutes remaining, James found the back of the net again to tie it 3-3.
“This is a game of runs. It’s a game of big ups and big downs, and it’s less about the individual performance and more about just getting the team going,” James said in a post-game interview. “Tying it up with that goal, it was an honour.”
The third quarter opened with back-to-back goals for the Ravens, giving them a 5-3 lead. But this lead would not last for long as attacker Mark Symon and midfielder Rowan Birrell brought the score back to even and midfielder John Miraglia gave the Redbirds their first lead. With the score 6-5, the Ravens came roaring back to tie the game and reclaim their lead with 14 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Entering the fourth quarter 7-6 in Carleton’s favour, the game was far from over. Jewell scored to tie the game 7-7 and with just over seven minutes remaining, Miraglia netted his second of the night to give McGill a 8-7 lead. As McGill fans anxiously cheered on their team, a turnover allowed Carleton to tie it up with just one second on the clock.
The opening minute of overtime looked bad for the Redbirds as Cartleton quickly gained control of the ball, rushing on a two-on-one towards McGill’s net. However, an errant pass allowed McGill to break back into Carleton’s zone and for his third assist of the night, James connected with midfielder Owen Howard who buried the game-winner on a masterful behind-the-back shot.
Despite his personal excitement, Howard accredited the win to McGill’s improvement from their first game against Carleton.
“Today we were moving it around, the whole team was getting involved and we had the crowd to pump us up,” Howard said. “It just kind of felt electric, [the game had] a whole different vibe going into it than the last game.”
The Redbirds hope to carry this momentum into their game against the undefeated Trent Excalibur (3–0) on Sept. 23.
Moment of the game: After turning the ball over in a play that allowed Carleton to tie the game, Howard was not supposed to be on the field to start overtime. However, unbeknownst to his coaches, Howard snuck onto the field in a move that allowed him to score the game-winner for his team.
Quotable:
“We’re a team that rides the highs and rides [the] lows. We’re a team with character and pride now. That’s something that I think we lacked in the past and now that we have it, this team can go places.
–– Midfielder Dylan James
Stat Corner: James led the team in points with two goals and three assists.
