NLL Insider

 I remember telling my parents that I didn’t want to go to Baltimore that summer because I wanted to celebrate my 19^th birthday at home with my friends and at the same time legally walk into a bar for a beer. The year was 1998 and my brother Fred and 25 other guys were making their way across the border for the World Field Lacrosse Championships. I had already witnessed my brother play in the 1992 under19 field games in New York, so I figured I wouldn’t be missing much. Besides, Canada hadn’t won since before I was born!

 Man, was that a bad decision! Not only was my 19^th birthday totally average and uneventful, I missed what many lacrosse enthusiasts have called the greatest lacrosse game ever played; indoors or out!

I remember the day like it was 10 years ago.  A bunch of the boys on the Victoria Jr. Shamrocks (most of them current or former NLL players) headed to a local watering hole to watch the game with high hopes and a positive feeling in our guts that on that day Team Canada was going to shine.

The regulars at the pub weren’t too thrilled when we turned off their NASCAR in favour of a game they didn’t care about – but screw them! This was the biggest game of the year, and it’s our national summer sport for crying out loud!  Show some patriotism! 

The game started just as we had hoped. A Canadian man up situation and Chris Gill found his way to the front of Sal LaCascio’s net and taking a perfect feed from Gary Gait, put the boys on the board 1-0.

Well, then it all went downhill. The Americans started to have their way with the Canadian defence. The athleticism of the youthful Americans was too much for our guys to handle and we started to see the gap separating the two teams widen. The Americans were methodical, tactical and deliberate. The Canadians continually tried to match the Americans at their game but we unable to keep up.

As the game slipped further and further out of reach a few of my friends left and some of the people in the bar started to mock our team and told us we should change the channel. HELL NO! We still had faith. We just knew that there was no way our boys would go down like that. When I look back I like to think our faith was something akin to divine intervention!

At about the halfway mark of the third quarter, the Americans had built a seemingly insurmountable 11-1 lead and it looked like the Canadian team’s dream was coming to an end. Two late goals by Gary Gait near the end of the quarter gave the crowd something to cheer about and the feeling that something magical was about to transpire.

One of the greatest ankle breaker goals I’ve ever seen started off the fourth quarter, as Mark Millon absolutely undressed a Canadian midfielder and blasted one past Chris Sanderson.

Cue the comeback!  Now I’m not going to say he won every face-off in the final stanza, but Rodney Tapp solidified himself as one of the game’s best draw guys ever by absolutely owning the X. The guy was a machine.  A lot of the times he wasn’t even utilizing his wing men as he would just pop the ball out behind him, scoop up the loose ball and start the Canadian fast break.  Goal after goal started going past LoCascio and you could see the momentum shift to the Canadian side of the field as they were out hustling the Americans all over the place.

All of the sudden, the boys in white and blue couldn’t seem to do anything right and they were trying everything in their play book to create an insurance goal or stem the tide from the Red Storm barrelling down. The clincher was late in the fourth; the US was able to clear the ball and had it deep in Canada’s end.  The American player beat the double team behind the net, decided NOW would be a great time to score a highlight reel goal, tried an Air Gait and was subsequently called for a crease violation. Shame on him for trying to show up Paul Gait with his own move; Karma!

Oh and for the record, by this time, we had converted every patron in the bar into lacrosse fans and every TV was now showing the game.

Goals by Tom ‘Hollywood’ Marechek and Chris ‘the thrill’ Gill set up the dramatic finish. Another face-off win and loose ball from Rodney Tapp led to a fast break opportunity and the game tying goal from Paul Gait himself. One final regulation face-off win by Tapp set up ‘Speedin’ Stevie Toll to pick up the ball and race past his check for one last shot on goal. A late stick check threw him off and the shot went wide, ending regulation.

Round of shots, QUICK!

Overtime was just as nail biting. Again, the US jumped out to a quick two goal lead only to have Canada get one back to sit at 15-14 with little time left.  Sal LoCascio stood on his head for the remaining minutes and made countless saves to set up the final attack by Canada. Attempting to run out the clock, the Americans coughed up the ball near midfield leading to a counter attack from Canada with mere moments remaining on the clock. The ball was in John Tavares’stick and he had Marechek on his left basically on a two on one. In that moment when you’re unsure of the clock you just have to go with your instincts. Johnny let one last shot rip that Sal was able to corral and that was it. Heartbreak for the Canadians, a HUGE sigh of relief from the Americans, and a well deserved round of applause from every fan in the stadium and those watching around the world on TV.

Here’s a link to a highlight tape that was made. The footage is average and the song repeats, but it gives you a sense of the tension in the stadium that night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq0yMe-QbkI

Also, a link to Wikipedia; listing all the players that played in the game and a few stats as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_World_Lacrosse_Championship_Final

That game turned many people into lacrosse fans. It also showed the Americans that Canada wasn’t that far behind them in the field game. I will never forget that game or the feeling of my heart pounding in my chest as the game drew to a close. Still to this day I don’t like watching the overtime. I will always remember my 19^th birthday for a lot of reasons, but the main thing that sticks out is the poor decision I made to stay home and miss the greatest lacrosse game ever played.

Jenner is a two-time Mann Cup champion with six years of NLL experience. Email him at ted.jenner@nllinsider.com also follow the Coquitlam Jr. A Adanacs and the Intermediate A Adanacs live, as Teddy brings you color commentary with Brad Challoner for the Jr's and play by play with Brody Allen for the Intermediates -- http://www.junioradanacs.com/multimedia.php

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