Lacrosse World Indoor Championships 2003

Ontario, Canada, May 2003

This inaugural indoor championships took place in a variety of venues in Ontario, in the towns of Oshawa, Mississauga, Kitchener and Hamilton.

The nations

Six nations took part in this first event of its kind, with the hosts Canada being hot favourites. Hoping to transfer their international reputation from the outdoor game were the usual suspects USA, Iroquois and Australia. Always capable of causing upsets, Czech Republic and Scotland completed the group.

The Group Stage

The six teams played each of the other teams once, with the following results:

  Iroquois Scotland USA Australia Czech
Canada Canada 15-13 Canada 25-5 Canada 16-5 Canada 28-5 Canada 25-1
Iroquois   Iroquois 19-12 Iroquois 21-14 Iroquois 24-7 Iroquois 23-4
Scotland     Scotland 15-12 Scotland 16-10 Scotland 15-3
USA       USA 22-4 USA 22-9
Australia         Australia 13-12

After the group stage, there was a perfect distribution of results. Canada, predictably, finish top with 5 wins, Iroquois 2nd with 4 wins, then Scotland with 3 wins, USA with 2, Australia with 1 and the Czech Republic with 0. All going to the form book, except the Scotland / USA placings. Even though the USA team were missing some players, the Scottish side gelled amazingly well and produced some great performances to get this third spot. According to thelacrossejournal's archived report, "Scotland's upset win over the Americans threw a huge wrench into the [USA's] expectations for medal round placements".

The Playoffs

In the second round, Australia played the Czech Republic for the 5th / 6th place playoff, and won convincingly 21-10. This gave Australia their anticipated 5th place, and left the Czechs without a win in 6th spot.

The USA, placed fourth after the group stage, then faced the first placed Canada, and predictably got beaten 17-9. With the Iroquois beating Scotland 22-8, that led to a Canada v Iroquois final on Saturday, with Scotland facing the USA for 3rd / 4th place.

On the final day of the championships, Scotland were unable to repeat their earlier upset of the USA, and despite battling hard for 4-4, eventually succumbed to the pressure. In the second half the USA ran away with it and finished 15-9, claiming third place in the championships and revenge for their first-round defeat.

The eagerly-awaited championship final quickly turned into an exhibition for the host team. Unlike the first-round encounter between Canada and Iroquois, which was settled by a slender two-goal margin right to the wire, this one turned into a walkover. Shutting out the Iroquois for the whole of the first quarter, and romping into a 12-2 lead at half-time, the Canadians dominated the match, with a final, crushing scoreline of 21-4.

Final rankings

The final placings for the championship were therefore:

  1. Canada
  2. Iroquois
  3. USA
  4. Scotland
  5. Australia
  6. Czech Republic

Sources

The best source of news, reports and editorials was at thelacrossejournal.com, although much seems since to have been removed. The main site is at worldindoorlacrosse.com, including match reports, photos, and stats, and summaries are also available at intlaxfed.org. There's also some reflections at e-lacrosse.com.

Check out the Wikipedia for the differences between indoor lacrosse and box lacrosse.

Basics // Championships // World Cup 1998 // European Cup 99 // European Cup 00 // European Cup 01 // World Cup 2002 // World Indoor 03 // European Cup 04 // World Cup 2006 // World Indoor 07 // World Cup 2010 // European Cup 12 // World Cup 2014 // World Cup 2018 // World Cup 2023 // Britain