2024 WJLC Day 6 Recap

A balanced roster all over the floor proved to be too much for anyone to handle as Canada rolled to the gold medal at the 2024 IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship. Canada surrendered the first goal in the championship game then responded by putting up 7 goals from seven different players and never looked back en route to an 18-9 win over the Scottish Thistles. 

The defending WJLC champion United States scored first, gave up a goal then potted the next 17 in a row to run away with the bronze medal game, 18-5 over Poland. 

BRONZE MEDAL GAME | UNITED STATES 18 - POLAND 5 

Goalie Jackson Curtis and defender Elliott Rutherford were a dangerous transition duo throughout the tournament, and they got the United States off to a running start when Curtis ripped a beautiful breakout bomb that Rutherford caught in stride inside the Polish restraining line and deposited behind Poland goalie William Koza for the game's first goal 3:49 into the game. 

Ryan Voll replied for Poland a minute later but after that it was all US through the end of the third quarter: they scored the next 17 goals. The United States didn't shoot much in the fourth quarter, using long possessions to keep the game moving. Poland did mount a bit of a comeback, driven primarily by Voll, who scored 3 goals in the final quarter then set up Matthew Wagner for the final goal of the game. 

GOLD MEDAL GAME | CANADA 18 - SCOTTISH THISTLES 9 

Smith (5g/2a) and Wallace (4g/3a) both put up 7 points to lead the Canadians in the final. That gave Smith the tournament scoring title with 19 goals and 10 assists for 29 points in five games. The pair played Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside: Smith picked corners with long-range bombs while Wallace was effective down on the crease and in the slot. 

Canada had lost to the United States in last year's final, the first time that the US had won the tournament. The Canadian roster gathered for the first time a couple of days before the tournament but by the end looked like they had been playing together for years, putting forth a team effort from one end of the floor to the other. 

Goalies Dibattista and Horbay alternated games throughout the tournament, then split the final with Dibattista playing the first half and Horbay the second. 

All but two runners on the team wound up scoring goals in the tournament, with seven having 8 or more, and five defenders scored multiple goals. The defensive unit presented a cohesive front, allowing the team to give up just 25 goals in the tournament, almost half as many as the next best defensive team (the US allowed 48). 

The 9-goal margin in the gold medal match was the smallest Canada had. 

IIJL All-World Team

Forward: Smith, Canada
Forward: Elliott, Canada
Transition: Orlando Kernaghan, Australia
Defender: Elliot Rutherford, United States
Defender: Weatherby, Canada
Goaltender: Jarrot Jawor, Scottish Thistles