In a tournament that was defined by firsts, Team Canada proved to still be inevitable. The Canadians won their sixth straight World Lacrosse Box Championship with a 13-7 victory over Team USA in Utica, New York.
Canada once again finished the tournament undefeated and has still never lost a game in the history of the tournament. Jeff Teat was predictably named MVP of the tournament following a 4 goal, 3 assist effort in the final game.Â
Teat finished the tournament with 14 goals and 28 assists in six games. His 42 points were easily the most on Team Canada. The next closest was Dhane Smith, who scored 12 goals and 19 assists.
Teat was named to the all-world team after the game, along with Team USA’s Jack Hannah and Haudenosaunee forward Randy Staats. Canada’s Steve Priolo and USA’s Connor Kirst were the defenders on the all-world team, alongside goaltender Christian Del Bianco from Canada.
Del Bianco was one of the storylines in the final as well, finishing with 51 saves in a game when the USA actually out-shot Team Canada 58-50, good for an 88% Save percentage. Canada stayed true to their goalie rotation throughout the tournament, with the trio of Nick Rose, Dillon Ward, and Del Bianco each playing twice. Del Bianco saved his best for last.
Like most games of box lacrosse, it was a game of runs. Canada jumped out to a 3-0 lead and the game looked like it may get out of hand. But goals from Joe Resetarits, Mac O’Keefe, and Blaze Riorden made it a 4-3 lead at half. As had been the case throughout the tournament, Canada put their foot down and made a second half run that put the game away, scoring 6 goals in the first 9 minutes of the third quarter.
Team USA kept the game competitive with a few late goals, but Canada cruised to victory in the end.
The result was the best finish ever for the Americans in the tournament. They beat the Haudenosaunee team twice. The first time was USA’s first victory over them in the box tournament, and the second put the Americans in the final for the first time in the history of the tournament.
One big reason for the strong finish was the play of Gowah Abrams, who was once again pretty solid in the final. He made the game-winning save in the semi-final against the Haudenosaunee against Lyle Thompson in one of the most clutch moments you will ever see from a goaltender.
It’s worth noting also that the Americans accomplished all of this without arguably their best player, Tom Schreiber, who suffered an injury this summer and could not compete in Utica.
USA was led in the tournament by Hannah, who finished with a team high 15 goals. Joe Restarits led in scoring with 11 goals and 19 assists, while Blaze Riorden had 10 goals and 8 assists. OJLL phenom Joey Spallina looked more than comfortable against pros as well., finishing with 14 goals, second only to Hannah.
The win capped off special seasons for several Canadian players. Buffalo Bandits members Dhane Smith, Steve Priolo, and Ian Mackay won NLL, Mann Cup, and World Lacrosse trophies this summer.
They were joined by Chiefs teammates Bryan Cole, Dillon Ward, Shayne Jackson who won the Mann as well. Graeme Hossack followed up his PLL title with the Utah Archers with the gold medal, and Del Bianco took home a Presidents Cup along with his World Lacrosse ring this summer.
With the conclusion of the tournament, the next World Lacrosse event is scheduled for next summer, when the Men’s U20 championship will head to Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea. That will continue an Asian tour for World Lacrosse. After the women’s U20 was held this summer in Hong Kong, and the Men’s tournament in South Korea, the Senior Women’s tournament will take place in Japan in 2026, and the Senior Men’s in Japan in 2027.
That also officially brings the season of box lacrosse to an end. Thank you to all the readers who followed LCD’s coverage all summer long!