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Northmen win semifinal opener in OT
Tuesday July 29 2008
By Mike Rawn, Staff Writer
 
The Orangeville Junior A Northmen opened their Ontario Lacrosse Association semifinal Sunday night with a 10-9 overtime win against Akwesasne.
The Northmen won despite playing sloppy and looking disinterested for large portions of the game, which didn’t sit well with coach Matt Sawyer.
“That was not a good lacrosse game,” Sawyer said. “Maybe I’m the big sourpuss, but that was not a good lacrosse game. I’m not proud of how we played.
“We weren’t very good at all tonight. We didn’t deserve that win.”
Akwesasne, despite playing the final game of their opening round series against Burlington on Friday night, looked like the fresher team in the opening period in Orangeville. The visitors jumped out to a 3-0 lead, before the Northmen battled back with goals from Adam Jones and Greg Harnett. The teams exchanged second period goals, with Akwesasne getting a shorthanded marker and Jeremy Noble responding for Orangeville.
The Northmen briefly took control of the game early in the third period, after a pair of goals from Jones gave them a lead. Akwesasne pulled ahead again just past the midpoint of the period. Orangeville’s Stephen Keogh tied the game, but Akwesasne battled back and led 8-6 with less than three minutes remaining. Northmen assistant captain Mat MacLeod came to the rescue, scoring a pair of goals to send the game to overtime.
“I thought the guys came to play tonight,” Akwesasne coach Adam Thompson said. “We had a long road trip on the way up here. I thought the guys played really well. We had some tough breaks. We lost one of our top players [Kyle Buchanan] on the offensive end, and our goalie [Justin Delormier]. The guys pulled together.
“I think [the series] will probably go seven games. We should have pulled one out [Sunday]. But the lacrosse gods weren’t on our side.”
Overtime
Akwesasne did score first in the 10-minute extra session, but Jeff Ivey tied the game for Orangeville. MacLeod, with his third of the night, scored the game winner with just over four minutes remaining.
“We just pulled together at the end,” MacLeod said. “We had two and a half periods of the worst lacrosse we’ve played all year. And then our skill and talent showed through at the end. We played desperate, and we pulled it out. It was a gutsy win.”
Game two of the series was played last night [Monday] at the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre. Results were unavailable at press time. Games three and four will be played Thursday and Friday, respectively, in Akwesasne. Sawyer is hoping for a better effort from his club as the series progresses.
“We need a consistent effort game in and game out,” Sawyer said. “We can only push buttons. It’s up to the kids what kind of effort they’re willing to give.”
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