Reds survive SOSSA scare
The Denis Morris Reds’ quest for a second straight Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association boys AAA field lacrosse title was nearly derailed by the Zone 4 champion Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs this week.
The Reds had built a commanding 6-1 lead over the Bulldogs in the final before Churchill roared back to tie the game at 6-6. Alex Forest’s third goal of the game with 1:36 left on the clock allowed the Reds to escape with the win and advance to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Festival June 5-6 in Georgetown.
“They are a good team and they were able to come back and tie it up but fortunately for us we scored late in the fourth quarter to get a big win and earn a trip to OFSAA,” Reds head coach Matt Vinc said. “We turned over the ball, they scored a couple of times in transition and they got a couple of man-up goals.”
He felt both teams’ goalies played really well.
“For us, we didn’t have too many close games (this season) and when you get into a close game when you haven’t had one you think momentum might get away from you but fortunately for us we played hard in the last five minutes and got one in our favour.”
The Reds are looking forward to their second straight appearance at OFSAA.
“A lot of our contributors were in Grade 10 last year and now they are going to be in Grade 11. We had a big influx of Grade 9 players with a lot of box and field lacrosse experience which gives us a pretty deep team,” Vinc said. “We are a balanced team and hopefully we can come out and play our best in the biggest moment. If we can get a couple of wins on the first day, then hopefully we can play for a medal.”
Last year’s experience should help in 2024.
“It’s huge. Last year we had a game similar to Sir Winston where we were winning against St. Peter’s of Peterborough and the momentum started going in their direction, we lost a big lead and lost by one,” he said. “I like the way we were able to push back against Sir Winston and that kind of experience translated from last year’s OFSAA game. It allowed for us to get a one-goal win at SOSSA.”
Vinc is looking for more of the same.
“Hopefully we are a team that will continue to learn because we are hosting OFSAA next year. We are looking to gain experience but we are also going there to win.”
Also scoring for Denis Morris in the final were Liam Larocque (2), C. Canter and Mason Elliott.
Replying for the Bulldogs were Owen Scott (2). Simon Marshall (2), James Lindsay and Jared Cook.
SEMIFINALS
Reds 12 Fighting Irish 3
Denis Morris advanced to the SOSSA final with a 12-3 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Scoring for the Reds were Liam Larocque (4), Michael Welsh (3), Matthew DiPietro (2) and Troy Murray. Two scorers were not listed.
Netting goals for Notre Dame were Josh Calder, M. Gibson and Trent Groulx.
Bulldogs 10 Gryphons 7
Sir Winston Churchill advanced to the SOSSA finals with a 10-7 victory over the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons.
Scoring for the Bulldogs were James Lindsay (3), Simon Marshall (3), Jared Cook (3) and Jack McNeil.
Replying for GFESS were Brayden Hogan (3), Lucas Longboat (2), Devin Hill and Kalen Bennett.
