LONDON, Ont. – There have been several bright spots in the early part of the Guelph Gryphons men's lacrosse team's season. It's the odd lapse that has been impacting them the past couple games. The Gryphons played well at times but ultimately dropped an 11-6 decision to the Western Mustangs in London Friday night.
 
Zachery Luisled the way with two goals and two assists, while James Short, Alec Simons, Quinn Stanhope, and Mark Wilson each scored. Goalie Hayden Walsh was solid, making 16 saves in a game that was closer than the scoreline suggested.
 
The Gryphons overcame a slow start and got right back into it with a big third quarter to pull within two of the host Mustangs at 6-4 after Simons scored with 4:24 remaining. Guelph came alive at both ends of the field and had a few excellent chances to narrow the lead to one but couldn't find the goal they needed. Western then caught the visitors on a change and took a 7-4 lead.
 
The Gryphons had played a disciplined game up until that point but were then called for a couple critical penalties that enabled the Mustangs to put in two more goals and stretch the margin. After the teams exchanged a couple goals, Western would add an empty-netter to close out the scoring.
 
Guelph looked like they would be in for a long night early after going down 4-1 from sloppy defensive play and an ability to find the net. But the team responded well to get back in it. Walsh, a second-year goalie from Burlington, ON, continually denied the Mustangs and was responsible for orchestrating a couple fast breaks that resulted in two big transition goals for the visitors.

 
Turning point
A run of penalties in the fourth quarter set the Gryphons back after an excellent performance to get back in the game in the third. Western capitalized and pulled away to win the game by a comfortable margin.

 
Gryphon Take
"We lacked intensity tonight and made far too many simple mistakes. For much of the game we got out-worked and despite Hayden Walsh's spectacular goaltending, we couldn't sustain the momentum we had in the third quarter. You just can't win at this level by playing one good quarter of lacrosse." – head coach Sam Kosakowski

 
The Record
Guelph is 2-2.

 
Next up
Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 4, 8 pm @ Gryphon Soccer Complex