Lukas Bernasiewicz
Oakville began its quest for the Minto Cup on Thursday, July 13, as they begin their first round best of five series.
Oakville is looking for a better result than last season when the team went up 2-0 and ended up losing three in a row to lose the series 3-2.
Standing in their way are the Toronto Beaches. An opponent that has Oakville has yet to defeat this season.
Oakville and Toronto squared off at the Toronto Rock Athletic Center in early June for what was supposed to be a tightly contested affair.
It turned into a one-sided affair where the Beaches destroyed the Oakville Buzz by a final score of 16-4.
In that game, Toronto got out to an early run that Oakville could not stop.
By the time Oakville’s Will Sheehan scored Oakville’s first goal, it was too late as the score had become 11-1 Toronto.
Oakville’s next meeting against the Beaches was a closer game but ended similarly.
Toronto beat Oakville by a score of 15-9.
In this game, Oakville went toe to toe with Toronto and competed throughout the entire game.
When Toronto tried to go on a run and end the game early, Oakville was right there to stop their momentum.
But in the third period, with the score at 9-8, Toronto finally went on a run that put the game away and earned them a 15-9 victory.
So what does Oakville need to do to win this series?
The key for the Buzz in this series is to not allow the Beaches to go on runs that consist of five, six, or seven unanswered goals.
You're obviously going to allow goals in lacrosse, but answering those goals back quickly with a goal of your own is the best way to stop a team's momentum and get your team back into the game.
Another big key for Oakville in this series will be their star players.
Oakville’s Yale University duo of Will Sheehan and Eddie Qu both had fantastic seasons this year, with Sheehan scoring 73 points and Qu scoring 46.
But those two players can’t be the only players scoring for the Buzz.
Oakville will need to count on other star players like Brian Jackman, Jack Macalapine, and Xander Derkatz to provide more offence for the team.
Oakville has a real chance at winning this series, but if they can’t stop Toronto from going on long runs, and if their star players don’t show up and put the ball in the back of the net, we may be in for a short series.
