OUA Lacrosse Preview: Excalibur women's lacrosse team's confidence in each other has them ready for the OUA Championships
The Trent Excalibur women's lacrosse team is entering this weekend's OUA Women's Lacrosse Championships as the reigning 2019 champions , and the team is ready leave everything out on the field, for themselves and for each other.
"The biggest thing I've taken away from my experiences from the past few years is family," said fourth-year veteran defender Cassidy Assinck. "The girls have always had each other's back and this weekend will be no different. I'm confident in the team's abilities and know we can keep our medal streak going."
Winning the Patterson Cup as OUA champions in 2019, the Excalibur has won three medals in the last five years, dating back to the 2016 championship season (2019 gold, 2018 bronze, 2016 gold).
The team's core group of veterans will be bringing their winning experience into Saturday as they look to lead the group through to Sunday. Graduating athletes Victoria Clark, Cassidy Assinck, Emily VanDamme, Drew Gordan, Molly Jensen and Jocelyne Lemay will be extra motivated as they will look to go out on a winning note, as their University careers comes to a close.
"This weekend's OUA championship is huge," said fourth-year midfielder, Victoria Clark. "This will be my last weekend playing for the green and white, and I hope to finish off this season with another championship. These last four years representing Trent have been amazing and I cannot wait to see what this weekend brings for our team."
Assinck echoes this sentiment as she and Molly Jensen will lead the defensive squad in the backend along with goalie standout, Emily VanDamme.
"This year means everything," said Cassidy. "It's pretty much everything we've worked for in these past four years all rolled into one weekend! I've gotten the opportunity to grow not just as an athlete but as a person with some amazing women."
Round one of the championships begin on Saturday, with the team kicking off their title defence with two matches that will set up the semi-final matchups before the finals on Sunday. Facing off against the 3-5 Guelph Gryphons (Oct. 30 at 12 p.m.) before playing against the Laurier Golden Hawks (Oct. 30 at 6 p.m.) Saturday evening on Civic Field. The Excalibur will be looking to win Pool C, as the top team from each of the three pools, plus the next best record advances into the semifinals.
And with experience in heading into the OUA Championships, head coach Tori Wasson has had the team prepared and ready to go, not just for this upcoming weekend, but throughout the regular season.
"We have had a great regular season, we have learned a lot and we're going to be able to take those lessons into this weekend," said head coach Wasson. "We are excited to be among all the OUA team's this weekend competing for the 2021 championship. We have all worked really hard to get to this moment, and I know we are going to be able to put everything together for a great result."
With only the top team from each pool clinching a spot in Sunday's semi-final round, Clark says the team will play hard and give it their all on the field on Saturday.
"We are going to focus on one game at a time, and one win at a time. We have worked hard all season to condition and to further develop our skills, and we cannot wait to put this all together this weekend."
Follow along all the action this weekend and all season long by visiting our Excalibur Varsity page, and following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates on the Excalibur.
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