Oshawa, Brampton stars shine as Canada holds off Haudenosaunee rally in World Lacrosse thriller

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Published June 26, 2023 at 8:21 am

Photo: Anna Scipone/Inside Lacrosse

Canada held off a late rally by the Haudenosaunee Sunday night in San Diego to win 8-7 and put them one victory from a bye into the second playoff round at the World Lacrosse Championships.

Canada can claim the No. 2 seed behind unbeaten USA with a win over England tonight to close out pool play. That would give Canada and the U.S. (4-0) direct entry into Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Curtis Dickson led Canada’s offensive efforts in the match against the Haudenosaunee, contributing two goals and three assists, but the Canadian defence had to withstand intense pressure in the final minutes as the First Nations squad scored the game’s final three goals.

Brampton’s Jeff Teat and Oshawa’s Dyson Williams also scored for Canada with Ryan Lee scoring the game’s prettiest goal with a one-handed catch and diving finish. The goaltending was split between Dylan Ward – the MVP of the 2014 competition – and Oshawa’s Brett Dobson, who made three saves each.

Canada had dropped a 7-5 decision to perennial field lacrosse power USA in the tournament opener before getting in the win column Friday with a 10-3 victory over Australia.

Dobson put on a clinic on that game, making 10 stops, with the defence – led by Graeme Hossack of Port Perry – holding the Australians scoreless for the first 39 minutes of the game. Williams and Dickson led the way offensively for Canada with a hattrick each while Teat led all scorers with five points.

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