Guelph, ON – Sunday afternoon the Gryphons Men's Lacrosse team won 12-2 over the Laurier Golden Hawks in what was Guelph's home opener of the 2015 season. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 1-1 on the season. The Gryphons dominated every facet of the game though they struggled to score early. It wasn't until half way through the first quarter that Gryphon rookie midfielder Jackson Nishimura scored his first goal as a Gryphon on a Guelph power play. Four minutes later, veteran midfielder Brett Ulbikas, who had struggled to find the mark early, scored his first of 4. The second quarter was much the same with the offense controlling the ball but making poor shot selections. Brendan Vogan scored Guelph's 3
rd goal at the 10:25 mark of the second, making an acrobatic catch on a feed from Ulbikas and then throwing two crazy fakes before bouncing the ball past the Laurier goalie. Shortly thereafter, Dan McIasaac buried another for Guelph on a 4 on 3 fast break. Defensively Guelph dominated the Laurier attack keeping them to one goal in the first half; a late, second quarter power play marker that barely sneaked past Gryphon net minder Mike Lalani. Lalani was called up several times in the first three quarters and then Dmytro Dutka took over in the pipes and did equally as good a job.
Guelph's defensive core of veteran longstick Nick Wordtmann, rookie longsticks Justin Martin and Nate McKenzie and longstick midfielders Josh Manangan and Adam Kirchmayer were supported by veterans Brent Scullion and Spencer Fraser-Steinbach in a fantastic display of team defense. Laurier's only goal of the second half came on another Laurier power play when Guelph was caught transitioning from one defensive scheme to another. Equally impressive was the dominant performance of Guelph's faceoff men, second year long stick midfielder Josh Managan and second year midfielder Ben Heidecker who between them were 11 for 15 on draws. Guelph's transition play blew the game open in the third quarter. Manangan and Heidecker won several face offs cleanly that resulted in fast breaks, and the team's defense created several turnovers that translated into odd-man rushes in the other direction. The offense capitalized on the transition play, scoring three quick goals from Ulbikas, Blaze (Jimmy) McCullough and Mike Cavanagh. In the end, Guelph outscored Laurier 6-1 in the third en route to their 12-2 win. "We talked about effort a lot this week in practice and the guys worked hard in the game today," said Coach Kosakowski following the game. "Any time you can get everyone into the game it means you are playing well and the experience is invaluable for the guys." Ulbikas lead all scorers with 4 goals and an assist followed by attackman Liam Corbett with 2 goals and 2 assists. Mike Cavanagh has 2 goals and an assists while Danny McIsaac had 1 and 1. Nishimura, McCullough and Vogan had a goal apiece and Heidecker, Luke Stockden and Todd Greer each recorded an assist. The Gryphons will next take the field on Friday, September 25 with an evening tilt against McMaster.
