With the tournament coming to an end, I can say that as a team we have improved drastically. We finished off the tournament with 3 games going 2-1. Our first was a tough loss against our rivals, Team Thailand. We came out slow spotting them a 6 goal lead in the first quarter. We clawed our way back to bring the score within 4, but unfortunately we ran out of time. With this loss we were matched up against Korea to see who would be playing for 33rd or 35th. Once again we started the game off very lackadaisical trailing 9-2 at half time. We lacked possession and had very little offensive chances.
We went into halftime knowing we were better than this and never hung our heads. Mikey Tsiang lead us at the faceoff dot winning every possession possible. With the much needed offensive possession we were able rally back and score 7 unanswered goals. This was the turning point in which lead to us toppling the Koreans with a final score of 16-15. With this victory and Uganda’s over Argentina the 33rd place match was set in stone. We arrived early the next day to prepare for our match against Uganda. We knew they had gotten all their success so far from in close so we decided to implement a zone and test their shooters. Team Uganda was a crowd favorite and the stands were packed with spectators cheering them on.
It was a tough battle, but due to our defensive adjustments we were able to stop the athletic Uganda offense dead in their tracks. Our offense was on point today and they had no answer for us as we were able to come out on top 14-7. Although we only placed 33rd we were all very happy with our showing this tournament. We had come along way starting off the tournament 0-3 and finishing off with a record of 3-4. Throughout the whole tournament we developed as a team and grew as individual players.
The Chinese Natives will be heading back home with some good experience and will be able to help teach and grow to game back in China. With all the new friendships made the goodbyes were tough, but we all are looking forward to competing together again next year at the ASPAC Tournament. On behalf of China lacrosse we would like to thank everyone involved with making this tournament happen as well as all our supporters and fans.
