By Kaitlyn LeBoutillier
It was home sweet home for the Gloucester Griffins as they captured three division crowns and a silver medal at their annual Ray Broadworth Memorial Lacrosse Tournament this past weekend.
Four arenas in the Gloucester area hosted a total of 43 teams from as far as Windsor and Sudbury from July 5-7, and perhaps nobody appreciated the chance to have opponents from around the province come to them more than the under-22 Lady Griffins.
Travelling out-of-town for games is familiar territory for many competitive local lacrosse squads, especially female teams, notes U22 Lady Griffins player Isabel Lavergne.
“We usually go down for a Whitby tournament and other than that, it’s mostly games in the Toronto area, so it’s good to have teams come to our rink for once,” she explains.
Lavergne’s teammate Halle Lubiniecki adds that an added bonus of having games at home is feeling the support from their hometown fans.
“We have a bunch of the guys’ teams in the stands cheering for every single thing, and when you score, you can look over and everyone’s cheering,” highlights Lubiniecki, whose older brother Hunter plays NCAA field lacrosse for the Lafayette College Leopards. “It’s a good feeling instead of having all the [other team’s] fans. It’s less nerve-racking.”
The Lady Griffins certainly showed no nerves in their games. Lavergne’s hat trick led her team to a 7-0 victory in their final round-robin game against the Windsor Warlocks – a win they needed to move on to the playoff round. Gloucester then went on to win the gold medal, defeating the Nepean Knights in a thrilling 2-1 overtime triumph.
Lady Griffins glad to see girls’ lacrosse grow
The Lady Griffins competed in the only girls’ division of the tournament, the U22 level, though the average age of players on the team is around 16/17, with one as young as 14 and 20 the oldest.
While there may not be a very wide range of playing options for girls, the Lady Griffins still see signs of growth, and combining players from a range of ages has allowed the program to function most effectively.
“It’s definitely becoming bigger,” Lavergne signals. “I remember a couple years ago we had like seven players on the bench, so we’re definitely growing the program a lot, which is good.”
Lavergne and Lubiniecki just wish that box lacrosse was played in university. They both say that they likely won’t continue to play at the post-secondary level because they would have to play field lacrosse.
“If they had box lacrosse, then yeah, [I’d like to play],” Lubiniecki indicates, “because I like the physical aspect. We like hitting.”
The Lady Griffins weren’t the only local team to perform well at the Broadworth tournament. Griffins teams medalled in four of the seven divisions, winning gold in the three divisions, and silver in one.
The U11 Griffins lost just once, in their opening game against the Akwesasne Storm, and went on to beat the same opponent in their division final.
The U15 Griffins earned silver after winning all of their round-robin games but finished with a loss to Kahnawake Mohawks in the finals.
The U22 men’s Griffins went undefeated in the tournament with wins over the Centre Wellington Riverhawks, Brampton Excelsiors, Kahnawake Mohawks and Tyendinaga Thunderbirds.
The Nepean Knights’ lone medal was the U22 women’s silver.
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