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The senior team will practice tonight for the big game next Saturday. The team which will meet Brantford here will have on it just three men who played in senior St. Catharines uniforms two years ago. These three men will be Elliott, “Tod” Downey and Frank Williams. The star veteran point man will be in line for Saturday’s match. Frank McIlwain, who has not missed a championship match for St. Catharines since entering the senior game, has had to drop out. Of late, he has not been in his usual trim and on the advice of his physician he will take a rest and recuperate. The great showing made by Kalls at Oshawa had given him a position on the team and another Young Athletic graduate will be seen on the team Saturday. Richardson, Lepard, Allan, Parke, Lowe, Cornett and Devlin will make up the balance of the team, not one of which played on the team of 1901. Afternoon practice will be put in Wednesday and Thursday, and good hard work will be put in to prepare for the struggle with the Minto Cup chasers on Saturday. Brantford intends to run an excursion here for the game.

To prepare for the big crowd at Saturday’s game, a contractor is to-day erecting a new fence at the lacrosse grounds. All the space available will be required for Saturday when the senior Athletics will again try conclusions with Brantford, just before the Minto Cup chasers go to Montreal. Brantford is in Minto Cup condition. They are trained to their finest form for the big struggle with the Shamrocks and will be able to put up the speediest kind of a match.

They will scarcely know any part of the Athletics this time, so many will be the changes.

A goal tender new to Brantford will be in front of the nets in the person of A. D. Chaplin, the gentlemanly giant, who plays the position in his own original way. He overlooks six feet by several inches and at practice Wednesday night he pulled in the hot ones with apparent ease. This afternoon, he is being entertained at the grounds by Messrs. Allan, Parke, and others, who are endeavoring to drive him out of the net. Much satisfaction will be felt at Mr. Chaplin decision to take the position. Devlin, who has been making a good goal tender, has been taken ill. Fortunately for the team, which has had enough hard luck to contend with, a good successor was available. Frank Williams was out at practice last night. The defense is strengthening up; the home is improving, so Brantford may expect the hardest argument so far this season.

Thursday afternoon, the senior team put in a good practice in the sun. The full team was out except those who are on the sick list. Some hot shots were put on the goal, but Chaplin was there every minute and pulled the hot ones out in good style.

To-morrow’s crowd should be a record breaker in point of size. Brantford will bring down a train load and Niagara Falls will send a good representation to the match.

The Athletics will be represented by the following team, which will be ready to give Brantford a go just before the Minto Cup matches: Chaplin, goal; F. Williams, point; Elliott, cover point; Richardson, Cameron, Downey, defense field; Lepard, center; Kalls, Cornett, Lowe, home field; Allan, outside home; Parke, inside home; Notman, field captain.

F. C. Waghorne will not referee the match here to-morrow. He will captain the Tecumsehs in their Oshawa match.

The latest lacrosse information is to the effect that the Oxford-Cambridge lacrosse team, from England, desire to play in St. Catharines on July 22^nd. The Collegians are touring the country, and as St. Catharines is well known as a lacrosse city, they desire to visit here. Arrangements are being made to have the English gentlemen here on that date. It will be Wednesday afternoon, a half holiday, when the merchants and clerks will have a special opportunity to see the game.

A dispatch from Brantford appears in this morning’s mail that will appear very funny. If such a letter were sent, it must have been the work of some small boy with an amount of raw genius. The dispatch is as follows:

Brantford, June 25 – Tack Hendry, the Brantford lacrosse player, has received a very significant communication from St. Catharines, in the shape of a letter written in black ink and liberally spattered over with red ink, presumably to represent blood. Hendry will not be in the St. Kitts game on Saturday, as the management has decided to lay him off in order to rest his sprained wrist. He is sorry he cannot accommodate the author of the letter, who signs himself “Iron eater.” The epistle runs as follows: – “The man-eaters had a slashing work out in the sun to-day, if you remember the last day St. Kitts played in Brantford, when you deliberately cut one of the Athletics in the face, and if you play here on Saturday you will wish you had never left your happy home in Montreal. You are a marked man and you will get it in the neck just as sure as you have two eyes in your head, if the whole Athletic defense has to be ruled off for it. Show that you are game and let us see your dear face once more before we disfigure it. What is left of you after Saturday we will sweep up in a dustpan.”

In speaking of the senior game here to-day between St. Catharines and Brantford, the Expositor says: – “But the most unkindest cut of all lies in the fact that Frank McIlwain won’t have the chance to show his speed to Brantford on Saturday. Frank has not missed a league game since he entered the senior series, but he has not been himself lately, and his physician has ordered him to retire for recuperation. He will be a distinct loss to the team as there are very few home fielders now playing the game who can show McIlwain any pointers. The Athletics are hoping to win on Saturday, but their chances are about one in a million.”

The greatest surprise in lacrosse circles of recent years was sprung on the St. Catharines lacrosse grounds Saturday afternoon when the Brantford C. L. A. champions and Minto Cup chasers were beaten by the St. Catharines senior team in a championship match and completely outplayed by the locals in one of the fastest and cleanest games ever seen in the association. The most surprising part of it is that the home team was not believed to be in its best condition. Since their first match they had not played the same team as various changes had been made several times within each week and previous games had shown that they were not in the form that was desired. Since the Oshawa game more players were taken on. Subsequent changes were made until it appeared to be a patched up team.

Such a dozen men did not appear to be a bunch that would be expected under the circumstances to go up against a team picked from all over the country, had over six weeks of practice together for the world’s championship matches and were all ready to go after it and had it all but wrested from the Shamrocks of Montreal on paper. Such as the latter was Brantford.

True, Brantford was minus Hendry from the home and Dowling off the defense. But these were all. The rest were all in their accustomed places, together with Kelly and McBride, who are two of Brantford’s stars of other matches. But on the other hand, Devlin was out of the St. Kitts goal, Reub Williams off the defense and McIlwain off the home. Then the absence of Gourlay and Harris who played in previous games might be mentioned.

Of those who played, Chaplin, who has been out of the game for five years, played in goal with two night’s practice. Saturday was the first day he appeared in a uniform. Frank Williams was just recovering from the effects of an accident and Kalls, a junior, played.

On paper the local team was really a poor object to bet upon. But when the whistle blew! Those 12 light and dark blue sweaters seemed to dance with new life and ere a few minutes passed they were playing a game of lacrosse that would cause one to surmise they had the benefit of a whole season’s practice together. The red shirted B-stamped, collected dozen of cup challengers appeared dazed. They spread out to their full speed and yet were but second best in the play, for the St. Kitts home soon showed to be the most aggressive, and worried the Brantford defense from the start until they had captured the first three goals. It looked like a shut out, but a lot of hard play and a little good fortune the visitors managed to snatch a couple of goals before the end of the game.

In spite of the wild rumors that had been sent out from Brantford, the game was a clean one, and the visitors were the greatest offenders for the referee, although watching the home team closer than the visitors, ruled off more Brantford men. It was a magnificent game from every standpoint.

The Brantford team with their special train and about 100 supporters were late in arriving. When the teams lined up the players, positions and officials were as follows:

ATHLETICS	Position	BRANTFORD
CHAPLIN	Goal	HESSE
F. WILLIAMS	Point	GRIMES
ELLIOTT	Cover Point	FINLAYSON
RICHARDSON	1st Defense	HAMBURG
CAMERON	2nd Defense	McBRIDE
TOD DOWNEY	3rd Defense	NEELEY
CORNETT	Centre	TAYLOR
KALLS	3rd Home	DOYLE
LEPARD	2nd Home	MURPHY
LOWE	1st Home	DADE
ALLAN	Outside Home	KELLY
PARKE	Inside Home	HENRY
CAMERON	Field Captain	CROWLEY

Referee - Brown Jackson, Seaforth

Goal Umpires - John Conway, Toronto; C. A. Butterworth, Brantford

Timekeepers - for the referee, Carter, Niagara Falls; for Brantford, W. H. Crawford; for St. Catharines, H. O'Loughlin.

Neeley made a horse-race run up the field and Chaplin got a hot one from Henry. It was stopped by the tall gentleman in front of the nets without any evident difficulty….Shortly afterward Tod Downey at considerable distance out shot. Lowe played for Hesse, who in watching Lowe, was unable to stop, and a tremendous cheer marked the first goal for St. Catharines in 11 ½ minutes….Chaplin had several to stop, but they were at a fair distance out and he gathered them in with a smile, while the St. Kitts home had the Brantford defense almost demoralized and Hesse was having numerous ones shot at him; so thick did they come that in stopping one ball he threw it over the fence. Parke, Lowe and Kalls did the most of the shooting, while Allan did tons of hard work in giving them chances. He had Finlayson and Grimes on him at nearly all the time, and he gave them a busy time of it….The second quarter was not one whit slower than the first. It seemed to be faster. Brantford sports who had been yelling odds that their team would double the score became anxious….Parke made his most brilliant play of the day. The ball came on his stick at the side of the goal he circled Hesse and dropped the ball in the net, which was done after 25 minutes of actual play. Score, St. Kitts 2, Brantford 0….The third quarter opened with a dangerous rush on the part of the Brantford home. Henry and Kelly each had shots, but the tall sentinel was at his post and echo from the stands answered “marvelous” as the danger of each shot died in his stick. Kalls gave Neeley a foot race up the field and started a combination that gave Parke a shot. It was a hot one. Hesse made another of his stunts. The ball went to the quarter, Kalls fielded, delivered to Lowe who shot twice and finally got it past Hesse, making three to nothing….Brantford then tried various systems to get an opening in the blue defense, but to no avail. Elliott and Williams were right in the heat of the game with all the coolness imaginable and relieved at all dangerous points, while Downey connected with the home field and Kalls, Lepard and Lowe proved great fielders. In some way Cameron’s stick went foul of Doyle’s nose and the ex-Tecumseh retired for the game, Lepard going off to even matters. Cameron was given five minutes rest….Allan and Kalls poured hot ones into Hesse and he as often sent them broadcast to the winds. Finally after 14 minutes play, a shot from Bert Henry at long distance landed in the net when Chaplin was out. Brantford spectators did not even enthuse at this for the cheer was very weak….The last quarter was full of dangerous moments for both sides. Elliott made two beautiful excursions up the field. The game was delayed slightly on account of a crack which Lowe received over the shins. It was only momentary. Then St. Kitts commenced to play rag. This occurred in sections, which were sandwiched by Brantford attacks. Henry had the ball in a dangerous position once, but didn’t deliver the goods. After 16 minutes of play a fluky goal was scored for Brantford on a shot from Taylor. This was the last goal, and Brantford left surprised to a finish, breathing easier with a consciousness that they escaped a shut out.

A greater game never took place in the C. L. A. It was a hard struggle between two teams playing to the limit. Brantford was determined to win and were outplayed. This they admit, for they realize that their defeat may weaken them as an attraction at the Minto Cup matches this week, and thus decrease the gate receipts, half of which go to their team. It was just what they wanted to avoid, but it happened, and it was the good lacrosse of the St. Kitts team that did it.

The work of the home was a revelation. Parke showed up as never before and played his position in a way that was only equaled by Allan’s nerve in working on the nets. Allan is an unselfish team worker. He scored no goals, but his work enabled others to get the chance. Parke with the ball was a terror in the eyes of Hesse, with unrestrained Allan maneuvering in dangerous territory. Hesse at last declared that the St. Kitts home was more aggressive than the Shamrocks. That is Cory’s explanation. They were in and out like a bunch of hornets. Lepard, Lowe and Kalls played a three linked running combination that was invariably successful in getting in. Cornett and Tod Downey generally started this play in motion. It wasn't till Lepard left the field that Brantford got their two goals, which speaks pretty eloquently as to “Spotty’s” good work, which was grand.

Kalls, the junior, was the pet of the field and the admired of all. He was all over the ground, always fresh and ever ready and able to run away from the fleet-footed Neeley. Hamburg was caught cross-checking the boy and was very properly closely watched thereafter by the referee. As brilliant as Kalls work was on Saturday, he is yet a comer and will improve as he develops. Lowe played the best game of his life. His style of play fits in well with Lepard and Kalls.

Cornett was a little new at center, but he played it with all his size, strength and being, and the result was that Taylor was not the shining light Saturday that he has been. Then Tod Downey’s work was good all through. He played his own part of the field and gave the home a whole lot of assistance. Joe Cameron had special work cut out for him Saturday. He did it well and showed up much better than at any time before.

Richardson was a useful man and many of the dangerous rushes were broken by him, while Frankie Williams’ generalship was always evident in the defense work. The veterans’ conduct on the field, and as a convalescent too, was remarkable.

Then came Elliott and Chaplin, two of the most conspicuous men on the team. Elliott’s work was indeed brilliant. He was able to watch and direct the whole defense field and do his own individual work in a way that was useful and picturesque. Chaplin is the right man in the right place. The spectators feel that he with just a little more practice will be next to a safe door and combination lock on the nets. After he made a few of his beautiful stops, the whole team seemed to take heart. Every man did his own part the best he could and the game was won.

The team is not yet at its best. The point has now been reached when the true worth of the team has been shown; some parts need rounding into form. More practice is required to show what really can be done. Not one quarter of the season’s games have yet been played. The season is indeed a promising one.

At the close of the match, referee Jackson congratulated President Dawson of the St. Catharines team that proved to be the best of the day, said the referee, and it gave him pleasure to see it was one of the cleanest games he had ever witnessed, and would report so to the Association.

Mr. Jackson proved to be a most competent referee. He has the best eye on cross-checks and other work such as is done by the Brantford defense. His eyes were chiefly on the home team at the start, but he soon discovered that the Brantford defense was the bunch that required watching, and once he discovered this he did his duty faithfully, and fearlessly, and had the good wishes of the spectators behind him.

The Brantford team left for Montreal Sunday night, confident of landing the Minto Cup. They practice at Montreal today.

Saturday’s defeat should do Brantford good, although it’s a little pill to swallow. There has been too much self-horn blowing in the “Hello” town. Such a defeat is a great head reducer.

Brantford’s views of the big game last Saturday will be interesting to readers of the Standard. The Expositor, in the course of a very long account, has the following, the fairness of which reflects creditably on that paper:

“The unexpected often happens in lacrosse and it most certainly happened on Saturday in the game between Brantford and the Athletics on the St. Catharines grounds, when Brantford was defeated 3 – 2. After the aggregation from Oshawa went down to defeat before such a one-sided score, the champions from Telephone-ville anticipated but little trouble in adding another to their unbroken list of victories. However, it was a different team that lined up on Saturday against the Minto challengers than the one that went down before Oshawa. The personnel had not been very materially changed, but the players had put in some faithful practice and they went on the field with a dogged determination to do or die – and they did.

From the St. Catharines point of view the result of the game was the greatest kind of satisfaction and after the match men, women and children yelled and howled. ‘Defeated the Minto challengers.’ It was the height of their ambition, but still it was very little expected by even the most sanguine so no wonder they yelled. They were proud of their team, and quite justly too. The Athletics put up a splendid exhibition of the national game and showed to the immense crowd present that all rumors about them being dead were worse than false. They won the game, and they won the game entirely on their merits, for it can scarcely be denied that they played the better game on Saturday.

But speaking of the unexpected, Brantford had another surprise, but this time a most agreeable one. The locals expected a rough, dirty match with men decorating the fence by the score and even visions of the crowd interfering were not altogether absent from their minds. But, instead, the game was an exceptionally clean one, considering the rivalry of the teams, and very few players had to be penalized. The Athletics played good lacrosse and no fault could possibly be found with them. The crowd had not forgotten their little catch phrases of ‘kill him,’ ‘cut him,’ etc., but such yells were for the most part confined to some of the more enthusiastic youths, and it was not uncommon to hear them severely reprimanded by their elders for engaging in such barbarous language.

St. Kitts have a team that is going to travel a few places in the C. L. A., and though they suffered defeat at Oshawa, that cannot be taken as any criterion of their strength. Their defense works admirably well together and refuses to be drawn out from their nets. Their home, too, is greatly improved over last year, and the team that beats St. Kitts on their own grounds will have to rise very early in the morning. Chaplin in goal was a new one at the job and he easily qualified for the “phenom’ class. He stands 6 feet 4, and seems to be nearly as broad as he is high. The net looks about the size of a small bag behind him. He cleared well and was an excellent stop. On his showing on Saturday he should easily take the job from Devlin.