2008 World Lacrosse

NEWS ARTICLES

Canada prepares for Semi-Finals vs. Iroquois

July 9, 2008

COQUITLAM, B.C. - Canada will play in the Semi-Finals at the 2008 ILF U-19 Men's Lacrosse World Championships against the Iroquois Nationals July 10 at 7:15 p.m. at Coquitlam's Percy Perry Stadium.

Team Canada finished in second place in the Blue Division with a 4-1 record with their only loss coming against the USA in a 16-15 Overtime defeat on July 6 in front of a crowd of appoximately 2100.

Canada narrowly defeated Iroquois in their round-robin matchup on July 5 by a 15-12 score. The game was tied at the end of the first and second periods and the Iroquois had as much as a three goal lead at one point in the second period. The game was tied with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and Canada scored three goals in the final seven 1/2 minutes of the game to escape with the win.

Everyone involved in the tournament, including most of the teams, are expecting a USA vs. Canada final in the Gold Medal game being played on Saturday, July 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Percy Perry Stadium but Canada's assistant coach, Ted Sawicki ensures that the team is not looking past Iroquois. "Being down 7-4 during the (second period of) last game, was a real wake-up call for us. We had a lot of unforced errors and we have to concentrate better and get back to the fundamentals of the game - just play a solid game," he said.

The Iroquois have a lot of talent in the attack position with Emmett Printup (27 goals and the tournament lead), Miles Thompson (20 goals), James Cathers (16 goals), and Peter Jacobs (14 goals) leading the way. Young Randy Staats , 16, leads the team in scoring in the midfield position and scored four times against Canada in the 15-12 loss July 5. "We have to be aggressive, solid and physical against (the Iroquois)," Sawicki said. Our defense can't "over commit or be over aggressive against them," he added.

Jayson Card (Caledon, Ont.), Adam Jones (Owen Sound, Ont.) and Mark Mathews (Oshawa, Ont.) each had three goals for Canada in the round-robin matchup between the two teams. Card, a midfielder, led the team in scoring with 20 goals in five games for Canada, followed by attackers Mark Cockerton, son of lacrosse legend Stan Cockerton, and Matthews with 12 goals apiece. Local midfielder Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, B.C.) has had a superb tournament thus far with 10 goals and two assists. Crowley has also been strong at the faceoff circle winning 42 of 64 opportunities.

Remington Steele (Dallas, TX) and Jason Crawford (Burlington, Ont.) had been splitting time for Canada in between the pipes until the Canada vs. U.S. game July 6 in which Steele played the entire game. It would appear that Steele will be the number one goalie for Canada and should get the nod over Crawford in the semi-final matchup. "Those decisions are usually made in the afternoon on the day of the game," Sawicki said. Crawford played the entire game the following game against Japan to give Steele time to rest after an exhausting game against the U.S., a 16-15 overtime loss after being up by seven goals going into the final period. During the round-robin matchup Steele and Crawford each played a half with Steele giving up five goals on 12 shots and Crawford giving up seven goals on 16 shots.

Canada assistant coaches Jeff Gombar and Sawicki said the team was given the day off on Tuesday to get some rest and relaxation and spend some time with family to explore beautiful British Columbia.

Iroquois finished the round-robin in third place in the Blue Division with a 3-2 record, their only two losses coming against Canada and the U.S., and played in a quarter-final game against Scotland on July 8 - a game they won 28-2. Jeffrey White has been the main goalie for Iroquois but has also split time with H. Warren Hill. White played the entire game against Canada and also in the round-robin game against the U.S. on July 3 and should get the start in goal for Iroquois in the semi-final.

The winner of this semi-final matchup will take on the winner of the U.S - England semi-final game being played earlier July 10, at 4:00 p.m. at the main stadium field at Percy Perry Stadium. Fans can purchase passes at the front gate for the entire day which will feature four games, including the two semi-final matchups, for as little as $20.

The losers of the semi-final games will play in the bronze medal game on July 12 at 11:00 a.m. and the tournament will conclude with the gold medal game 2:30 p.m. followed by an awards ceremony directly afterwards.

For stats, ticket information, standings and a schedule of the tournament log in to the official tournament website at www.2008worldlax.com.

Sat Jul 12, 2008

USA WINS GOLD, STILL PERFECT AFTER 19-12 VICTORY OVER CANADA

Sat Jul 12, 2008

IROQUOIS NATIONALS CAPTURE BRONZE MEDAL WITH 19-10 WIN OVER ENGLAND

Fri Jul 11, 2008

CANADA PREPARES FOR GOLD MEDAL GAME VS. USA

Thu Jul 10, 2008

TEAM CANADA WILL PLAY FOR GOLD MEDAL VS. USA

Thu Jul 10, 2008

TEAM USA NOW 35-0 IN U-19 PLAY; WILL PLAY IN GOLD MEDAL GAME

Wed Jul 9, 2008

USA PUTS 34 GAME WINNING STREAK ON THE LINE IN SEMI-FINAL GAME AGAINST ENGLAND