Lacrosse team reclaims gold medal

Well, that had to be one of the fastest rebuilds in sports history.

Just a year after suffering from significant roster turnover that resulted in a 7-5 season, ending a streak of six straight provincial championships, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s lacrosse team once again owns the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) gold medal.

The Hawks downed the Western Mustangs 7-5 in the championship game on Saturday night to re-capture provincial title.

The win was also a source of revenge for the purple and gold as last season, the Mustangs came out on top in the gold medal game, sending the Hawks home with silver.

ā€œIt was absolutely fantastic,ā€ said third-year goalie Hanna Burnett. ā€œIt was the same semi-final and final as last year so we actually did re-claim [the gold medal] it was just a repeat but with a much better result.ā€

After losing just one game all year, the Hawks came into the OUA championship tournament with an 11-1 record, earning them a bye to the semi-finals on Friday afternoon.

There, they met the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who according to head coach Lynn Orth are always a tough match-up.

ā€œWe have a bit of a problem with U of T every time we play them,ā€ she said.

ā€œBut we were in control of that game, even though the score doesn’t show it. It was a good, hard-fought game, but we were ahead the whole game, we never relinquished the lead.ā€

The Hawks would come away with a 12-11 win, lifting them to their eighth OUA championship game in ten years, where they would down the host Mustangs.

The win signals a return to prominence for a team that dominated the OUA for so long, even going three years without losing a single game between 2006 and 2009.

ā€œIt comes with maturity,ā€ said Orth of the team’s quick turnaround. ā€œLast year we had a lot of young players and they just didn’t know how to play together yet. This year, we really ramped it up, we worked on a number of different things and then in the second half of the year we just fine-tuned everything.ā€

Thanks to the team being so young in 2009, the Hawks came into this season losing just three players from last year’s team. That continuity was complemented by a strong rookie class featuring the likes of OUA all-star Ashley Rutz.

ā€œHaving played together all last year and gaining that experience, we were a much better team coming into this year,ā€ said Burnett. ā€œAlso we had some absolutely fantastic rookies who came in and did such an amazing job and were huge contributors all year.ā€

Rutz wasn’t the only Hawk who earned personal accolades this season, as she was joined on the all-star team by Burnett, third-year Emma Pink and fourth-year Amanda Groothuis. Burnett was also named most outstanding player.

ā€œShe’s touted by a lot of people as the best goalie in the league,ā€ said Orth of Burnett. ā€œShe has her bad days like anyone else but even her bad days are still better than a lot of people’s good days.ā€

Orth also took home a personal award, winning OUA coach of the year. Despite the Hawks’ six straight titles from 2003-08, this is the first time Orth has won the award.

Back on top of the OUA, the Hawks now turn their sights to next year.

ā€œI think next year’s going to be just as great,ā€ said Burnett. ā€œWe’ll have pretty much the same team and I think if we put in the work in the off-season we’re going to be just as good, if not better next season.ā€