Solid Home Effort Brings BLC Back to .500

By Mark Stehlin

A good crowd was on hand last night to watch the Brooklin Lacrosse Club (BLC) take on the visiting Brampton Excelsiors. The team welcomed participants of the OFSAA Boys Lacrosse AAA high school championship being held in Durham Region. The BLC were coming off consecutive losses and were looking to right the ship. There was a success on the floor as the scoreboard read 12-5 in favour of BLC  at the final buzzer.

It was Brampton who scored first with seven minutes off the board. A minute later, Chris Boushy fresh off a National Lacrosse League championship with the Toronto Rock scored to tie the contest. The teams traded goals and after 20 minutes it was 4-3 for BLC.

Will MacLeod opened the scoring in the middle frame on a sloppy defensive clearance by Excelsior defenders. He waited patiently for the dust to settle, grabbed the loose ball and fired it home. The middle frame was a low scoring affair as Brooklin lead 6-4 after two periods.

“We are still finding ourselves out there, the intensity picked up as the game went on and we got more confidence, which I think is important”, said head coach Joel Johnson after the game.

The third period was where BLC found their groove and coincidentally Brampton struggled to regain their game. The home side rattled off three straight to take control early in that last frame. Starting goalie for BLC, Aden Walsh, surrendered only one goal in that last period and when the clock ticked to zero, BLC had the win and two points to get back to .500 on the season.

- photo c/o Jay Saucier 

“These guys compete, they work hard, and they are athletic to where they grind other teams down and that’s what may have happened tonight”, added Johnson.

BLC’s number one draft pick in the January draft was in the line-up and showed fans why he belongs. Elijah Edwards played a strong game and moved the ball well up the floor.

“I’m honoured to be here and excited to get to know the guys and learn from them,” said Edwards after the game.

Edwards and Owen Tapper will both be Seniors this Fall on the men’s lacrosse team at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania. BLC has had a pipeline of players at that school with recent players like Will MacLeod and Bo Columbus and in the past Kiel Matisz, Kevin Brownell and Kyle Buchanan.

“Everyone has been welcoming here, I feel like I have grown so much even in the short time that I have been here. I see my game as one where I push the ball up the floor and get it to the offensive guys, I try to be physical out there and do what I can to help the team win,” added Edwards.

Scoring – C Kearnan (0,6) Sinfield (1,1) Byrne (0,1) C Acchione (0,1) Boushy (2,2) Clark (2,1) MacLeod (2,3) Lintner (3,0) Columbus (1,0) O’Connor (1,3)

Aden Walsh with the win in net as he saved 26 of the 31 shots that were fired at him.

No rest for the team who are in Peterborough tonight at 8 pm and in Cobourg on Sunday at 6 pm. They return home on Wednesday for an 8 pm rematch against the Peterborough Lakers.