Team Canada is heading to the semifinals at the FIL U19 Men’s Lacrosse World Championships after defeating Australia 17-3 on Monday night.
It was the third straight win for the home team, who now receive a bye in the first round of the playoff portion of the tournament. Canada has not lost a match since the championship opener against the United States, where the team fell 12-5.
“We knew that Australia, from watching them in their games so far, were a team that can have the ball for long stretches of time,” said Team Canada head coach Taylor Wray.
“We felt like we needed to put some pressure on them and make it difficult for them to get the ball in their offensive zone, and that worked in our favour.”
Canada’s Ryan Lanchbury had a strong game, netting four goals and three assists for a seven-point effort, while Jeff Teat had a hat trick and two assists and Ethan Walker also scored three goals.
Defenceman and Port Coquitlam athlete Ryland Rees also got on the scoresheet with a goal on Monday, bringing his tournament point total to four (three goals, two assists).
“We’re happy with the results,” said Wray. “As always, there’s still things that we can improve upon, but we’re starting to get better and starting to add some new elements to our offense and defense, and that’s what we were hoping to do throughout the round robin.”
On Sunday, Team Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 12-9, while taking down England 24-2 on Saturday.
For a complete schedule and ticket information go to www.2016worldlax.com.
@TriCityNews
