Both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams saw their first action this weekend, with strong results. The men’s squad defeated their McMaster counterparts, and the women’s side emerged from five short games with a 4-1 record.
Despite losing some important players from last year’s team, the men’s side dispatched McMaster by a score of 9-6.
In what was a sloppy first match for both squads, head coach Jeff Wills said he was most impressed by the Gaels’ strong defensive showing, as well as some of the impressively talented rookies on the squad, such as Strat Allen.
Fellow rookie Torey Kohara, whose brother Tanner played for the Gaels before him, made an immediate impact by notching two goals in the game. Other goal scorers were Christian Rice with four, Matt Denis with two, and Andrew Kirkpatrick with a lone goal.
With just a week of tryouts and a week of practices to prepare for the match, the Gaels were the less organized of the two squads, Wills said, but nevertheless persevered for the victory with speed and grit.
Despite the infusion of new talent, the core of the team is still made up of veterans, such as Dean Latham and Mike Richard. These more seasoned players will be called on to help the team gel quickly for the Gaels’ next contest next Saturday.
The women’s team was extremely active this weekend, going 4-1 in five half games. The team displayed exceptional speed and responsible defence, which led to a shutout against Guelph.
Kayleigh Ross and Tina St. Pierre led the defence with 18 and 12 ground balls respectively. The team also features a potent offensive attack, led by Faye Pang with eight goals and three assists, as well as Marissa Shay, who contributed four goals and two assists of her own.
The Gaels also welcomed new recruit Midori Ohtake, who rejected an offer from the University of Vermont to attend Queen’s and represent the Golden Gaels.
The team is a very tightly knit group, according to head coach Brendan Sweeney, and found time to raise over $400 in the Terry Fox Run on Sunday.
This weekend, the women Gaels are at McGill to play matches against the host Martlets as well as the University of Toronto and Brock. The men will host Laurier at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the North Field.
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