The Brock Badgers men's lacrosse team took care of business on home field, defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks 8-3 in the first round of the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association playoffs on Thursday (Oct. 26) night.
The win gives the Badgers another opportunity at the Baggataway Cup. Brock last won a title in the 2021-22 season.
"We're happy with the overall effort. We're excited we are going back to the Bag, so we'll see what happens next," said head coach Vince Longboat.
The beginning of the game saw both teams try to settle into a rhythm. Fourth-year midfielder Mitchell Zulian led off the scoring on the power play with 4:33 left in the quarter. The Badgers held a 1-0 advantage after one.
In the second quarter, Brock exploded for five goals. James Gowland scored two and so did Jaden Patterson, while Avery Steinbach-Parker added one of his own.
Laurier did add a goal to cut the lead to 2-1, but it was all Badgers after that point, taking a 6-1 lead.
Brock found the net once again in the third, scoring at the 1:11 mark off the stick of Blair Pachereva. A Laurier goal cut the lead down to 7-2, before the Badgers would find the score sheet once again courtesy Noah Simonelli.
In the fourth, Laurier earned its third goal and the final marker from either team. As the final whistle blew, the Badgers took home an 8-3 win, booking their ticket to the Baggataway Cup.
Simonelli added an assist as did Zulian, Gowland, Matthew Hertner and Brodie Thoms.
The Badgers had three goalies get some action as Connor O'Toole started the game and Connor Scott went between the pipes for the third quarter and Adam Brown appeared in the fourth.
Longboat credited the defence and goaltenders in the win.
"The defence is the backbone of the team. All of them played really well. Connor (O'Toole) was effective in the first half and Connor (Scott) and Adam came in and kept the score where it should be. It was a team win for us."
Up next, the Badgers return to the Baggataway Cup, which is hosted this year by the Trent Excalibur. The tournament will take place from November 3-5. Stay tuned to gobadgers.ca for more details when they become available.
