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  ShareWestern Comes Back to Beat McGill, Earn Berth in Baggataway Cup Final2019-11-09
 Western\'s defence seemed to be all around McGill\'s offensive players in the Mustangs win. (Photo: Marika Guerin)
Just as Trent had done in the previous game, Western overcame a 4-1 deficit to win its Baggataway Cup semifinal and advance to the championship with a 6-5 win over McGill.Courtesy Earl Zukerman, McGill Athletics
Nikolai Farrus of Edmonton Alta., scored twice in the final quarter as a late surge helped Western overcome a four-goal deficit and escape with a 6-5 semifinal triumph against McGill at the Canadian University Lacrosse Association's Baggataway Cup championship tournament, Saturday.
The contest was played in front of 497 fans, the largest paid attendance ever to watch a lacrosse game at Percival Molson Stadium. McGill once had a larger crowd of about 1,000 a decade ago but there was no admission charge for that contest.
Western, which eliminated McGill at the same stage last season en route to the Cup, will lock horns with Trent. The Excalibur advanced to the gold medal game by overcoming a 4-1 deficit to win their semifinal 9-8 in overtime against Brock.
In an ironic twist both McGill and Brock -- teams that posted identical 10-0 records and earned byes to the semifinals -- failed to win their opening game.
It also marked the farewell game for head coach Tim Murdoch after 17 seasons at the helm of McGill's lacrosse program. The Princeton, N.J., native has served as a volunteer head coach since 2003 and concludes his coaching tenure with a record of 190-88-2 in 280 contests overall for a winning percentage of .678. He guided McGill to eight CUFLA East pennants (2011-2017, 2019), four undefeated regular seasons (2013-2015, 2019) and two national championships, claiming the league's Baggataway Cup in 2012 and 2015.
"I don't even have the energy to digest this result," said an emotionally drained Murdoch. "Its one of those things where it was two different games. The first half we took control well. We were up 4-1. And then I had this feeling in the locker room that it was just enough of a lead that it was a cushion which affected us mentally. We weren't prepared mentally for the second half."
The McGillians had built a 4-0 lead before the midway mark of the game, courtesy of Colton Campbell and Kieran McKay in the first quarter and back-to-back Liam McDonald goals in the second. But the hosts could not hold on as Western took the reigns in the second half, posting a staggering six unanswered markers en route to a fourth straight appearance in the final.
Accompanying Farrus in the comeback was teammate Cody Ward, a kinesiology senior from St. Catharines, Ont., who tallied twice, in the middle and final frames. Also scoring for the Mustangs were Cole Davis and Julian Simeoni.
Mustangs goaltender Michael Orlando saved 19 of 24 shots for the victory, while McGill's graduating senior Michael Gallo kicked aside 17 of 23 shots. Both 'keepers were named player of the game for their respective sides.
"Gallo was unbelievable," added Murdoch of the 5-foot-11 architecture senior from Glen Rock, N.J. "We lost 6-5 but it could have easily been 10-5. If it weren't for him, it wouldn't have been so close."
Gallo, who split many of his games this season for strategic purposes, ends his McGill varsity career with a 12-3 record in 26 appearances over four seasons.
McGill finished with a 10-2 record overall, including a perfect 10-0 first-place finish in CUFLA East. Aside from Gallo, 11 more graduating seniors played their last game in red. The group included Maxime Murdoch , along with Tanner Baldin , Naoll Degife , Liam MacDonald , Ian Macleod , Brendan Mullen , Quentin Norris , Paul Rougeau , Jack Turner , Julian Smith-Voudouris and goalkeeper David Pelliccione .
"It was tough in the locker room afterwards," admitted Murdoch of the bittersweet end to his coaching career. "These guys don't have the perspective you develop when you get older and realize 'Yeah, we didn't win but it isn't the end of the world.' We had an undefeated season and there are a lot of good things we can take away from this, learn from the loss and let it build character."
SCORING SUMMARY
CUFLA TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD & STATS
2019 BAGGATAWAY CUP CUFLA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Friday, Nov. 8 (at Percival Molson Stadium)
Quarter-final 1: Trent 11, Guelph 5
Quarter-final 2: Western 12, Nipissing 5
Saturday, Nov. 9 (at Percival Molson Stadium)
Semifinal 1: Trent 9, Brock 8 (OT)
Semifinal 2: Western 6, McGill 5
Sunday, Nov. 10 (at Concordia Stadium, 7200 Sherbrooke St. W.)
Championship Game: Trent vs Western, 12 noon
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