A panel of media members and team representatives voted to determine awards for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship, announced at the conclusion of the event on Saturday.
Brennan O’Neill’s attacking contributions for the United States earned him the Most Valuable Player award. The full All-World Team can be found below with notes for each player, with the best positional awards also indicated.
MVP – Brennan O’Neill (USA)
O’Neill was one of the attacking leaders on championship-winning United States squad with 19 points, coming on 14 goals and five assists. He also delivered four goals in the gold medal game when it counted most to sink Canada.
Attack: Jeff Teat (Canada)
Teat was an instrumental part of Canada’s top-five offense, with six goals and 12 assists, tied for the fourth most in San Diego.
Attack: Shinya Tateishi (Japan)
Tateishi was the star attacker for Japan in its fifth place finish, upending a Pool A team in the final standings. He finished 32 points, the third most in the championship, with 21 goals and 11 assists in seven games. Tateishi becomes the first player from Japan to land on an All-World Team.
Best Midfielder: Brennan O’Neill (USA)
Midfield: Michael Sowers (USA)
Sowers’ elusiveness was a key cog in the United States’ ability to control games, and he impacted the scoresheet with 12 goals and five assists as well.
Midfield: Josh Byrne (Canada)
Byrne was at the center of everything Canada did and showed again why he is one of the best players in the world with 12 goals and 10 assists.
Best Defender: Jacob Piseno (Haudenosaunee)
Piseno was the best defender on the Haudenosaunee, which was an improved unit that ranked in the top ten in the championship. He frequently was a matchup tonic for the other team’s best attacker. He is the first member of the Haudenosaunee to land on the All-World Team as a defender.
Defense: Graeme Hossack (Canada)
Hossack is the second player from the 2018 All-World Team to feature again in San Diego. He was the driving force behind Canada’s top-five defense which allowed a 25% shooting percentage to opponents and slowed down the Haudenosaunee’s offense twice.
Defense: JT Giles-Harris (USA)
Giles-Harris helped anchor the United States’ imperious defense, which allowed just four goals a game and slowed down Canada twice. The United States ranked third in total turnovers caused, and Giles-Harris had three himself.
Goalkeeper: Blaze Riorden (USA)
Riorden played 255 minutes in goal for the United States and had a 3.5 goals-against-average, which ranked second among goalkeepers, and a 60% save percentage which ranked third. He made eight saves in the gold medal game against Canada.
