Akweks win barnburner lacrosse finals

A year after Stanstead College’s Greater Montreal Athletic Association (GMAA) lacrosse team came and beat Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) on their own field by 10 goals, the opportunity to get one back presented itself for the Akweks as they met in the finals once again.

Unlike last year’s one-sided affair, Tuesday afternoon’s finals game at KSS was a close one, where no team led by more than two goals at any one time, and in which KSS only got the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter, ultimately winning 11-10.

“When these boys fought, they fought. I asked them to do so much and as a coach, that’s all I can ask for,” said Akweks’ head coach Al Jones after the win.

“The guys stepped up early all season, but when it counted, they stepped up and helped this program get to our goal of being champions.”

Stanstead started the game off strong, scoring two quick goals.

The Akweks responded to get their first after stopping a long offensive zone Stanstead possession but allowed another goal after a giveaway to make it 3-1.

KSS clawed back to tie things 3-3 before the end of the first quarter, with one of the goals coming from a great lob pass from Darris Jones that went from the defensive zone to behind Stanstead’s net, leading to a defensive mismatch and a quick goal.

The second quarter was more of the same: Stanstead would restore its two-goal lead, KSS tied it at five, and Stanstead scored two again to finish the first half up 7-5.

Jones said his team’s slow start was a question of mindset, not ability.

“Our boys were confident. We didn’t have many challenges this season,” said Jones.

Indeed, the Akweks had won all their previous games by an average of eight goals.

He said that he felt the team came into the game with maybe a little bit too much confidence.

“And then all of a sudden, boom, surprise. There’s competition. I finally had to get their feet under them, get them motivated,” said Jones.

The team responded well to the message, and the second half was a completely different game. Early on, KSS dominated in terms of possession, but did not manage to convert its many scoring chances after Stanstead’s goaltender made many key saves.

Jones told his team to adjust their shooting to try and counteract the hot goalie.

“I was telling them to bounce shots because it’s tougher for the goalie to read,” said Jones.

KSS did just that with their first goal of the second half to make it 7-6.

Oakley Dickson, who scored a hat trick in the game, said that they did not let the saves against them discourage them.

“Our mindsets were, get it next time. Let’s get it next time. Keep ripping them,” said Dickson.

KSS converted on another chance to make it 7-7 right off the faceoff and dominated ball possession for the rest of the game.

That being said, Stanstead did not go down without a fight, scoring one of their only possessions to go up 8-7 after three.

KSS started the fourth off strong and took their first lead of the game, going up 10-8 after goals from great ball movement. They would never give that lead up.

The game ball went to goaltender Ethan Brascoup, who kept the team in the game despite their slow start.

“We started off shaky. We got a lot of goals scored on us. Our defense was solid; it was just the mistakes we made. Then every time we went into the huddle, we had a good talk, and everyone supported each other,” said Brascoup.

The entire team was very happy to be able to win at home in front of their friends and family, where the stands cheered for their goals and car horns were blared in lieu of a goal siren.

It felt even better to do so against Stanstead.

“It feels good to come back and beat them, and especially in my last year,” said Brascoup, who is in Grade 11.

“These guys we were playing against are absolute units, man, but we had to push through and gave it all and ended up on top. We’ve been anticipating this game all year, and finally, it feels so good that we came out on top,” said Dickson, also in Grade 11.

“Redemption feels good. Last year, they came here to beat us on our home soil, but we finally got it back. We redeemed ourselves in front of a great crowd,” said Jones.

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