The U-14 Mission Mud Dawgs field lacrosse team won the prestigious Adrenaline Challenge tournament this past weekend in San Diego, Calif.
The team went undefeated at the tournament, defeating Oregon’s Rhino Lacrosse 7-5 in the final.
Throughout the tournament Mission played top teams from the western United States. The tournament started with a 7-5 victory over Southern California and continued with victories of 10-4 and 10-2 over Washington State, an impressive 8-1 victory over Texas and a 10-6 win in the semifinals in a rematch with Southern California.
In the final against Rhino Lacrosse — the only other undefeated team — Mission team fell behind 2-0 early but managed to come back and tie the game at 2-2 at halftime.
Oregon then would gain another two-goal advantage after the break, but Mission scored two during an Oregon penalty to tie the game.
The teams then traded goals before Isaak Tremblay and Imat Grewal scored late in the game to seal the victory for Mission.
Defensive co-ordinator Tej Grewal said “defense wins championships” and goaltender Colton Caron and defenders Mason Morais, Steven Archachan, and Ben McCarthy were spectacular all weekend as Mission yielded the lowest goals against during round-robin play. They were supported at the defensive end by midfielders Ethan Symons, Garret Winter, Josh Grant and Josh Bramley. The bulk of the goal scoring was handled by Jaxon Hendrickson, Drew Andre, Imat Grewal and Isaak Tremblay.
“The core of this team is the same kids that won a provincial championship the last time they played together. They have a team first mentality and will play multiple positions if needed. All weekend I had coaches and referees commenting on what great chemistry the team has and how they never lost their composure. Whenever we needed a play one of them would step up. They are a pleasure to coach,” said head coach Harpreet Grewal.
