Local athlete takes spot in history books 

A beating drum that followed the Haudenosaunee Nationals everywhere thundered in the stands of the Utica University Nexus Center as England saw a close game at the half slip away into a drubbing.

The Nationals’ “sniper from the outside” was getting to work, picking her corners, to the delight of the team's huddled fans.

“Every time the ball went in the back of the net, everything would erupt,” remembered assistant coach Mary James of the Sunday night match, a 15-6 rout.

Back at home, Kanehsata’kehró:non banded together to celebrate the success of one of the community’s brightest young athletes, Ava Weriasanoron Gabriel, who was just on the edge of 19 years old at the time.

Excitement gripped Kanesatake as she spent more than a week balling and making history under the banner of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, part of the first ever Haudenosaunee women’s team at the World Lacrosse Box Championships.

Among the community members watching the highlights and streams of the matches was Robert White, who first coached Gabriel on the Kanesatake Warriors when she was about seven years old.

“She knew the basics – catching, passing, she was good at that,” said White of the little kid he remembers from back then, a shy girl who used to hide behind her mother’s legs. “She was an athlete already, playing ringette, so she had the drive to go for the net already, and she became our number one player.”

As he watched Gabriel wow at the worlds in late September 2024, he couldn’t help but think of those old days, when he would promise his pint-sized athletes a dollar a goal, upping the ante to anyone who managed to achieve a scarcely grazed triumph: “Five’ll get you $10,” he used to tell them.

So that Sunday night in Utica, as Gabriel found the back of the net for the last time of the evening, the drum beating, the crowd blazing, White couldn’t help but joke to himself.

“There she goes,” he said. “I owe her $10.”

The squad went on to win a bronze medal in the tournament. Now the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) has announced that the historic team will be inducted at a ceremony in June.

“I’m so proud of her,” White said. “Driving through the community, watching her grow up, whenever you’d drive by her place she was always outside, stick in hand. She had the determination and the drive to get her where she is, so I’m not surprised.”

The community has had plenty of investment in Gabriel’s development, according to her mother, Andrea Nelson.

“Their encouragement, all our fundraisers, sponsorships. Just being there for Ava, the lacrosse association, all those aspects, they were helping Ava grow,” said Nelson. “It wasn’t just us as parents.”

Nelson has been there for many of Gabriel’s biggest moments, of which the hall of fame is just the latest.

“Getting to go watch her and her team play every day, I just couldn’t believe this is my daughter playing in the worlds,” Nelson said.

“It’s hard to take your emotions and put them into words,” Nelson continued. “Thankful. Just thankful, happy, proud, all those put together.”

She remembers Gabriel as a naturally athletic child, a frequent recipient of MVP awards with the Warriors growing up. It was Gabriel’s maturity and discipline, Nelson thinks, that helped carve her path from there.

Norman Cédilotte, who has played a big role in expanding girls’ lacrosse in Quebec, first met Gabriel when she became involved in the program in St. Eustache, around five years ago. She was shy, he remembers, letting her skills do the talking. But as good as she was, she just kept improving.

“She became better with the ball, she became better at physical contact, she became stronger at throwing,” he said. “She has a wicked shot. She probably has one of the best shots in all women’s lacrosse across Canada.”

Gabriel went on to compete at the Canada Games on Team Quebec in 2022, the Canadian national championships, and the winter nationals in 2023 and 2024. She won a provincial championship in 2024 and a National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) championship with the Onondaga Lazers the same year - in her first game with the Lazers, she scored nine goals, earning recognition by the NJCAA.

Now Gabriel’s achievements can help other girls forge a life in lacrosse, Cédilotte said.

“You need a few success stories to help out. Ava’s one of them,” he said.

Gabriel is already focused on that, feeling personally invested in the development of the game for girls, noting that opportunities were more limited when she was growing up than they are today. She was even in Kahnawake recently helping out with the U13/U15 girls’ program there.

“Moving forward, I want to help grow the game in my community and sister communities, especially women’s lacrosse, and begin coaching,” Gabriel said.

She’s far from done herself though, already looking ahead to future championships, and even aspiring to play in the 2028 Olympics.

“Olympics is definitely a goal and dream and something I will be working towards,” Gabriel said, with full awareness of the training and work required. “There is nothing bigger than a world championship or the Olympics. Being able to participate in it would be amazing.”

In addition to a memorable experience breaking ground at the World Lacrosse Box Championships, she made lasting connections with other top Haudenosaunee players.

“We keep in touch almost daily. We have a chat with the whole team so we can all communicate together,” said Gabriel.

The captain of that team, Fawn Porter, said the squad had a nickname for the Kanehsata’kehró:non after her performance against England – Five-Goal Gabriel.

“She’s kind of shy about being cheered for, so you best believe I cheered so hard in front of all her family and fans and made her laugh about it,” Porter said.

The two met for the first time during the tryouts for the Haudenosaunee worlds team. Porter noticed the same thing Cédilotte had seen years earlier, that Gabriel likes to let her performance do the talking.

“When I first noticed her on the floor, I thought ‘Damn, this girl is going to give me a run for my money,’” Porter said, joking that luckily Gabriel is a lefty.

“Ava’s a great offensive player and you can tell she loves to play. She’ll shoot from any angle and make up whatever move that fits the situation to get the ball in the back of the net.”

The two got closer as the tournament went on, and even more so when they both went to Vancouver to compete in the World Sixes tournament in October, where they won silver. That’s the form of lacrosse that will be played at the 2028 Olympics.

“Ava’s very soft spoken,” Porter said. “It took me probably the whole tryout and training process to finally get two words together from her. But once I finally cracked her and got her talking, she is hilarious.”

Porter said Gabriel gives her a sense of excitement about the young players coming up who represent the future of women’s lacrosse.

It’s all part of a trend in lacrosse that is being recognized by the hall of fame with the team’s induction.

“It makes me feel so proud and excited for more amazing accomplishments for Haudenosaunee women, and I love how all these amazing women are being recognized for their hard work,” said Porter. “I’m honoured to be recognized doing something I love.

It reminds me that the communities are watching.”

The sentiment was echoed by their assistant coach.

“We’re a group, and we’re a team, but we’re also kind of like a family now,” said James. “I think we went through the hard times, the good times, the joy, the tears. We went through that all together in that tournament, and I think that was a special thing as well.”

“I miss it every day,” said Gabriel, adding that being inducted is an incredible feeling. “I’m honoured to be a part of an amazing group of women.”

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