The Valley Rebels punched their ticket to the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association semifinals, sweeping the North Shore Indians in the first round.
The local senior B men’s lacrosse team opened the best-of-three set with a 13-7 win at MSA Arena last Wednesday, with Sean Kelly and Geordie Wells each notching hat tricks for the hosts.
The Rebels finished off the Indians on Saturday, winning 11-8 at Kensington Arena in Burnaby. Shaun McRae was the offensive hero, racking up four goals, while Kelly, Kristian Amyote-Kilger and Jordan Hernandez potted two goals apiece.
“Hard work, that’s what it came down to,” Rebels coach Jim Nishiyama said, noting that his team dressed just 16 of a possible 18 runners on Saturday. “We worked really hard both games.
“Guys were tired, we lost a couple guys to injury, but everybody just kept stepping up and took it to them. It was a tough series.”
The Rebels move on to face the top-seeded Ladner Pioneers in the best-of-five semis. Game 1 goes Tuesday (July 23) at 8 p.m. at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
“With Ladner, you have to stay out of the penalty box, because their power play is ridiculously good,” Nishiyama said. “All five guys can shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor – hard and accurate.”
