The United States surrendered its reign over the lacrosse world in 2006 when it traveled to Canada and was dethroned by the host nation. Sunday in Manchester, England, however, the Americans avenged that setback with a thrilling 12-10 victory over the Canadians in the championship game of the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship.
The U.S. entered the final as an underdog after losing to Canada four years ago and suffering a one goal loss to their northern neighbors during pool play of this event. But, after falling behind, 10-9, with just under 10 minutes to play on Sunday, the U.S. got a pair of timely goals from Duke’s 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Ned Crotty to forge a one goal advantage and the iced things with an empty net score from Mike Leveille late in the final quarter.
MIAA product Brendan Mundorf (Mount St. Joseph) capped an explosive offensive week for the United States with two goals and an assist. He finished the tournament with 16 goals and nine assists in seven games and was named to the All-World Team. Former Johns Hopkins star Paul Rabil had a hat-trick, as did Leveille.
The U.S., fueled by a big second quarter, took an 8-4 halftime lead, but the Americans were outscored 4-0 in the third period and eventually fell behind, 9-8, early in the fourth.
Drew Westervelt (John Carroll) also did the MIAA proud with 12 goals and an assist during the event, including three in a semifinal win over Japan. Kyle Dixon (Archbishop Spalding) also scored three times in the semifinal and finished the week with five goals. Ryan Boyle (Gilman) had eight points, with seven goals and one helper, while Alex Smith (Boys’ Latin), the team’s primary face-off specialist, scored three times and had an assist.
