COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, USA – The Canada women’s team and Josh Byrne (CAN) were today named candidates for The World Games 2022 awards following their standout performances last summer in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, as lacrosse sixes made its debut on the world stage.
Byrne is up for Athlete of the Year after leading the Canadian men’s team in points across the competition as it claimed the gold medal with an undefeated record. The Canadian women also went undefeated, securing their first senior world-level gold medal and being nominated as Team of the Year.
Both awards are determined via fan vote, which begins on January 10 at TheWorldGames.org. Fans can vote once every 24 hours.
Byrne led Canada to the gold medal and a 5-0 record with a tournament-best 28 points. He was the only athlete to score 20 or more goals, ranking first with 21, while tying for third with seven assists. He totaled nine points in Canada’s two crucial knockout wins en route to the team capturing the first gold medal awarded in men’s lacrosse at The World Games.
Byrne plays professionally in both the National Lacrosse League and Premier Lacrosse League. He currently ranks third in the NLL in goals after three games for the Buffalo Bandits. He is a two-time All-Star in the PLL and won the championship in 2021 with the Chaos Lacrosse Club.
The Canada women’s team defeated the top-seeded United States, 14-12, in a thrilling gold medal match that was tied late in the fourth quarter. The win capped a 5-0 campaign, as the Canadians beat their opponents by a total of 34 goals.
Canada was also led by the most productive player in the women’s competition, Aurora Cordingley, who totaled 13 goals and nine assists. Three other players tallied 10 or more goals for the team: Dana Dobbie, Erica Evans and Megan Kinna.
Voting launches next Tuesday (January 10) and runs through the end of the month. The field for each of the two awards will be narrowed to 10 on January 22, with voting restarted at that stage.
