B.C. coaches and players alike are returning home with some shiny new hardware after finishing their successful campaign with Team Canada at the recent World Lacrosse Box Championships.
This year's international tournament was a special one because it was the first time that there was a World Lacrosse Women's Box Championship, with 10 teams travelling to New York to compete for the inaugural title.
Team Canada included a handful of B.C. players, with Megan Kinna representing Maple Ridge as part of the 23-woman roster.
"Box lacrosse is my first love, it was such an honour to be named to the team alongside some Canadian legends and incredible new talent to the international stage," said Kinna.
The women's team had a particularly electric start to the tournament, beating Finland 31-0 in the opening match, with Kinna netting herself four goals and two assists.
Every aspect of Team Canada's game play was firing on all cylinders, with them only giving up their first goal during their fifth game of the tournament.
But even after their shutout streak was broken, they continued to stack up the wins, remaining undefeated as they entered the gold medal match against Team USA.
"We had a lot of confidence and energy heading into the gold," said Kinna.
This was by far the closest match of the tournament for the Canadians, with the Americans opening up the scoring with a couple of unanswered goals.
Team Canada quickly responded, thanks in part to a goal from Kinna, and the scoring continued to go back and forth throughout most of the game.
Unfortunately, Team USA unleashed a streak of scoring in the final eight minutes of the match that allowed them to pull ahead and snag the 10-7 victory.
"Unfortunately couldn’t bring home the gold but I hope we still did our country proud," said Kinna.
Kinna wasn't the only Maple Ridge player who got to experience the thrill of competing in the inaugural World Lacrosse Women's Box Championship.
Darya Saed also participated in the tournament, except she didn't represent the Maple Leaf. Instead, Saed was the goalie for Team Netherlands, which she said made for an interesting challenge ahead of the first tourney.
"It was such an amazing experience to be a part of the inaugural women’s championships," said Saed.
"Everything we did was writing history, which is pretty cool. Though I knew it was a long road ahead, with all of the training and practices I had to do to be able to perform my best, especially since I could not practice with my team because they were so far away."
When she finally got to don the Netherlands jersey for the first match against Team USA, Saed said she felt nervous but excited.
"We knew we had all of our fans supporting us, including Team Netherlands men's, which made the vibes in the arena so amazing," she said. "Our coaches had a few rules that we had to follow during each game, and number one was always have fun, which we did."
The two Maple Ridge athletes faced off against each other on Sept. 26 when the countries went head-to-head, which Kinna said was one of her favourite moments in the entire tournament.
"They had fantastic energy and made the game really fun and enjoyable," said Kinna. "Their fans were a blast, and at one point 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman!' started playing over the speakers. It was a cool moment, especially because women haven’t been allowed into the box world championships before."
Saed managed to cast aside 32 of the 43 shots she faced from Team Canada. However, her fellow Maple Ridge athlete managed to sneak a couple of shots past her.
"I loved playing against all of the other teams, fighting our hardest," said Saed. "My teammates are people I will never forget. I can’t wait to play with them again."
The men's team also had a Maple Ridge connection, with former player and now coach Curt Malawsky joining the men's team in their quest for gold at the World Lacrosse Box Championship.
Malawsky, who currently serves as the head coach of the Vancouver Warriors in the National Lacrosse League, was named an assistant coach for Team Canada ahead of the 2024 Worlds.
The men's team had a similarly successful start to the women's, going undefeated through the entire tournament and also finding themselves facing Team USA in the final match.
It was a close competition up until the third quarter when the Canadians went on a scoring rampage and netted themselves seven unanswered goals within the span of 10 minutes.
They closed out the match with a 13-7 victory, bringing the gold back to Canada.
