The Carleton Ravens men’s lacrosse team had their losing streak extended this weekend with a 9-5 loss to the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees at Lee’s Field on Sept. 17, as part of the Capital Lacrosse Clash.
“It was a good team effort, tough loss because when you look at the play out there, we were the exact same team, if not the better team out there,” said Ravens head coach Jeremy Strong.
The visiting Ravens found themselves in a hole early, when first-year attack Frederick Hartley scored a pair of goals just over two minutes apart to give U of O a 2-0 lead.
Carleton quickly found an answer, however, as attack Aaron Woods and middie Sam Robillard each notched an unassisted tally to tie the game at two.
Brandon Perras scored for the Gee-Gees midway through the second quarter to reclaim a one goal lead.
While rain poured throughout the contest, the wet weather did little to dampen the rivalry between the two teams.
Strong said he believes the rivalry between the two teams is stronger when compared to other notable games, such as the Panda Game, because of the local players involved.
“It’s that much more of a grudge match—guys are local, they have that pride for their home team, for their university,” he said. “Especially with [U of O] restarting their program in the last couple of years, we’ve seen them step up and come to our level.”
Hartley and Perras each added goals for Ottawa in the third quarter, while Ravens defender Ty Logan and Woods each scored to keep the deficit at one.
The Gee-Gees then took control of the game, scoring four goals in the final quarter to wrap it up.
Logan would add another goal for Carleton with two minutes left in the game, but by then it was too late to spark a comeback.
Strong said penalty trouble was one of his team’s main weaknesses during the game.
“We killed ourselves with penalties, plain and simple,” he said, while citing numerous stick infractions. “When you’re playing ten minutes a man down, it’s kind of tough to come out with a win.”
Despite this, Strong said there were positives his team could take away from the contest.
“Sometimes it takes the first couple games to get into it, and we definitely saw that improvement today,” Strong said. “Because the last two teams that we played were so tough, you end up playing a lot of defence, and you’re looking at how you’re defence is doing.”
The Ravens will look to earn their first win of the season when they host the Nipissing Lakers on Sept. 25 at Minto Field.
— With files from Cameron Penney
