In a rematch of last year's Baggataway Cup final, the Brock Badgers avenged their 2022 championship loss by defeating the Trent Excalibur 9-7 on Friday, November 3 in Peterborough, Ont.  

"It feels good," head coach Vince Longboat said. "For us, it was focusing on winning and moving on." 

The Badgers and Excalibur played tight throughout the first quarter, with Trent scoring first and Brock answering a minute later off the stick of Jaden Patterson.  

The third-year attack followed it up with another marker with 2:15 left in the quarter. The Badgers held a slim 2-1 advantage after 15 minutes of play.  

An early Trent goal in the second quarter tied things up. 

Brock retook the advantage midway through as a great effort from Aidan Buis led to a wraparound marker from Colton Armitage.  

After this point, the two teams netted one goal each, with Brock earning their goal courtesy of Eric Andrew. After a half of play, the Badgers kept their small lead at 4-3.  

Both teams were looking to score in the third, but a goal would not come until the midway point. Trent tied the contest which was answered by a Mitchell Zulian goal.  

Trent thought they tied up the contest with a minute left in the third, but it was waived off due to a crease violation.  

Brock's lead stood at 5-4 after 45 minutes of action. 

The Excalibur tied the contest early in the fourth, resetting the game with a key score. 

This seemed to ignite the Badgers as they went on a three-goal outburst. Zulian put the team on his back with a couple of important goals to give the Badgers a 7-5 lead. 

Armitage scored his second of the game to add to Brock's advantage. 

Trent kept battling and tried to stop Brock's momentum with a goal of their own, reducing Brock's lead to just two. 

A Patterson goal gave the Badgers the insurance marker they needed as Trent could only muster one more in the quarter. 

With the 9-7 win, the Badgers make a return to the Baggataway Cup semifinals. 

Patterson finished with two assists while Aidan Buis added two of his own. Armitage and Nolan Fehr added one each.

"Our transition did really well tonight and the defence held steady the whole game," said Longboat. "Connor O'Toole stood on his head and gave us a chance to win. There were a few times he had to deal with clear breakaways, and he stopped the ball." 

Longboat and the team now look ahead to the Western squad they will be playing tomorrow.  

"We got to play a very similar game to what we did tonight. We know each other well and it's going to be a battle. We've made some good adjustments. The team is playing better offensively, and we're hoping for a different story this time around." 

Up next, the Badgers look to avenge their losses from the season to the Western Mustangs as they play in the Baggataway Cup semifinals. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. and can be watched on Lacrosse TV on watchdingo.com.