Current University of Denver men’s lacrosse players Cameron Flint (Georgetown, Ontario) and Wes Berg (Coquitlam, British Columbia) joined Pioneer alumni Mark Matthews and Geoff Snider on Team Canada at the “Duel in Denver” at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night.
Matthews and Flint both scored, helping Canada to an 11-9 victory over the United States.
DU associate head coach Matt Brown served as an assistant coach for Canada. Jeremy Noble (Orangeville, Ontario) was on the roster for Team Canada but did not play due to injury.
The “Duel in Denver” was a rematch of the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship gold-medal game, in which Team USA defeated Canada, 12-10, in Manchester, England, and a prelude to the 2014 FIL World Championships, which will be hosted by US Lacrosse in Denver on July 10-19, 2014. The U.S. and Canada have met in the championship game of the last four FIL World Championships.
The event featured many of the top American and Canadian players from the 2010 FIL World Championship and also served as a launch point for the selection of the training team that will comprise the 2014 U.S. men’s national team. Ten players return from the 2010 U.S. men’s national team, including Ryan Boyle, Joe Cinosky, Ned Crotty, Kyle Dixon, Stephen Peyser, Paul Rabil, Max Seibald, Matt Striebel, Kyle Sweeney and Drew Westervelt.
Several Team USA members brought Colorado ties to the exhibition event. Goalie Jesse Schwartzman and defensemen Matt Bocklet and Lee Zink currently play for the MLL’s Denver Outlaws, while Seibald and Westervelt are former Outlaws.
For Team Canada, Matthews and Jordan McBride are both members of the Outlaws, while John Grant Jr., Adam Jones, McBride all play for the Colorado Mammoth.
In 2010, the FIL named the United States as the host country of the 2014 FIL Men’s World Championship in Denver. US Lacrosse will host the quadrennial event with local support from Visit Denver, the Denver Sports Commission and the Denver lacrosse community. More than 40 countries and nearly 1,000 athletes are expected to compete in the 2014 championship at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and more than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend.
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