Merchants Register Road Victory Against Velocity
By Sam Laskaris
The Merchants Lacrosse Club hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday. And the Oshawa-based squad managed to defeat the host Kitchener Waterloo Velocity 11-9.The Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) match was staged at the Waterloo Memorial RecreationComplex.
Despite picking up the win, Merchants’ head coach Jason Crosbie was not a happy camper following the match. That’s because his squad, which led 10-4 after the second period, was outscored 5-1 in the final 20 minutes of action. Crosbie was upset with the complacency his charges displayed down the stretch. “We just didn’t finish right,” he said. “We just didn’t play the right way to finish the game.”
Crosbie added the Merchants’ coaching staff did notice which of his players were willing to battle until the final whistle. And no doubt some lineup changes will take place before the club’s next outing, especially since the Merchants are expected to get back as many as five players this week who have been away at school.
“It could just as easily have been 20-4 for us tonight,” he said. “Some guys decided to just ride it through (in the final period). There’s no team in this league you can just ride through.”
Crosbie added at least the Merchants did manage to register the win and improve to 2-0 on the season. He’s hoping his squad will utilize Saturday’s contest as a learning lesson. “We weren’t getting the right looks at the end,” he said. “And we made a bunch of mistakes at the end. We’ve got to be on our toes going forward in games instead of being back on our heels. We’ve got to learn from this and keep growing.”
The Merchants have four games remaining during the month of May. And all four of these contests will be at home, at Children’s Arena in Oshawa. For starters, the Merchants will host the Velocity this coming Friday. The opening faceoff is set for 8 p.m. The Merchants will then square off against the defending OSL champions, Oakville Titans, on May 24 in a 7 p.m. start before battling the Six Nations Rivermen the following evening in a tilt which starts at 8 p.m.
The Merchants will conclude their May schedule with an 8:30 p.m. game on May 31 against the Owen Sound North Stars.