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THE SCOOP
worldlacrosse2014.com
Back in Blue M
By Matt DaSilva
ention the 2010 world lacrosse championship to Gewas Schindler, and you’ll get a
garbled mix of emotions in his response. “I don’t even like saying, ‘Manchester,’ because it brings up so many bad memories for me,” Schindler said. Memories like being stranded in New
York while the rest of the lacrosse-playing world descended on England, dodging TV cameras rather than defensemen and flashing passports as a symbol of sovereignty. Schindler, the former Iroquois Nationals attackman and team captain, has since channeled those emotions into a vision as their general manager. “My playing days are over,” he said. “My
job now as general manager is to get our players to that level where we can play with the United States and Canada.” That wasn’t possible in 2010. It almost
wasn’t possible in 2014. Due to Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) bylaws, the Iroquois’ absence from the games in 2010 relegated them to a 30th-place finish and bumped them from the higher Blue Division. But the Iroquois successfully appealed the FIL General Assembly to pave the way for reinstatement into the 2014 tournament’s top flight. Along the way, they gained the support
not only of the FIL member nations who voted in their favor, but also of fans worldwide who want to see the Iroquois challenge their North American brethren. “This was the first real test of the FIL
Board of Directors on fair play. This game that transcends sports, is a lesson to one and all that first, we are a family,” Oren Lyons, honorary chairman of the Iroquois Nationals and faith keeper of the Onondaga Nation, wrote in a letter thanking the general assembly. “Dehontsigwaeh (Lacrosse) is the Creator’s Game.” So with the world watching, what
will the 2014 Iroquois Nationals look like on the field? You’ll likely see some combination of Lyle, Miles and Ty Thompson — the Albany attackmen who
A Publication of US Lacrosse
set the NCAA ranks ablaze in 2013. Lyle Thompson finished one point shy of the NCAA single-season scoring record. He also was captain of the 2012 Iroquois Nationals U19 team that upset the eventual champion U.S. in preliminaries — the first victory over a U.S. team at any level in field lacrosse competition. Jeremy Thompson, Lyle and Miles’
older brother, was an All-American midfielder at Syracuse and played on the Iroquois Nationals senior team in 2006, when they finished fourth. He was just 19 at the time — the same age as attackman Cody Jamieson, a fellow stud at Syracuse and two-time Champion’s Cup MVP for the National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Knighthawks. The big names don’t stop there. Two
more players with Syracuse ties — defenseman Sid Smith, the No. 1 NLL draft pick in 2009, and Randy Staats, the 2013 junior college player of the year at Onondaga who will join the Orange in 2014 — also are good bets to make the Iroquois team. “To not go to England [in 2010], I
thought that was our best team we ever assembled,” Jamieson said. “This next one in Denver we will have just as strong of a team. Since I’ve been around, we’ve been talking about taking the next step.
Syracuse-bound Randy Staats starred for the 2012 Iroquois U19 team.
“First it was England and Australia,
beating them. Then we turned our focus to winning a game against Canada or USA. To be on the same level with those teams, you’re on top of the world.” LM
Best Iroquois team ever? Thanks to the global lacrosse community, they’ll get a chance to prove it in 2014
WATCH Don’t miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to see the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse Men’s World Championship from July 10-19, 2014 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver. Tickets are on sale now at
WorldLacrosse2014.com.
PLAY Bring your team to the World Festivals,
which will be held in conjunction with the FIL Men’s World Championship. Festivals will be held for boys’ youth teams beginning at age U11 and running up through men’s master’s teams at 60 and over. Visit
WorldLacrosse2014.com for more info.
August 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 23
©TERO WESTER
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