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  ShareMcGill Beats Nipissing 17-11 behind Macleod's winning goal2017-09-10
 Maxime Murdoch had 4 goals for the Redmen. (Photo: Derek Drummond)
Florida native Ian Macleod scores winning goal as McGill downs Nipissing 17-11 while Hurricane Irma ravages his home state.Story by Earl Zuckerman, courtesy McGill University.
Maxime Murdoch of Montreal scored four goals, Goose Bolton added a hat-trick and Ian Macleod tallied the game-winner as the McGill University men's lacrosse team cruised to an emotional 17-11 victory over Nipissing at Forbes Field, Sunday. It marked the third straight victory for the Redmen, who lead the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association East division with a perfect 3-0 record.
But more important was the fitting karma that Macleod, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound midfielder from Bradenton, Fla., scored the deciding goal. The 19-year-old economics sophomore could be excused if his thoughts were elsewhere. His family is bunkering down with six other evacuated families in the Macleod household in Bradenton, located near the northwest side of Florida, not far from the path of Hurricane Irma a Category 4 storm with reported sustained winds of 135 miles per hour which is wider than the state of Florida and ravaging the southeastern United States this weekend.
"Max and Ian were teammates at IMG Academy in Bradenton and it's disconcerting when you're a young man and your family and friends are in harm's way," said Max's father Tim Murdoch, in his 15th season as head coach at McGill. "They're probably going to be fine but that storm is nuts and you just don't know what's going to happen. I didn't sleep much last night as I was watching the hurricane news on TV. I finally went for a walk a 6 a.m. to gather my thoughts and send a text to Gary Macleod (Ian's father), to see how they were coping. He texted back that they were OK for the moment but didn't know what to expect as the storm drew closer.
"I could just tell before the game that Ian looked worried and was pretty emotional as his family lives about six miles inland from (Florida's Gulf of Mexico) coast, near Sarasota. I asked him if he was okay to play and he said 'yeah'. So we had a moment of silence before the game to focus our thoughts and prayers on the Macleod family and everyone living in Florida. We were all really pumped up to see him score that goal (his first of the season and fourth career marker)."
McGill led 6-3 after the opening quarter, 9-5 at halftime and 15-6 after three. The Redmen rested their veterans in the final stanza and were outscored 5-2.
Teammates Alexander Linton and Patrick Brandell added two goals apiece. Rounding out the McGill scoring was Emile Sassone-Lawless, Bohe Hosking, Liam MacDonald, Hunter Zawada and Sean Tan, the latter two registering their first career markers.
McGill's defence had an off day, surrendering 11 goals to Nipissing's sharp-shooters, led by Scott Dominey who had five goals and added one helper in a losing cause. Nick Chaykowsky registered a hat-trick, while Sean Menzie tallied twice and Jack Drinkwalter had one.
Murdoch and Dominey were both named as their respective players of the game.
For the third straight outing, McGill rotated in all three of their goalies. Veteran William Waesche started and saved eight of 13 shots over the first half. Michael Gallo played the third quarter, gave way to David Pelliccione in the final session but was reinserted for the final three minutes and 10 seconds. Gallo, who saved three of five shots, collected the win as Macleod's winner was scored when he was in the net. Pelliccione allowed four goals on six shots.
Nippising 'keeper Joseph McMahon went the distance, saving 16 of 33 shots fired his way.
"It's been a tiring four days with three home games, so I did not want to overplay our starters today as we head into a tougher week ahead," noted Murdoch. "We were happy to have played the majority of our roster, including 12 of our freshmen in the second half to seal the win. All in all, we were delighted to come out unscathed from an intense, three-game home series over four days."
McGill now sits atop the CUFLA East at 3-0 and will head to Ottawa and Trent, Sept. 16-17, respectively.
REDMEN RAP: McGill's face-off squad led by sophomore Julian Smith-Voudouros who won 58 per cent (14/24) and freshman Gardie Herr(4/7), which allowed the Redmen to maintain extra possession.
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