Western Wins Baggataway… Again

For the sixth time in eight seasons, the Western University Mustangs are Baggataway Cup Champions. They won the 2024 CUFLA championship with a three-win weekend that saw them defeat Ottawa, (previously undefeated) McGill, and Queen’s. 

They defeated Queen’s in the finals by a score of 11-3. Conner Murphy and Max Brook had three points each for the Mustangs to lead them to victory. Goaltender Fischer Stoltz picked up the win in net, and was credited with 11 saves on the three goals. 

The win was the second straight for the Mustangs. They won the Baggataway Cup four straight times from 2016-2019, and have dominated close to a decade of Canadian University lacrosse. 

It was a dramatic final weekend that saw two undefeated seasons end in the semifinals. Guelph and McGill both entered the semis with perfect records on the season and were therefore considered the favourites.

That ended Saturday, when Western pulled the dramatic 12-11 upset over McGill. Chris Da Silva was the OT hero, scoring with three seconds left in the Overtime period. 

But the player of the game was undoubtedly Jacob Hickey, who finished with 8 points and a remarkable 7 goals. He had 5 goals in the second half alone including the tying goal with just under three minutes remaining which set the stage for the Da Silva heroics. 

In what has become a recent trend (see: PLL), the team with the bye lost in the semifinals. Western won their quarterfinal game handily over Ottawa on Friday, and rolled that momentum into the matchup against McGill. 

For McGill, it was a disappointing end to an outstanding season. 

A similar result occurred in semifinal number two, when Queen’s used their momentum from a Friday victory over the host team Brock. Noah Millsap led the way for Queen’s with 3 goals, while Reed Allen, Kai Fuller, and Bryan Poetker all finished with 2 goals and an assist each. 

Queen’s goaltender was a story of the game, allowing just 8 goals on 33 shots to secure the victory. Queen’s got out to a fast start in the game before the Gryphons battled back, but the Gaels scored 5 of the first 6 goals in the fourth quarter to put the game to rest and advance to the final game. 

Queen’s capitalized on a short-handed Guelph roster that was missing top defender Nicholas Volkov, who was off at Albany Firewolves training camp preparing for his second season in pro lacrosse. 

With the end of the Baggataway weekend, the Canadian University season has officially come to a close.