Toronto Rock commenced its season with a significant defeat against the Ottawa Black Bears.

Ottawa, ON – The Toronto Rock (0-1) suffered a defeat in their 2024-25 NLL season opener, falling to the Ottawa Black Bears (1-0) with a score of 11-5 on Friday evening at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON. The Rock's offensive efforts were thwarted by an outstanding performance from Zach Higgins in the Ottawa goal, as the team was unable to score for over 35 minutes during the match.

“We need to improve our sharpness,” Sawyer remarked following the disappointing outcome. “Resilience is essential. It is challenging to compete effectively when we are not scoring, and while our defense, along with Nick [Rose], performed well, our offensive unit must provide them with some support.”

This match marked the inaugural game for Ottawa, and the local fans were eager to welcome lacrosse back to the city. However, the early moments of the game offered little excitement until Jacob Dunbar opened the scoring for the Black Bears, followed by another goal that put Ottawa ahead 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was characterized by intense physicality, featuring numerous battles for loose balls, collisions on the open floor, and a five-minute major penalty for goaltender interference assessed to Rock defender Mitch de Snoo, who collided with Higgins in the Ottawa goal. During the subsequent power play, Ottawa capitalized twice, increasing their lead to four goals. Toronto struggled to create offensive opportunities, with most of their shots coming from the perimeter, and Higgins successfully saved every attempt in the first half, leaving the Rock scoreless at halftime with the Black Bears leading 4-0.

With Ottawa ahead 5-0, Latrell Harris sparked the offense by intercepting a pass and scoring on a fast break, finally putting the Rock on the scoreboard. Shortly thereafter, Rock newcomer Brian Cameron netted his first NLL goal, following a pick set by Tyler Hendrycks, narrowing the gap to three goals. However, Ottawa responded with five consecutive goals, extending their lead to 10-2 by the end of the third quarter.

The Black Bears maintained complete control throughout the match and never relinquished their advantage.