GUELPH – All teams go through a process in trying to reach championship-calibre status. It can take many steps. The Guelph Gryphons men's lacrosse team understands that being an elite squad means knocking off the best. The upstart Gryphons completed its solid reular season with a one-ided 18-5 win over Toronto at teh Gryphon Soccer Complex Sunday.

Guelph finished the year 8-4 for third place in the CUFLA West Division and will now set its sights on taking a run at the Baggataway Cup. Their opening-round playoff matchup is at home again with those same Varsity Blues on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 pm.

"We have demonstrated that we can play at the same level as the top teams in the league but we have yet to prove that we are capable of beating them," said Gryphons' head coach Sam Kosakowski. "We will go in as an underdog but we know that the playoffs are a different season altogether."
 
Guelph's offence has shown the ability to be explosive and Toronto was on the receiving end Sunday. Two days after losing an 11-10 overtime heartbreaker to Western, the Gryphons poured in the goals. Short-stick defensive midfielder Mark Wilson ended up delivering offensively with a game-high three goals and one assist. James Short and Alec Simons had three goals each, while Colin Walker chipped in two.
 
Fifteen Gryphons had points on the day, including goalie Hayden Walsh, who recorded his first ever assist on one of Wilson's goals. Walsh faced 10 shots in net after three quarters before giving way to backup Denys Semenovych, who stopped three of the four shots he faced. Face-off specialist Josh Manangan was brilliant on the day, winning 21 of 22 draws.
 
Guelph dominated this one from the opening faceoff.  The Gryphons created multiple chances early in the game, opening up a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. Despite their continued dominance into the second, Guelph only managed three goals, while allowing two, including a late-quarter goal that shrunk the hosts' lead to 7-3.

Guelph rolled through its bench in the second half and was able to maintain the pressure on Toronto. The Gryphons outscored the visitors 6-1 in the third and 5-1 in the fourth to coast to the 18-5 victory.

Defensively, the Gryphons were missing four starters from their lineup. Rookies Jonah Boehm and Matthew Sykes stepped in to start at long-stick defense, while Wilson and Thomas Whitty took starting roles in the short-stick defensive position. First-year player Adam Kromer had to step in to play at long-stick midfield and close defense. All five Gryphons showed their versatility, highlighted by Wilson's hat trick and Sykes jumping into the rush to score his first goal as a Gryphon.

Guelph has come shown an ability to compete with the best teams in CUFLA. In addition to the tough loss to Western Friday, the Gryphons had a chance to knock off the first-place Brock Badgers at home back on Oct. 1 but lost on a late goal by the experienced visitors. Kosawkowski's players won't forget those results when the playoffs get underway.

"We have something to prove," the coach said.