24.7.2012

Men's U19 World Championship in Turku, Finland - July 12–21, 2012

The United States wins the trophy

The Iroquois Nationals take bronze by crushing England 18-1.

The USA versus Canada final ended in victory for the USA.

In its 24 year history the Men's Lacrosse U-19 Championships has not seen a single successful defence by the previous winners.

The Lacrosse tournament in Turku ended with respect for tradition: The USA players received gold medals around their necks after beating Canada, which meant that no team has successfully defended the title of the Men's U19 World Champions. The Iroquois Nationals took bronze.

The United States’s position as clear favourites faltered in Turku during the tournament when, for the first time, its team lost twice. Both Canada and the Iroquois team beat them during the group matches, but the red, white and blue grew in strength during the tournament.

In the final, Canada scored after five minutes but the first quarter ended with the scores level at two each. The next quarter was bliss for the United States; they scored four unanswered goals. However, Canada rallied in the third quarter and scored three quick goals. The Canadians played their best at this point but was unable to claw back all the advantage the USA had gained. The USA then extended their advantage again and the quarter ended with the USA leading by nine goals to six.

The United States had a large and vocal support, but the majority of the crowd in the sold-out stadium vociferously backed Canada, even booing the United States for time-wasting towards the end. But Turku didn’t witness lacrosse history, and the United States won the seventh Men's U-19 World Championship by ten goals to eight.

The play-off match for third ends in Iroquois celebration

The top four teams to play in Turku were in the blue group: the United States, Canada, the Iroquois Nationals and England.

English and Iroquois met in the tournament’s first match, when the Iroquois destroyed England 24-2. Although the match for bronze had fewer goals, the scoreline of 18-1 once again shone a harsh light on the difference in skill levels between the continents.

The Iroquois Nationals against England had a unique edge to it. This was because the Iroquois had not forgotten that the men's World Championships in 2010 in Manchester were missed because Great Britain did not grant visas for representatives of North America’s indigenous peoples (the Iroquois Nationals travel on Haudenosaunee passports).

Lacrosse was originally developed in North America among its indigenous peoples, and the sport has great significance for North America’s Indian tribes. The Iroquois National Team consists of six different Native American nations: Canyaga, Onieda, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Seneca and Mohawk. Although the team had come to Turku to win gold, taking bronze was boisterously celebrated.

Final standings:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Iroquois Nationals
4. England
5. Australia
6. The Czech Republic
7. Germany
8. Finland
9. Scotland
10. Wales
11. Holland
12. South-Korea

The next tournament will be played in Canada in 2016.

Related articles

• www.2012worldlacrosse.com
  
• Lacrossen MM-huipennus lauantaina (in Finnish)
• Suomen nuorten mitalihaaveet jäivät täyttymättä (in Finnish)
• The Lacrosse U-19 World Championships in Turku
• Suomi taipui MM-kisojen avausottelussa (in Finnish)
• Lacrossen nuorten MM-kisat alkamassa (in Finnish)
• Photos from the lacrosse U-19 World Championships