World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 2015: Dates, FIL Schedule, Bracket and More
The fourth-ever World Indoor Lacrosse Championship commences on September 18 from Onondaga Nation, home of the Iroquois Nationals side. It is the first time ever that an international sporting event will be held on indigenous lands.
In upstate New York, 13 teams will compete for global domination in the sport's indoor edition. Let's take a look at the tournament's groups, schedule and which teams to watch.
| Canada | Australia | Germany |
| Czech Republic | Finland | Ireland |
| England | Switzerland | Israel |
| Iroquois Nationals | Turkey | Serbia |
| United States |
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| Friday, Sept. 18 | ||
| Israel vs. Serbia | 9:30 a.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Ireland vs. Germany | 12:30 p.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Switzerland vs. Turkey | 10 a.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Australia vs. Finland | 1 p.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Iroquois vs. USA | 8:30 p.m. | War Memorial Arena |
| Saturday, Sept. 19 | ||
| Finland vs. Switzerland | 11 a.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Turkey vs. Australia | 2 p.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Czech Republic vs. England | 5 p.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Serbia vs. Ireland | 4: 30 p.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Germany vs. Israel | 7:30 p.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Sunday, Sept. 20 | ||
| Finland vs. Turkey | 10 a.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| USA vs. Czech Republic | 1 p.m. | Onondaga Arena |
| Iroquois vs. Canada | 5 p.m. | War Memorial Arena |
| Switzerland vs. Australia | 9:30 a.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Israel vs. Ireland | 12:30 p.m. | Village Pavilion |
| Germany vs. Serbia | 3:30 p.m. | Village Pavilion |
Teams to Watch
Canada
It's obvious that Canada will top this list as this is the only country to have ever won the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
This is a team that can find the back of the cage, as the NLL's top four leading scorers are on Canada's roster in Shawn Evans, Mark Matthews, Ryan Benesch and Dhane Smith.
Evans outscored second-place Matthews by 15 points, recording 47 goals and 83 assists in just 18 games. At times, he can put an offense on his back as the NLL shows:
Canada also returns the 2011 tournament's second-leading scorer in Dan Dawson. The last time he was in the World Indoor Championship, the 33-year-old recorded eight goals and 11 assists in two games played.
Iroquois Nationals
Three-time silver medalists, the hosts are looking towards the tandem of former University at Albany stars Miles and Lyle Thompson.
Playing in just eight games this season in Major League Lacrosse, Lyle finished second on the team with 38 points (22 goals, 16 assists). While Lyle is the more well-rounded player, Miles has the more "score-first" mentality with 15 goals and just three assists in eight games.
They can definitely hook up for goals, though, as Lax.com shows just one of their numerous points from their time in Albany:
If they can get their mojo working on the indoor stage, then the rest of the field needs to watch out because the Iroquois Nation can make the jump to the top spot of the podium this year.
United States
Those unfamiliar with this tournament might see a theme here. The United States, like the Canadians and Iroquois, have won a medal in all three championships—the bronze medal.
The United States return seven players from their 2011 team, including the tournament's third-leading scorer in Casey Powell, who could be shouldering the offensive load in 2015.
He seems more than capable of doing so, recording 18 goals and 16 assists in Major League Lacrosse last season. Powell can also score goals worthy of the highlight reel, as the MLL shows:
What might hold the United States back is their goalie situation. There was no clear front-runner for the position, according to WILC2015.com, but they do have an experienced member with Jake Henhawk who was a part of both the 2007 and 2011 teams.
MLL Stats courtesy of PointStreak.com
WILC stats courtesy of WILC2015.com
NLL stats courtesy of NLL.com
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