Laurier’s top 10 2015-16 moments

10. Lacrosse finishes fourth at OUA championship with 13 rookies

After finishing in fifth-place at last year’s OUA championship, the Wilfrid Laurier women’s lacrosse team improved on their finish in fourth place. The more impressive stat is that the team did it with 13 rookies joining up, which could lead to potential top finishes in the near future.

9. Women’s basketball eliminated in first round of playoffs

After coming off a strong year that saw the women’s basketball team have a great season, the team came up short in the first round of the OUA playoffs against their rival the Windsor Lancers. The team had the Lancers on their toes throughout the game, but eventually lost to the OUA bronze medalists in single digits.

8. Kwaku Boateng wins the J.P. Metras Award

In his third year on the football team, defensive lineman Kwaku Boateng was honoured with the J.P. Metras award, given to the most outstanding defensive lineman. Boateng was a force to be reckoned with on the gridiron, recording 18 tackles and four sacks, and became the eighth Hawk to receive this prestigious award.

7. Women’s soccer back to nationals

After another stellar season in the books, with head coach Barry MacLean at the helm and led by fifth-year striker Emily Brown, the women’s soccer team returned to nationals where they placed seventh among the top teams in the country. They lost to Laval in the quarterfinals and Cape Breton in the consolation semifinal.

6. Men’s hockey makes playoffs

After a three-year hiatus, the men’s hockey team made it back to the OUA playoffs by finishing in seventh place in the West conference. The team eventually lost to the OUA silver medalists Western Mustangs in the first round, but the experience they gained is crucial for their upcoming years.

5. Football beats McMaster in quarter-finals

In head coach Faulds’ third year as bench boss, the men’s football team beat the McMaster Marauders in the quarter-final to earn a date with the Western Mustangs. The squad took it to the OUA powerhouse, leading at halftime, but their offence sputtered in the second half where they lost 29-15.

4. Will Coulthard eclipses 1,500 career points

After an outstanding career, men’s basketball star Will Coulthard topped off his fifth year with the Hawks by being the third Hawk in team history and 19th in OUA history to hit the 1,500 career point mark. Coulthard finished the season at 1,594, good enough to solidify himself in the record books as the third-leading scorer in team history.

3. Peter Campbell retires

After 16 years serving as the bench boss of the men’s basketball team and a 31-year career in the OUA conference, head coach Peter Campbell decided to retire at the end of the 2015-16 season. He finished his career at Laurier with a total overall record of 164-363, including playoff games.

2. Dillon Campbell becomes all-time leading rusher

After returning to the team for a fifth and final year, running back Dillon Campbell became the all-time leading rusher at Laurier with 3,568 yards. He also led the nation for the second straight year with 1,115 rushing yards over the eight-game season and finished with 1,323 all-purpose yards in helping the Hawks improve their air game.

1. Men’s curling wins national gold

The men’s curling team captured a CIS gold medal this year. After capturing a CIS silver and bronze medal the last two years, the team returned to Laurier for their fifth year with one goal in mind — the CIS gold medal. The Hawks rink went undefeated at OUA’s to capture gold and went 8-1 at the CIS championship to claim victory.