Canadian Lacrosse Association – OTTAWA, ON – British Columbia and Ontario both captured gold at the 2017 CLA Men’s Field Lacrosse National Championships held this past weekend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, winning the U15 and U18 divisions, respectively. Each team also brought home a silver medal, while Alberta won both bronze.

The Alumni Cup, awarded to the top U15 team in the country, was claimed by British Columbia after a thrilling 10-8 overtime win over Ontario.

Their offense scored a tournament high 80 goals in five games, helping them pull away in extra time to win gold and put an end to Ontario’s run of three straight titles at the U15 age group.

Ontario would avenge that loss shortly after, taking home the beautiful First Nations Trophy as winners of the U18 division.

Their stingy defense, which allowed only 23 goals against in five games, helped guide them to the finals, where they battled a familiar rival, British Columbia.

Ontario came out on top this time around, defeating B.C. by a score of 17-13 to capture their province’s third consecutive U18 national championship.

Alberta defeated the host Saskatchewan 11-10 to capture bronze in the U18 division. They also won bronze in the U15 division with a convincing 23-6 win over Manitoba.

One of the highlights of the tournament, outside of the medal games, was the first ever national championship All-Star Game. Organizers split up players and coaches from all of the competing teams into two squads, who competed against one another for bragging rights.

Jeremy Thompson, a star transition player for the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), was on-site to help out as a guest coach, interacting with athletes and fans from across the country.

Thompson, who is known for his box lacrosse prowess in central Canada, is also an accomplished field lacrosse player, having competed at the collegiate, professional and international levels.

He was a two-time national champion at Onondaga Community College, a junior college in New York State, before becoming an two-time All-American at Syracuse University, an NCAA Division I program.

Upon graduation he was drafted into Major League Lacrosse (MLL), playing with the Florida Launch, Chesapeake Bayhawks and Atlanta Blaze over parts of six seasons.

Thompson was also a member of the Iroquois Nationals team won bronze at the 2014 FIL Men’s Lacrosse World Championship in Denver, an event where Canada would capture gold.

About the Canadian Lacrosse Association 

Founded in 1867, the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) is the governing body responsible for all aspects of lacrosse in Canada. Our organization is comprised of 10 Member Associations representing nearly 80,000 individual participants, including coaches, officials, and athletes of all ages and abilities. The CLA’s mission is to honour the sport of lacrosse and its unique nation-building heritage, by engaging our members, leading our partners, and providing opportunities for all Canadians to participate. We strive to accomplish this while adhering to our core values of health, excellence, accountability, respect and teamwork. The CLA oversees the delivery of numerous national championships and the participation of Team Canada at all international events sanctioned by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). The CLA is proud to be affiliated with partners that share the same vision and values, including our corporate partners – New Balance Athletics, Warrior Sports, Westjet, and Baron Rings – as well as our funding partners the Government of Canada, the Coaching Association of Canada, and the Canadian Lacrosse Foundation. For more information on Canadian Lacrosse Association and the sport of lacrosse, visit our website at www.lacrosse.ca and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information, please contact:
 

Alain Brouillette

Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Canadian Lacrosse Association
Phone: 613-260-2028 ext. 302
Email: alain@lacrosse.ca