Onondaga Nation – The Onondaga Redhawks repeated as Can-Am Champions Saturday, August 9th with a convincing 12-4 win over rival Newtown Golden Eagles. Despite splitting the regular season series with the Golden Eagles, the Redhawks won 4 straight games earning a series sweep over Newtown.
With Onondaga controlling the face-offs with Jeremy Thompson, the Redhawks got on theboard first with a goal from Brett Bucktooth earning the home team their first lead which they did not relinquish. Cameron Simpson followed up with a fast break goal beating the Newtown keeper low for a 2-0 lead. Newtown responded for a goal of their own before Brett Bucktooth set the tone of the game by breaking threw two defenders on his way for a man-down goal. Lyle Thompson displayed some of his shooting touch with two straight goal. The second was a outside shot which froze the keeper as Lyle found the top corner. Hiana Thompson scored on another blast for off a feed from fellow lefty Neal Powless. Dustin Hill worked inside to end the Redhawk scoring at 7 while Newtown was able to tally two man-up goals in the period to make the score 7-3 and effectively built a large enough lead to secure a Can-Am Championship.
Facing a four goal deficit to start the second period, the visiting Golden Eagles compressed their defense only allowing a single goal by Lee Nanticoke after a great Onondaga possession which they won 3 loose balls to continue their offensive possession. Meanwhile Redhawks goal keeper Ross Bucktooth gave no room for the Newtown shooters to tally a single goal.
Cameron Simpson started the third period with a goal and a 9-3 Redhawk lead as the home team began to sense the championship was well within their reach. Brett Bucktooth tallied another man-down goal, Lee Nanticoke scored on a feed from Hiana Thompson which drew the newtown goal keeper out of the net giving Lee an un-obstructive goal. After two goals by Newtown, Lyle finished out the scoring with a short-handed goal of his own after being hounded by multiple Newtown defenders.
With the win, the Onondaga Redhawks will be traveling out to Vancouver, BC to participate in the President’s Cup for the second straight year. In 2010, the Redhawks traveled out to BC to earn their first Canadian Box lacrosse championship. They are looking forward to the championships with the services of 5 players who earned the bronze medal in Denver with the Iroquois Nationals.
Click to view highlights and interview by Coach Ed Shenandoah.