Special performance in Hunters’ victory

Ava Weriasanoron Gabriel has made history yet again, this time by scoring the first-ever goal by a female player in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL).

By the same token, it was also the first time a brother and sister scored in the same game, and it’s a good thing they did - Kanehsata’kehró:non Ava and Logan Gabriel combined to make the difference as the Kahnawake Hunters Junior C team fought their way to a narrow 10-9 victory at home against the Akwesasne Lightning on Saturday.

“It definitely took a few games for me to put it in the net, but it happened at a good time,” Ava said. “The way I felt right away was like when the buzzer went off to call the game from the bronze medal match during the world championships.”

Ava, who is being inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF) this weekend alongside her Haudenosaunee Nationals World Lacrosse Box Championships team, is the first woman to compete in a position other than goalie in the OJLL.

“It’s been fun,” said Ava. “I like playing with the guys. I like the intensity and the faster pace of it.”

Meanwhile, Logan is an offensive powerhouse with the Hunters, leading the team in both goals (10) and assists (13) at the time of writing.

“He’s doing really well right now,” said Ava. “I’m happy for him and I enjoy seeing him excel with the sport he loves.”

The team got off to a rough start this season - the inaugural year for the Junior C squad, which was added to the OJLL alongside the Hunters Junior B team - dropping their first four in a row. Since then, they’ve won three of four for a 3-5 record heading into a game last night (Thursday) against the Cornwall Celtics, which was played after The Eastern Door’s deadline.

At the time of writing, they’re ranked third in the five-team Eastern Division.

“It’s starting to go in the right direction,” said Eric Jacobs, the team’s coach and the Gabriels’ stepfather.

“We started to settle down a little bit and realizing Junior lacrosse is a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, a little bit smarter, and we’re starting to make the adjustments.”

In Saturday’s game against Akwesasne, Ava found her chance in the early part of the second period. After receiving a sharp pass up top, Ava spun away from the defender and whipped it into the net to put her team up 5-1 - or, as her coach put it, she did “what Ava does.”

“She’s learning just like everybody else, but she has the extra learning curve of being a female in a men’s division,” said Jacobs. “She’s making the adjustments too, and she’s realizing she can’t wait that extra half second to get her shot, she’s got to shoot it. And she does all other things right, her picks and her movements.”

Ava has become a difference-maker in Kahnawake not only in her role on the Kahnawake Hunters Junior C team, however. She’s also assistant coach for the U13 and U15 Kahnawake Mohawks, the first girls’ lacrosse teams in the community in around a decade and a half.

“It’s inspiring that we can do that someday, maybe,” said Oriah Jones, a player on the U15 girls’ team, of Ava’s spot on the Hunters’ roster.

“It’s really fun. She’s a really good coach,” said Jones. “She tells us what to do when we don’t know what to do.”

According to Jones’s father and U15 Mohawks’ coach Al Jones, Ava took the initiative to reach out about participating in coaching the girls and has been a major asset ever since.

“She plays on the world stage, so it was a no-brainer to have her come,” Al said. “When she comes, she brings a lot of experience.”

He noted her accolades on the collegiate and even international stage, and now at a high-level men’s division.

“The girls, it’s easier for them to see as a role model that they can do that too, where she’s been, and it helps them relate to push further to see how far you can go, which helps any athlete drive,” said Al, adding that Ava’s successes raise the bar for the young players.

“We’re really impressed, our team and our community are really impressed with Ava’s success and how far she’s gone.”

As an assistant coach, Ava is especially adept at helping the girls focus on the fundamentals, he said.

“It feels like an extra right hand. She knows drills that can help these girls develop and get better with their stick skills,” said Al.

Ava has seen the Mohawks players grow over the course of the season so far.

“The girls are improving game by game, practice to practice,” said Ava. “I enjoy helping them in every aspect of the game and their own self.”

Ava’s busy schedule continues through June, with a little less than half the season left to play.

The Kahnawake Hunters Junior C play two home games at the Kahnawake Sports Complex this weekend – Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Wilmot Wild and 1 p.m. Sunday against the Fergus Thistles.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter