The Carleton Ravens men’s lacrosse team dropped their first game of the season to the Trent Excalibur by a score of 10-5 at Minto Field on Sept. 10.
The Ravens jumped out to an early two goal lead in the first quarter, when attack Hayden Cummings and middie Steven Snowling each tallied their first goal of the season.
“Going into the game, we were unsure of how we would fare,” Ravens assistant coach Adam D’Agostino said. “Trent got a few [National Collegiate Athletic Association] transfers this season and are meant to be pretty tough competition this season.”
The Excalibur got on the board with two minutes left in the first quarter when attack Nick Karam scored his first of two goals in the game.
The second quarter featured back and forth opportunities from both sides. Middie Cam Breen and attack Adam Bridle added goals for the Ravens, while a trio of Excalibur also score to tie the game up at four.
“We started the game off fairly strong, we were up 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, and tied 4-4 at the half,” D’Agostino said. “Unfortunately the Trent defence were able to contain our top attack Aaron Woods and Noah Hoselton, and our top midfielder Cam Breen suffered a concussion in the 3rd quarter.”
D’Agostino added that unforced errors were also a problem in the game for the Ravens.
Trent took the lead early in the second half on a tally from attack Cam Garlin and would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. Ravens’ middie Sam Robillard scored midway through the third quarter to bring Carleton back to within one, but the Excalibur answered with four consecutive goals to wrap up the game.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Robillard said after the game. “Trent has become a rival of ours over the last few years, so we expect a very gritty game every time we play against them.”
“The final outcome really wasn’t what he had hoped for, but it was a great learning experience for the team . . . the first half showed us that we can compete with the best teams in the league,” Robillard added.
Despite the loss, D’Agostino said the play of goaltender Simon Bellamy was amazing in the game.
“He made some outstanding saves to keep the game close,” he said. “Our defence also played pretty strong throughout the entire game—we got caught on a couple of unsettled situations that unfortunately Trent was able to take advantage of.”
The Ravens are back in action on Sept. 15 against the Bishop’s Gaiters at Coulter Field.
