First impressions last, and Canada’s men’s box lacrosse team wanted its first impression in Utica to be a good one.
Canada had just a few days together before taking the field for the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships. Its roster is filled with talent, both from NLL experience and NCAA experience.
Canada’s first game of the tournament was against England, but the Canadians held joint practice with Japan and played an exhibition against Czechia. That gave the top-ranked men’s team enough time to put together the perfect combination of players on the field at any point throughout the tournament.
The team’s experience and maturity showed through in their first pool play game against England, taking a 19-4 win.
“I liked how we executed,” Canada head coach Glenn Clark said. “I thought we did things we wanted to do. It was about getting better as we move along. That was the focus, and I thought we accomplished that.”
Canada plays in Pool A, along with the United States, the Haudenosaunee and England. The pool is filled with history, since the Haudenosaunee and Canada have played for gold in the last five tournaments and the United States have secured bronze over that same timeframe.
Those three will have to battle it out early, and will potentially battle it out again in the championship rounds. Getting a statement win against England meant Canada could set its expectations for later in the tournament.
“A lot of today was about getting our systems down,” Ryan Smith said. “Having only been together with this group for a couple days now, it was good just to get our legs under us and have fun out there.”
Canada had five different players score at least two goals, and four of those five scored a hat trick. Seven players also had at least two assists throughout the game. Only allowing four goals with only one occurring in the first half showed off Canada’s defense. Goalkeeper Nick Rose finished the game with eight saves.
Clark said the team’s maturity throughout their few practices made the difference. They talked through verbal and nonverbal cues, how hard to throw a pass and everything Canada needed to know about each other before Saturday’s game.
A few players have previously played together, or sometimes against each other, during the NLL season, so they have a general idea of each other’s playing styles. That does help, Smith said, but having Canada talk through their preferences is what makes the difference.
“We can rely on anyone, and it’s not on one person’s back,” Smith said. “That’s what’s making it fun, it’s not one guy going in every time, it’s about spreading it around.”
With its first win in hand, Canada has less than 24 hours before playing the Haudenosaunee, and just over three days before taking on the United States. The U.S. and Haundenosaunee played each other Friday night, but Canada is purely focused on what the Haudenosaunee will do Sunday afternoon.
“We operate in silos,” Clark said. “We’re focused solely on the Haudenosaunee right now. Everything is front loaded and that’ll be what our game plan is.”
In just a matter of days, Canada will know exactly where it stands before playoff play begins. For now, they can focus on what they do know: they made the right impression on their first day.
