Mustangs go 3-1 at Crestwood Lax Classic
Boys field lacrosse teams from Ontario, Quebec compete at fourth annual high school exhibition tournament
The Crestwood Mustangs went 3-1 at the fourth annual Crestwood Lax Classic exhibition high school boys field lacrosse tournament on Wednesday at the Fleming Sport Complex.
Crestwood opened the tourney with a 7-1 win against Stanstead College, a private school from Stanstead, Que.
The Mustangs then beat the Huntsville High School Hoyas 4-2 and Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School 5-2.
Crestwood’s winning streak was snapped with a 6-3 loss to Moira Secondary School from Belleville in their final game.
Moira also finished the tourney at 3-1 because they lost earlier to the Huntsville Hoyas.
Crestwood’s opening game win over Stanstead was far from easy, despite what the score might suggest.
“We’re feeling good after that win but it wasn’t as easy as the scoreboard made it look,” said Wade Wiggins, head coach of the Crestwood boys lacrosse team. “They are a tough team.”
“I scored a couple goals just trying to help the team out. I hope I can score a couple more in our next game,” said Dustyn Birkhov, a Grade 11 student at Crestwood. “One goal I scored, the goalie came out and hit me so I threw a backhand just for fun and it went in.”
Birkhov said he has been playing lacrosse since he was little. His whole family plays, he said.
The Mustangs took a short breather as they were scheduled to play back-to-back games, with the second against Huntsville High School Hoyas.
”I definitely think we have enough left to win against these guys. We have a lot of new guys but they are all great athletes,” said Curtis Trolley, a Grade 11 Crestwood student.
Trolley, whose brother Kyle plays lacrosse for the University of Notre Dame, said he is what really inspired him to play and he hopes he can follow in his footsteps.
Last year, Crestwood lost 5-2 to Oshawa’s Maxwell Heights, coached by retired Peterborough Laker Steve Toll who also guided them to an appearance at OFSAA after reviving the program.
This year, however, Maxwell Heights wasn’t one of the teams competing in the tournament
The weather co-operated for the tournament, with no sign of the late-spring chill of last week.
“We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather. Even the wind is nice as it will cool these guys down,” Wiggins said.