Lacrosse is back in full swing at Queen’s.
The Queen’s Varsity Women’s and Men’s Lacrosse teams are already underway in their regular season, with the women’s team playing five games and the men’s team having played two so far. Lacrosse is a varsity club at Queen’s, partly funded by the University and partly funded by team fees paid by the athletes.
The Journal interviewed the director of Queen’s Lacrosse and head coach of the women’s team, Mike Watson, and the captain of the Men’s team, Kai Faller, Sci ’28, to learn more about the teams at Queen’s.
The Women’s Lacrosse team currently has a record of 4-1, which puts them second in the OUA standings. Their lone loss of the season was against the Western Mustangs on Sept. 19.
According to Watson, the team is comprised of a lot of young new players, but he says his team has performed well despite the youth and inexperience so far.
“We’re a pretty young team; we have 11 new faces this year out of a roster of 24, so almost half of the team is new. There’s been a little bit of a learning curve, but we’re happy at where we’re sitting right now,” Watson said.
While the head coach says the young players “made an impact right away,” his team still relies on veteran players such as co-captains Brooke Rutledge, a graduate student, and Summer Thomas, HealthSci ’27, to help “lead the way,” according to Watson.
The women’s next games are this upcoming weekend on Sept. 26 when they take on the Trent Excalibur and Ontario Tech Ridgeback at Tindall Field. The two games are the Gaels’ only home games of the regular season as they play their other seven games on the road.
“That’s the way the league works, it’s kind of a festival style,” Watson said about the team having so few home games.
The Women’s Lacrosse team has been dominant in the OUA since 2017, competing in every OUA gold medal game for the last nine years and winning three championships in that time frame. To maintain their dominance, the team stays “busy for six days a week,” practicing on the field three times a week, doing strength and conditioning in the gym one day a week, and playing their games over the weekend.
“We’re a program that tries to maximize our success, and we try to get to that gold medal game every single year. That’s sort of our goal,” Watson said. “It’s so hard to win every year, but that’s kind of the standard we have here.”
The Men’s Lacrosse team has a record of 1-1 on the season, losing to McGill in the season opener and beating the Bishop’s Gaiters this past weekend.
“I think our team is looking really strong this season,” Faller said in a statement to The Journal. “We have a great group of guys, and the culture within the team has been really positive both on and off the field.”
The team is coming off a quarterfinal’s loss against Nipissing University in the Baggataway Cup, the post-season tournament for the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA). Men’s Lacrosse does not compete in the OUA like the Women’s team does.
Faller was named the team’s most valuable player for last year’s season and was appointed as a captain for this current season.
“Being named a captain is a huge honour, and I’m really excited for the opportunity. It means a lot to be trusted by the team, and I’m looking forward to helping this group continue to grow, come together as a unit, and compete for each other throughout the season,” Faller stated.
The men’s next games are this weekend, and they will play the University of Ottawa GeeGees on the road. Their ten-game season begins with five consecutive away games before concluding with five home games straight.
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