Having beaten McMaster 14-5 on Saturday then suffering a 13-5 loss to Brock on Sunday, the men's lacrosse team wrapped up their regular season with a 6-4 record. Two wins would have garnered the Gryphons home field advantage in the quarter finals next week, but with Sunday's loss, Guelph finishes third in their division and will travel to McMaster next Sunday. The winner of that game will advance to the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Championships on November 7-8 in Ottawa. Against McMaster on Saturday, the Gryphons appeared tentative on their first possession, cautiously moving the ball around until they lost possession. McMaster's first possession saw them take a number of outside shots but they couldn't create a good scoring opportunity against Guelph's solid defence. Eventually, the Gryphon defence forced a loose ball and created a fast break off of turnover.

On the ensuing possession, the Gryphons found their groove, opening the scoring at 3:43 on a goal by Justin Wilson-Kirby (Oakville, ON). The tone for the game was set.

McMaster struggled to find good scoring opportunities while the Gryphons continually pushed the ball up field and either converted their fast breaks into immediate goals or let their set offense pick apart McMaster's defence.

So dominant was Guelph's offence that the Gryphons held a commanding 6-1 lead at the end of the quarter. Despite McMaster scoring early in the second quarter, the Gryphons maintained control of the game, scoring 4 more unanswered goals to lead 10-2 at half time.

The Gryphons relaxed their grip on McMaster in the second half, and were outscored 2-1 in the third quarter. McMaster scored early in the fourth to bring the game to within 6 but Guelph's offense regained control of the game. By maintain possession for long periods, the Gryphons kept the ball out of McMaster's sticks and it seemed that each long possession resulted in a scoring opportunity. The Gryphons finished strongly, scoring 3 unanswered goals to take the game 14-5.

Scoring for the Gryphons were: Justin Wilson-Kirby (4G,1A), Sean Thomson (3 G, 1A), Scott Fitchett (2G), Jason Mainer (1G, 2A), Joe Wasson-McQuigge (1G, 1A), Braden Gallant (1G, 2A), and Eric Hubert and Mike Cameron with a goal each. Longstick Jon Harnett recorded one assist.

On Sunday, a completely opposite Gryphon team took to the field. Unable to create opportunities, the offense struggled. Defensively the team seemed at times, flat footed against a Brock team that seemed always to be in motion. As a result, the Gryphons found themselves down 4-0 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Guelph's defence tightened up and kept Brock on the perimeter. The offense however, still could not find the mark. At half time, the Gryphons found themselves in a deep 9-0 hole.

It wasn't until the 6:20 of the third quarter that Justin Wilson-Kirby put the Gryphons on the score board. Six minutes later, Kirby found Ryan O'Sullivan on a nice cut through the middle and Sully buried an outside shot. Despite giving up a soft goal 4 minutes later, Guelph kept attacking and midfielder Scott Johnston split the Brock defence and scored Guelph's third goal.

Only 2 minutes into the final quarter, Guelph got to within 6 on a goal from Sean Thomson and it seemed like Guelph might rally. The rally however, was short lived as Brock managed 3 more unanswered goals before Guelph's Scott Fitchett scored the game's last goal with 4 minutes remaining.

Throughout the game, penalties plagued the Gryphons. Guelph took 9 penalties that resulted in 7.5 minutes of man-down play. The penalty killing unit played well, but on two occasions were down two men. On the other side of the ball, Brock only had 3.5 minutes in penalties and Guelph's power play could not capitalize.

"We were two different teams this weekend", commented Sam Kosakowski. "On Saturday, we played a complete game, but on Sunday, we were flat. When you are flat against one of the country's top teams, you're in for a long day". And a long day it was for the Gryphons.

Guelph now faces McMaster in their quarter final match up next weekend. Guelph's loss to Brock gives McMaster second place and home field advantage. The teams split their regular season games, with Guelph losing 6-5 at McMaster but then winning yesterday at home. The game is slated to go on Sunday, November 1. Game time is 5:00 p.m.