Canada men’s box lacrosse captain Dhane Smith had an eventful summer. He started in May with a back-to-back NLL Championship with the Buffalo Bandits, then his birthday was September 23 and to cap it all off, he got married last weekend.
Now he can add his third World Lacrosse Box Championship to the list.
“It’s been eventful,” Smith said. “But it’s been amazing, just winning.”
The dynasty continues its reign in men’s box lacrosse. Canada, the undisputed and undefeated champion, held onto the trophy for yet another tournament. The team has posted a perfect 35-0 record in the competition dating back to 2003.
Full of highlight goals from a high-scoring offense, and an intense defense and an athletic goalie to complete the team, the tournament ended familiarly: A sixth-straight title in men’s box lacrosse.
“The tournament just gets better and better each year in the competition,” Shayne Jackson said. “It’s so much harder this year than in previous years. So to do it with this group of guys and that final buzzer when it was, it was almost a relief that we did it.”
Canada never trailed. Complemented by two hat tricks from Jeff Teat and Jackson, the defending champions made it look easy.
“You always believe in yourself, but you don’t go out there saying, ‘I want to get a hat trick,’” Jackson said. “I just want to get the chances, and then hopefully my skill takes over from there.”
Teat was named the men’s championship Most Valuable Player, after he finished his debut World Lacrosse box tournament with 14 goals and 28 assists.
For a dynasty to continue, head coach Glenn Clark had to coach Canada knowing the expectation was to win. There wasn’t another option for them.
Clark said throughout the tournament there was always a certain level of pressure the Canadians had to overcome, as competitors and as ambassadors. They wanted to win gold, but also help continue paving the way for the younger teams.
Then came the semifinals, when the United States defeated the Haudenosaunee to play in the gold medal game for the first time in its history.
“It was amazing. They deserve to be here,” Smith said of the United States. “They worked so hard and gave us everything they could. Luckily, we played our best game, and we were lucky to win gold.”
They’ve never lost, and they never trailed.
“I just cherish every moment,” Smith said. “Representing your country only comes along every four years, and I’m just thankful for it all.”
