World Lacrosse Championships 28- Everything Thread

[St Saratoga]

Rogerbei Times - International
"The most reliable news source in Saratoga."
Saratogan "Saints" advance to Semi-Finals

Cost: K$ 1.50

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WLC 28 -- The Saints survive upset-driven (7) Amazonesta to advance to the World Lacrosse Championship 28 Semi-Finals against (3) Vangaziland which will take place at PG Arena in Hoima, Ankole.

Goalie Alex Atkins's superman abilities to seemingly flyer around the to make saves carried the Saints to avoid the 11-10 upset against Amazonesta. The Saints now look to straighten out the error that lead to two very close upset scares before taking on (3) Vangaziland Royals. The Royals are undefeated in the WLC 28 so far and have already taken 2 of their wins away from top two teams.The Royal bring an extremely aggressive form of offense, much like the Saints, with Attacker Tony Tute who leads the Royals in scoring so far this season.

"This is our biggest match of the year, this is the literal definition of make or break for our team. We need to make sure we are going into this match with one idea in mind, cut down on errors & setup attackers to be able to score." Coach Williamson stated in his post-quarterfinal press conference where he concentrated mostly on the upcoming match. The #32 ranked Saints have faced other stiff opposition as they managed to upset #9 ranked Natanians and Nosts but as they near the Championships they are running under the assumption they are going to be facing the #1 ranked nations.

Chancellor Stewart will once again be attending the World Lacrosse Championship 79, this time bringing the interscholastic national championship team with him. The East Nuremberg High School Rockets Lax Team went undefeated this season and won the national championship, therefore earning them an all expenses paid trip to the matchup. Most of these men have committed to either playing in the collegiate level or have been recruited by minor league teams to eventually get the call ups to the very team they are going to be watching.

The Saints team approached their captain who have agreed to give up a rest day to get in some extra practice. "This team is going into the semi's seriously, their mentality is that is is the championship game." Captain & Attacker Dominic Fitzgerald said in an mid-practice interview. Dominic's leadership role on this team has really off since the start of the tournament. "Dom's leadership so far has really set a high standard for this season, team has responded and rallied very well to it." Said Coach Williamson on talking about Dominic Fitzgerald.

Jim Halpert
Senior Sports Reporter
Athlead

[Vangaziland]

Rare Shorts Unleashed For The Playoffs

Vangaziland will face 32nd ranked St. Saratoga, the season's breakout newcomer and star team in the semi finals. The Royals defeated the Qasden Vans to advance. Qasden was 4th in international rankings and the 6th seed of the playoffs. It was an occasion where the 13th ranked Royals faced a higher ranked opponent with a lower seed. Vangaziland won their group and entered as the 3rd seed, needing to beat one of the world's top 3 teams to advance.

"It shows how far we've come", said Tony Tute. "We were once the plucky underdogs, playing our smash mouth style. Now we're one step away from our first big game."



Vangaziland will be wearing breast cancer awareness ribbons on their shorts for the semi finals. Coach Hootsen wanted to use the team's position in the playoffs to speak on behalf of the issue. The official shorts will be on sale with 50% of profits donated to various domestic Imperial research programs.

"It's something we set up months before the start of the season", said Coach Hootsen. "We have to use our platform to help as many causes as we can."

The players are enthusiastic about the uniform, which will feature matching dark pink trim on the top and helmet.



The Royals have also ordered special gold uniforms in the event they reach the finals. They won't be sold to the public unless the Royals make it to the Championship game. Vangaziland is not taking St. Saratoga for granted either.

"We see what Wrexwic has accomplished as an unranked team", says 6'6 center defender Lars Swenson. "The Saints have done even more, leading all except the mighty Banijans in scoring and goal differentials. They're the real deal. The ranking may just be a formality. They're clearly a top team, ranks be danged."

St. Saratoga put up 8 more goals than the Vangazi over the group stage. They also allowed two less goals. Vangaziland hopes to turn the tide in time to fight for the Championship.

[Wrexwic]

Wrexwic Stands In West Phoenicia's Way

The Green & Gold doubled down against the world's 8th ranked team. Wrexwic won Group E with a goal differential of +6. This stands out more when one realizes the Group contained Devonta ranked 5th, as well as the Phoenicians. Nobody seemed to think much of the Wrex's chance, including the West Phoenicians.

"Never underestimate somebody who has nothing to lose", said keeper Keyon Sowley. "Every game is a fight. That's the Wrexish way."

Wrexwic walked away from the group match against the Phoenicians with a score of 9-6. It was a hard fought game in which the Wrex pulled a stunner. The playoff encounter would be even closer.

It took a late game rally for Wrexwic to catch up to a team that punished them early. It looked like the Green & Gold were done. Glover Webb scored back to back goals, both on bounce shots, to tie things up at 9.

"My coach would always yell at us to keep our shots on the ground. I have her to thank for this", said Webb. "For a lot of stuff, really".

Wrexwic would find themselves down one in overtime, but equalized not long after. The team lined up for the face off. It was anybody's game. Jarrick Craddock found himself shoulder to shoulder, fighting for the ball. He ended up scooping it out to Jacobsson.

He slowed the ball down and made a pass. The offense adjusted. The middies passed the ball from wing, to center, to wing. The offense had moved forward. One attackman cut behind the net, the other cut in front of it as the midfield line approached. The man behind goal had less attention, popped up, caught the pass and rocketed the shot into the corner.

There was still time left and the defense played well to stop an equalizer from a determined, talented team. Wrexwic had landed in the semifinals in a playoff ending that would draw lots of attention.

They hope to give Cosumar, one of the world's best, a tough game.

[Banija]

Semifinals
Cosumar 4–10 Wrexwic
Vangaziland 18–11 St. Saratoga

Third Place Match
(8) Cosumar vs (2) St.Saratoga @ Bwubanza City Park in Bwubanza City, Bunyoro

Final
(5) Wrexwic vs (3) Vangaziland @ Kizza I Field in Herzegovina City, Moravica

[Banija]

Third Place Match
Cosumar 9–20 St. Saratoga

And the winner of the 28th World Lacrosse Championships is....

Final
Wrexwic 7–13 Vangaziland

Congrats to the winner, commiserations to the loser, and thank all of you for coming to Banija!