MEN'S LACROSSE – Gryphons Defeat Mustangs 13-7, Avenge Previous Loss
The Gryphons men's lacrosse team avenged its earlier season loss to Western, by thrashing the Mustangs 13-7 at home tonight (Sept. 30).
The win moves the Gryphons to 4-1 while the Mustangs fall to 2-2.
Ryan Serville (Pickering, ON) led the Gryphon scoring with four goals and one assist, followed by Jordan Critch (Orangeville, ON) with four goals and Curtis Knight (Oshawa, ON), with two and an assist. Eric Hubert (Mississauga, ON) contributed two and one assist while Garret Williams (Oshawa, ON) and Jordan Daradick (Welland, ON) each had an apple.
For the third game in the row, the Gryphons found themselves down 3-0 midway through the first quarter before they were able to get their offense going. Curtis Knight got the Gryphons on the board after taking a feed from Critch on the team's first power play of the night. The quarter ended with the Gryphons down 3-1, but Guelph was finding its stide and came out firing in the next frame.
The second quarter was all Guelph. Midfielders Knight and Critch combined for five goals while the Mustangs could only muster up a single. Defensively, the Gryphons shut the Mustangs down in even strength, and man down play. The Gryphons were clearly in command which, predictably resulted in rash of stick check requests from the Western bench.
Grasping for any advantage they could get, Western even requested a stick check on Gryphon face off man, Ben Vangalen (Orangeville, ON). Vangalen dominated draws, going 17/22 on the night and, his stick was legal. And when Vangalen took a slashing penalty, and couldn't take a crucial face off, Joe Wasson (Peterborough, ON) stepped in, won the draw and killed most of the remainder of Vangalen's penalty.
Even when Western started to claw back into the game, scoring two unanswered goals in the third quarter to get within a goal of Guelph, the Gryphon defence once again stood its ground. After forcing a turn over, the Gryphons settled on offence the Gryphon attack took over. Serville found the back of the net for the first time in the game. Serville went on to score three more in the half and was joined by Hubert who added two.
"Once our guys got focused, Western could not stop us. We were relentless," said Coach Kosakowski of the team. "It speaks to our depth, that we could just keep pounding away at them, knowing that on the defensive side of the ball, they weren't going to beat us six on six.
The Gryphons have no time to rest however as they will entertain Marauders at 7:00p.m. tomorrow night (Oct. 1).
Men's Lacrosse vs. Western 2011 Gallery
