FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 11, 2018
NETANYA, ISRAEL – The 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship commenced with a match-up between Hong Kong and first-time participant Luxembourg at the Wingate Sport Institute. Luxembourg, scored the first goal of the championship 5:30 into the first quarter. Hong Kong rebounded four minutes later tying the game, and closing out the first with a 5-1 lead. Hong Kong closed the day with a first-round victory, 20-1 in the Olive Division.
Hong Kong’s Evan Mokke-Lame paced the team with four goals. Wesley See Hon Wong put three balls in the net. Ho Chun Kelvin Mak and Stephen Edward O’Brien led the team with two goals and two assists each, with Geoffrey Ling scoring two goals. Goalie Wai Kwan Wong earns the victory on the night with one goal allowed.
“I think all of us are really excited, and I think it has been a really long journey for some of us, and some of us have been waiting for this moment for four years now. It may have taken us several minutes to shake loose and get over the jitters for this being the first game and under the lights,” said Mokke-Lame. “I think we had a lot of good team offense and moved the ball really well and we had a lot of guys generating offense today. I was just in the right spot at the right time.”
Christoph Snaga of Luxembourg scored the lone goal on the night, and is in the history books as scoring the first goal in a World Championship for the team, and scoring the first goal of the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship.
“I think the first goal was a little bit of an emotional booster for us, and really helped us in saying that we are here and ready to play,” said Christopher Scott, Luxembourg Head Coach. “I think it took us up and we had to calm ourselves back down again. Anytime you score a goal in your first or second possession, it really pumps you up and also gives your team confidence that we have been doing the right thing leading up to now.”
The 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship preliminary competition is set from July 11-16, with pool finals and crossover competition starting on July 15. After 169 games of competition, the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship gold medalist will be crowned on July 21 at Netanya Stadium.
Thursday, the FIL Men’s World Championship officially opens. The event’s Opening Ceremonies, slated for July 12 at 6:30 p.m. will feature performances from Israeli artists and a procession of all 46 teams and nearly 2,000 athletes in Netanya Stadium. Tickets for the opening ceremonies and games can be purchased at www.worldlacrosse2018.com/tickets.
Prior to the Opening Ceremonies, Thursday has a full slate of games at Wingate National Sports Institution starting at 8:30 a.m., and features a total of 12 games, with two premier contests set for Netanya Stadium. At 4:30 p.m., host country Israel will take the field against Jamaica in the Red Division, with the United States and Iroquois Nationals following the opening ceremonies at 8:30 p.m.
Up next, Hong Kong will face Poland on July 13 at 3:15 p.m., with Luxembourg facing off against Uganda earlier at 2:30 p.m.
Teams will compete in a total of six to eight games each during the 10-day event, with all teams playing to a final placement. 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship schedule.
The majority of the World Championship will be held at Wingate National Sport Institution’s six competition fields. With the limited capacity, the venue will provide an electric atmosphere for the World Championship, with sell-out crowds anticipated.
ESPN and ESPN+ will broadcast the games in the United States from start to finish with 10 days of play on ESPN2 and ESPNU for 14 games, and more than 160 games available on the ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. The FIL Men’s World Championship will also be available in Canada on TSN and locally in Israel on Sport 5. Fans will be able to watch the games in more than 50 countries. The FIL Men’s World Championship Broadcast schedule and links is here.
To follow the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship, and get the most recent content from FIL’s FanHub that provides one location for fans to see and read all the content written about the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championship visit the www.fanhub.worldlacrosse.sport. Content will be featured from media outlets, social media channels, the World Championship host site as well as original content from FIL’s media services team.
The FIL Men’s World Championship started in 1967 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the United States defeated Australia for its first of nine World Championship gold medals. In 1974, the second World Championship was held in Melbourne, Australia, with the United States claiming the title. Since then, the event has been held every four years.
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2018 FIL Men’s World Championship
Netanya, Israel, July 11-21
Wingate National Sport Institute and Netanya Stadium
Results:
Wednesday, July 11
Hong Kong def. Luxembourg, 20-1
Pools:
Blue Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Canada
United States
Iroquois Nation
Australia
England
Scotland
Red Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Israel
Russia
Jamaica
White Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Japan
Uganda
Bulgaria
Green Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Germany
Korea
France
Yellow Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Ireland
China
Denmark
Orange Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Sweden
Argentina
Hungary
Plum Division – Team, Record (W-L)
New Zealand
Spain
Croatia
Turquoise Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Finland
Austria
Colombia
Grey Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Czech Republic
Belgium
Phillipines
Gold Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Switzerland
Slovakia
Taiwan
Platinum Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Netherlands
Norway
Haiti
Bronze Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Wales
Bermuda
Puerto Rico
Tan Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Italy
Turkey
Peru
Purple Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Latvia
Mexico
Greece
Olive Division – Team, Record (W-L)
Poland
Hong Kong, 1-0
Luxembourg, 0-1
FIL Men’s World Championship History
Year – Teams (gold def. silver), Score, Location
2014 – Canada def. USA, 8-5, Denver, Colorado, USA
2010 – USA def. Canada, 12-10, Manchester, England
2006 – Canada def. USA, 15-10, London, Ontario, Canada
2002 – USA def. Canada, 18-15, Perth, Australia
1998 – USA def. Canada, 15-14 (OT), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
1994 – USA def. Australia, 21-7, Manchester, England
1990 – USA def. Canada, 19-15, Perth, Australia
1986 – USA def. Canada, 18-9, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1982 – USA def. Australia, 22-14, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
1978 – Canada def. USA, 17-16 (OT), Stockport, England
1974 – USA, Three-way tie for 2nd, Melbourne, Australia
1967 – USA def. Australia, 25-11, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
