Brock’s men’s lacrosse team was back in action this weekend, playing in games nine and ten in their final matches of the season.
On Saturday, Oct. 21st, the Badgers faced off against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues for the second time this season. Toronto, who sits second to last in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association’s (CUFLA) West division, lost by a decisive 12-5 score the last time the two met on Sept.16th.
Brock, who now sits in third place in the West with CUFLA’s second-ranked offence, was looking to replicate that performance.
Luckily for the Badgers, that’s almost exactly how it played out.
Mimicking their previous game against Toronto almost verbatim, Brock’s leading scorer Avery Steinbach-Parker potted the Badgers with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
With 11 seconds left, Steinbach-Parker’s goal looked to stand as the lone marker in the first before Blair Pachereva—Badgers’ second-highest goal-scorer—battled his way through several Blues to find the back of the net with three Toronto defenders draped over him.
“C’mon, that guy’s gotta be on his a**!” yelled a Toronto player in frustration as Pachereva celebrated his way to the Badgers’ bench.
Pachereva would strike again soon after.
Three minutes into the second quarter, Pachereva scored his second of the night stretching the lead to 3-0. Pachereva’s goal remained the only one of the frame with the Badgers holding the lead until early in the third.
Toronto found themselves the first team on the board in the second half, scoring two minutes in.
However, their celebration would be short-lived.
The Badgers quickly responded in kind with Colton Armitage grabbing his first of the game less than two minutes later. The Badgers would pump two more behind the Blues’ goaltender before the quarter was up, with a goal from Brodie Thoms and Steinbach-Parker’s second of the night.
From there, Toronto had no response to the Badgers’ offence. The Blues couldn’t find another goal the rest of the way, while the Badgers had no trouble, adding three more in the fourth quarter, winning 9-1.
With another outstanding performance, Steinbach-Parker maintained his role as Brock’s main offensive catalyst, finishing with two goals and two assists, game highs in both categories. Steinbach-Parker sits at 17 goals and 26 points through nine games played.
Pachereva and Armitage both also finished with two goals, while Aidan Buis had a goal and an assist in the win.
Only a day later, the Badgers would line up again at Alumni Field to play the McMaster University Marauders in their final game of the regular season.
McMaster is a middle-of-the-pack team, and the Badgers didn’t anticipate much trouble. Surprisingly, the Marauders struck first – and all the more surprising – it took them until two minutes remaining in the first half to break the ice.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Badgers looked doomed to lose this tight, low-scoring match. But, who else but Steinbach-Parker would open the scoring for the Badgers in the fourth quarter. Brock had the run of the game from there on out with Armitage and Jaden Patterson both scoring to secure a 3-1 nailbiter.
The win leaves Brock with a final 7-3 record, placing them in a tie for fourth in the CUFLA.
With the CUFLA regular season coming to a close, the Badgers will have to wait and see who they will face in their playoff matchups. For more information, please go to gobadgers.ca.