KINGSTON – The Guelph Gryphons men's lacrosse team showed that they had another gear in them. The young Gryphons were relentless all weekend but their Baggataway Cup dream ended Saturday afternoon at Richardson Stadium. Guelph conceded two late goals and fell 13-11 to the top-seeded Brock Badgers in the Cup's first Semi-final.

Head coach Sam Kosakowski said he knew his guys would be disappointed. But he was adamant that they not hang their heads.
 
"They did everything that we asked them to do," the coach said. "We demanded a lot – and they gave it. They played their hearts out."
 
After defeating Trent 12-11 in sudden death Friday, the Gryphons were in search of another upset. And they came close. Brock would go ahead 12-11 late in the fourth quarter when Guelph's injured goalie Hayden Walsh ran out to make a save but a rebound was rolled to the net and Connor Ham's attempt dribbled over the line despite the best efforts of diving Gryphon captain Benjamin Heidecker.

Walsh, who was in and out of the game after getting hit in the back and head earlier in the fourth quarter, then had to go off again. The Gryphons desperately tried to equalize but Brock secured possession and Kurtis Woodland fired one into a virtually empty net with 11 seconds left to ice it.
 
Third-year backup goalie Denys Semenovych, who was in for the final Brock goal, couldn't contain his emotion when the final whistle blew and fell to his knees.

Walsh made 14 saves on the day, many of them in incredible fashion. Quarter-final hero Alec Simons had four goals and an assist, while Michael Cavanagh scored three times.
 
Guelph had its share of adversity in the decisive fourth quarter. In addition to Walsh getting hurt, Simons was also in and out with an injured ankle. And with the Gryphons up 10-9, Brock was awarded a rare 6-on-3 power-play opportunity, which they took advantage of to tie. When the Badgers went up 11-10 on the late goal from Nick Rybka, Guelph still didn't pack it in as Michael Berger (two goals and an assist) answered with an excellent effort to equalize once again. 

Guelph, five-time champions of the Baggataway Cup, were in the same position with Brock in a regular season home game on Oct. 1. The Badgers pulled it out with a late goal.
 
"We had been in three games where we lost by a goal," said Kosakowski. "And last night, we won by one, showing that we could do it. You have to take those experiences and use them. That's what we talked about down the stretch."
 
Guelph will have its chances to return to the Baggataway Cup with a potent young lineup that now has some big experience. Kosakowski, who founded the program in 1985 and led the Gryphons to championships in 1995, 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2014, will lose three defencemen this year but the core of Walsh, Berger, Ogilvie and Mark Wilson will be prominent for the Gryphons in seasons to come.
 
"This is a tough loss for them but they will learn so much," said Kosakowski, noting how far the team has come from the beginning of the year. "The future does look bright."

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