1978 World Lacrosse Championship

The 1978 World Lacrosse Championship was the third edition of the international men's lacrosse tournament. The event took place at Edgeley Park in Stockport, England under the auspices of the International Lacrosse Federation. Four teams competed in the tournament: Australia, Canada, England, and the United States. Canada defeated the United States 17-16 in overtime in the final to win the tournament.[1][2][3]

1978 World Lacrosse Championship
Tournament details
Host country England
DatesJuly 2–7
Teams4
Venue(s)Edgeley Park, Stockport, Greater Manchester
Final positions
Gold  Canada (1st title)
Silver  United States
Bronze  Australia
Fourth place England
Scoring leader(s)Stan Cockerton
MVPMike French
← 1974
1982 →

Overview

In the finals, Canada captured the 1978 World Championship with a shocking 17-16 overtime victory over the United States team.

The underdog label was pasted on the Canadian team, due mostly to their lack of field lacrosse experience, and following a round-robin American annihilation of the Canadians, 28-4. However, two individuals with previous field experience would prove to be vital factors in the longshot victory. Hall of Famers Stan Cockerton from North Carolina State and Mike French from Cornell had great tournaments. In the first game of the 1978 tournament, Cockerton whipped in seven goals with French adding three more plus seven helpers to move past the host English squad 21-15.

The U.S. took Australia 22-17 the first day and then drubbed Canada 28-4. U.S. scored the first 14 goals even before French put Canada on the board; but the rout on the rain-drenched field continued - 17-2 at halftime and 22-3 after three periods. Meanwhile, Australia downed England 16-10. Down 4-3 early in game three against Australia, Canada whipped in six straight on the road to a 16-13 victory that set up a rematch with the Americans, who had narrowly squeaked past England 12-11.

The Americans opened the finals intent on repeating their earlier conquest of Canada with Cornell great Bill Marino rifling home a shot just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff. But Team Canada stunned the Americans with six unanswered goals to take an 8-4 lead after one period. The U.S. rallied to tie the contest and then moved ahead only to see Cockerton knot up the contest 16-16 with seconds remaining.

Stan Shillington wrote: "with the entire crowd of 3,500-plus chanting for the Canadians, both teams went through a scoreless overtime session and all but 20 seconds of a second extra period. That's when Cockerton scooped in the winner, his sixth goal of the game, that gave Canada a 17-16 victory."[4]

Stan Cockerton led the tourney in scoring with 18 goals and 9 assists in the four games. Mike French, with 6 goals and 15 assists, was named the "Best and Fairest Player." Other awards were given to Bob Flintoff, Canada, Goalkeeper; Steve Bevington, England, Defender; John Butkiewicz, Australia, Midfielder; and Peter Cann, Australia, Attackman.[5]

Australia beat England 19-9 for third place.

Results

Group
Date Team 1 Team 2 Score
July 2CanadaEngland21-15
July 2United StatesAustralia22-17
July 4United StatesCanada28-4
July 4EnglandAustralia10-16
July 5United StatesEngland12-11
July 5CanadaAustralia16-13

Standings
Pos Team P W D L F A Pts
1United States330062326
2Canada320141564
3Australia310246482
4England300336490

Third Place
  • Australia 19, England 9

Final
  • Canada 17, United States 16 (OT)

Rosters

Canada
Goal: Bob Flintoff, Tim Barrie
Defense: Sandy Lynch, Carm Collins, Tom Briscoe, Brian Jones, Jim Branton, Murray Cawker
Midfield: Mike French, Fred Greenwood, Pat Differ, John Mouradian, Jim Calder, Ted Greves, Dave Huntley, Dan Wilson, Steve Mastine
Attack: Stan Cockerton, Dave Durante, Doug Hayes, Jim Wasson, Bob Burke, John Grant
Coaches: Bob Allan, Don Barrie, John McCauley
Manager: Ron Wicks[4]

United States
Goal: Rick Blick, Dan Mackesey
Defense: Dave Devine, Chris Kane, Tom Keigler, Dom Starsia, Dennis Townsend, Mike Waldvogel
Midfield: Jim Darcangelo, Craig Jaeger, Skip Lichtfuss, Billy Marino, Phil Marino, Dave McNaney, Doug Radebaugh, Bob Hendrickson, Bruce Arena
Attack: Eamon McEneaney, Bob Griebe, Jeff Long, Tom Postel, Dave Warfield
Head Coach: Richie Moran
Assistant Coaches: Jerry Schmidt, Gene Fusting

See also

References
  1. "International Lacrosse Events History" (PDF). Federation of International Lacrosse.
  2. "ALL-TIME FIL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS". US Lacrosse.
  3. "Dispatches from England – Team Canada and the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships". Team Canada Lacrosse. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. Shillington, Stan. "1978 Canada 1978 World Champions [Down Memory Lane]". www.clhof.org. Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  5. "Men's World Championship History - 2014 World Lacrosse Championship". www.worldlacrosse2014.com. US Lacrosse. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
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