St. Catharines, Ont. - For the ninth time in program history, the Western Mustangs are CUFLA champions.
The Mustangs earned their third win in three days with an 11-3 victory over the Queen's Gaels in the final of the 2024 Baggataway Cup presented by Belko Construction.
Championship Final: Western 11 - Queen's 3
After an exhilarating three days of competition, a champion has been crowned as the Western Mustangs defeated the Queen's Gaels 11-8 in the final at Kiwanis Field.
"It's amazing, and I'm very thankful for the group that we have as they have great leadership and showed composure and resilience at the right time," said Western head coach Chris Standish. "We're grateful to be part of this amazing history at Western. Winning nine cups is exciting, and it's important to acknowledge the effort of all the people who poured into the program."
The first quarter saw both teams play tight defensively in search of the first goal of the contest. Jacob Hickey continued his scoring ways as he notched the first Western score with 8:28 left in the frame; the lone goal of the first 15 minutes.
The next quarter saw both teams trade goals with Western first getting on the board and Queen's answering. At halftime, the Mustangs continued to hold a lead at 3-2.
A clean 3-0 third quarter powered by three different scorers gave the Mustangs a 6-2 advantage.
Bryan Poetker of the Gaels cut the Mustangs' lead in half on a score with 12:50 remaining in the fourth. Any comeback dreams from the Gaels were squashed when the Mustangs scored three goals in just under three and a half minutes and with only four minutes remaining on the clock.
Two more Western goals helped add to their tally as they celebrated an 11-3 championship victory at Kiwanis Field.
Hickey of the Mustangs finished the tournament with 14 goals and two assists in an incredible scoring performance.
For the Gaels, Poetker,
Drew Cairns and
Oscar Perren were the goal scorers.
The Mustangs dominated in shots, doubling up the Gaels 28-14.
Western's Fischer Stoltz earned his third consecutive win of the tournament between the pipes in a 11-save effort.
Both teams fought valiantly to get to the final as they both had to go through an extra day of play in the quarterfinal round on Friday, Nov. 1 to make it to the championship game.
The last time the Mustangs won back-to-back titles was during a stretch when they won four straight from 2016-2019.
For the Gaels, they have much to be proud of as they made their way to the final for the first time in school history.
