Six Nations Hands Merchants Second Consecutive Loss

By Sam Laskaris

A pair of back-to-back losses have brought members of the Merchants Lacrosse Club back down to earth.

The Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) squad had started its 2019 regular season on a high note, winning its first three contests.
The Merchants, however, suffered their first loss of the season on Friday when they were downed 8-5 by the visiting Oakville Titans, the defending league champions.

The Merchants suffered another home setback on Saturday night, losing 13-6 to the Six Nations Rivermen in a contest staged at Children’s Arena in Oshawa.

“This weekend was a very humbling experience for my guys,” said Merchants’ head coach Jason Crosbie. “We did not play at a level sufficient in either game to win in Senior lacrosse.”

But it wasn’t as if the Merchants were totally outclassed by their opponents in their two losses. “We had moments of good play but not substantial enough or for a long enough period,” Crosbie said. Crosbie hinted some personnel changes might be required for his team. “We need to find guys who want to win a championship, not just those that want to play,” he said.

But it’s not as if wholesale changes are necessary for the Oshawa-based Merchants. Perhaps Crosbie’s charges simply needed a wakeup call. “I told them this moment is (hopefully) going to push us in the right direction and to understand at what level we need to get to to compete for an Ontario Series league title,” he said. “It’s early and a long road ahead so definitely (there’s) no panic at all. We just need a reset of the mind for us this weekend.”

The Merchants will be looking to return to the win column this coming Friday. They’ll host the Owen Sound North Stars in a match which has an 8:30 p.m. opening faceoff.