In their last game of the season, the Varsity Blues Lacrosse team fell 12-4 against interdivisional rivals Western. Luckily, this game had no bearing for a team that had already clinched the Central division, securing a firstround bye in the Baggataway Cup. With the tournament at St. Michael’s College little more than a week away (November 2 to 4), there was some worry the team might ease up for the meaningless game.
“I think that because it was an interdivisional game and didn’t mean anything standings-wise, the team was kind of looking down the road to the playoffs when they shouldn’t be,” said Blues coach Wayne Copeland.
The game brought together two teams headed in opposite directions. Western (3-4) possessed a losing record in their division with little chance of making the playoffs. Young upstarts the Blues have a chance to make some noise in the post-season. boasting two of the top three scorers in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association. Attacker Mikael Chullen led the team and the league with 24 goals and 40 points, while Andrei Bruno paced his teammate with 15 goals and 33 points. With these players in tow, the Blues have not had much trouble going on the offensive this year, despite being held to only four goals in their final game this past weekend. The team had its sights set high, and while no loss should ever be acceptable, the team could endure losing one battle as long as they can win the war.
It is the kind of mentality Lacrosse was founded on, having been invented by Native Americans to settle disputes and train young warriors (some games lasting as long as three days straight). Times have changed, the game has been toned down, gone are the days of inter-tribal warfare, replaced instead by wholesome competition. Games now seldom last longer than two hours, and the only scalping that takes place involves tickets.
History was a topic of interest this weekend as Blues players new and old reunited for the annual Alumni game. Former Blues coach Matt Thomas, in attendance for the game saw a huge difference in the Lacrosse program since he was at the helm three years ago.
“The team has come a really long way, and the coaches have done a great job of getting things organized. When I was coach I think we took a really big step that year, we had a fantastic season, one of the best we’ve had. But these guys have definitely taken it to another level. There’s been a lot more money invested in the program, and clearly recruiting is going well because they’ve got some fantastic new players.”
If the weekend’s alumni game was about the past and the future of the team, it’s no surprise that the present got lost somewhere in the shuffle. “We really tried hard today. We took it as a playoff game and it just didn’t work in our favor, we got down a couple of goals and we just couldn’t come back,” said leading scorer Mikael Chullen.
Despite the team’s best efforts, they seemed distracted against their Western opponents. With the ghosts of the past haunting the sidelines, and the playoffs a fast-approaching, beating Western didn’t seem like a huge priority. The team started strong in the game before fading in the second half. Western drew first blood with a goal early in the first period. The Blues would respond moments later, before a Chullen giveaway allowed Western to score in close to take a 2-1 advantage. The Western offensive put a lot of pressure on the Blues, but the team hung tough and tried to force them to the outside. Toronto’s Brian Grishniki had a busy afternoon in goal: “Our defence was doing a great job, we just left them out to dry too many times, and we didn’t finish on offense,” said Chullen.
Chullen would redeem his early gaffe with a goal to bring the Blues back within one. He outworked the Western defense with a one goal, scooping a loose ball and burying it, but it wasn’t enough. The score was 7-4 Western in the middle of the third period, and they would eventually run away with the contest 12-4.
It was an unusual game for the Blues, in that their defence played exceptionally and their vaunted offence struggled. If the team could get both working at the same time, they will have success.
“There’s no question that the unforced errors we do are big. You know we fight hard for possession and then throw it away. But that all comes with youth and inexperience. It’s a pretty young group of guys so the only way for them to gain experience is to play and make mistakes to learn from. But definitely the more experience we get, and the more disciplined the team is, the more games we’ll win”, said Chullen knowingly.
The Blues finished the season first place in the Central division. The first place teams in the three divisions (East, West, Central) get a bye, with the second and third teams in the division playoff resulting in three new teams. After that the coaches from the league will rank the teams, with the two top teams getting a bye into the semifinals.
“We’ve earned our by for the first weekend so we’re not sure who we’ll play yet. But it’s going to be exciting because we’ve never gotten as far as we are now. So we’ll be making team history that tournament,” said Coach Copeland.
The Blues hope that at next year’s Alumni game they’ll be reminiscing about their first ever championship.
