# 2006 World Lacrosse Championship

Canada won its second gold medal at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship, held in London, Ontario, from 14 to 22 July. The Canadians defeated the United States in the final 15–10 in front of 7,735 fans. It marked only the second loss by the Americans since the championship was founded in 1967. The first was Canada's historic 17–16 overtime win in the 1978 final. Canadian Geoff Snider was the tournament MVP for his outstanding face-off performance, winning 19 of 28 draws in the final.
Australia beat Iroquois 21–8 to earn the bronze medal. 21 nations played 72 games over the eight-day tournament, with Bermuda, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Spain making their debuts. The games were played in TD Waterhouse Stadium.
The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) every four years. The 2006 WLC was the last to be sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation, the former governing body for men. In August 2008, the ILF merged with the former governing body for women's lacrosse, the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations, to form the FIL.

## Pool play

For the round-robin phase of the tournament, nations were separated into blue, red, orange and yellow divisions according to strength. Each of the twenty-one nations was eligible to win the championship.

### Blue Division

The Blue Division featured the six strongest lacrosse nations: Australia, Canada, England, Iroquois, Japan, and the United States.
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
| Iroquois | England | 13–10 |
| United States | Australia | 20–8 |
| Canada | Japan | 18–7 |
| United States | England | 25–5 |
| Canada | Iroquois | 12–8 |
| Australia | Japan | 18–1 |
| Australia | England | 16–3 |
| United States | Canada | 13–12 |
| Iroquois | Japan | 13–11 |
| England | Japan | 9–8 |
| United States | Iroquois | 21–13 |
| Canada | Australia | 12–9 |
| United States | Japan | 21–2 |
| Iroquois | Australia | 12–10 |
| Canada | England | 17–9 |
Blue Division standings after pool play were:
* United States
* Canada
* Iroquois
* Australia
* England
* Japan

### Red Division

Red Division featured the next five strongest lacrosse nations: Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
| Ireland | Hong Kong | 19–4 |
| Scotland | Italy | 13–12 |
| Ireland | Italy | 15–8 |
| Wales | Hong Kong | 14–0 |
| Italy | Hong Kong | 20–0 |
| Scotland | Wales | 7–3 |
| Italy | Wales | 20–7 |
| Ireland | Scotland | 16–9 |
| Ireland | Wales | 12–4 |
| Scotland | Hong Kong | 21–3 |
Red Division standings after pool play were:
* Ireland
* Scotland
* Italy
* Wales
* Hong Kong

### Orange Division

The five countries competing in Orange Division were: the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Korea.
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
| Netherlands | South Korea | 12–4 |
| Germany | New Zealand | 18–3 |
| Germany | South Korea | 18–4 |
| Czech Republic | New Zealand | 23–4 |
| Germany | Netherlands | 15–9 |
| Czech Republic | South Korea | 20–2 |
| Netherlands | New Zealand | 15–4 |
| Germany | Czech Republic | 12–5 |
| Czech Republic | Netherlands | 19–9 |
| South Korea | New Zealand | 8–7 |
Orange Division standings after pool play were:
* Germany
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* South Korea
* New Zealand

### Yellow Division

The Yellow Division featured Bermuda, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, and Spain.
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
| Finland | Spain | 16–11 |
| Denmark | Bermuda | 10–6 |
| Finland | Latvia | 9–3 |
| Denmark | Spain | 15–11 |
| Latvia | Spain | 11–9 |
| Finland | Bermuda | 16–3 |
| Latvia | Denmark | 7–3 |
| Spain | Bermuda | 13–9 |
| Finland | Denmark | 14–4 |
| Latvia | Bermuda | 9–3 |
Yellow Division standings after pool play were:
* Finland
* Latvia
* Denmark
* Spain
* Bermuda

## Finals

With the nations ranked amongst their division, they played off for their final standings. The winner from each lower group played a lower-ranked nation from Blue division for their shot at the championship.
| Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Note |
| Netherlands | Latvia | 10–4 | Play-off for the 9th/13th place brackets |
| Wales | Spain | 17–9 | Play-off for the 13th/17th place brackets |
| Australia | Ireland | 21–5 | Quarter final |
| Iroquois | Germany | 14–6 | Quarter final |
| Denmark | South Korea | 10–9 | Play-off for the 13th/17th place brackets |
| Italy | Czech Republic | 14–7 | Play-off for the 9th/13th place brackets |
| Canada | Finland | 27–2 | Quarter final |
| New Zealand | Bermuda | 19–6 | Semi-final in the 19th place bracket |
| Italy | Scotland | 10–7 | Semi-final in the 9th place bracket |
| Spain | Hong Kong | 12–8 | Semi-final in the 17th place bracket |
| Latvia | Denmark | 5–3 | Semi-final in the 13th place bracket |
| England | Germany | 19–4 | Semi-final in the 5th place bracket |
| Japan | Ireland | 11–9 | Semi-final in the 5th place bracket |
| Finland | Netherlands | 10–8 | Semi-final in the 9th place bracket |
| Wales | Czech Republic | 9–8 | Semi-final in the 13th place bracket |
| USA | Australia | 13–10 | Semi-final |
| Canada | Iroquois | 16–6 | Semi-final |
| Spain | South Korea | 17–14 | Play-off for 17th place |
| New Zealand | Hong Kong | 9–6 | Play-off for 19th place |
| Scotland | Netherlands | 15–3 | Play-off for 11th place |
| Wales | Latvia | 18–2 | Play-off for 13th place |
| Czech Republic | Denmark | 18–1 | Play-off for 15th place |
| Finland | Italy | 10–9 | Play-off for 9th place |
| Ireland | Germany | 13–5 | Play-off for 7th place |
| England | Japan | 12–7 | Play-off for 5th place |
| Australia | Iroquois | 21–8 | 3rd place |
| Canada | USA | 15–10 | Final |
The final standings were:
* Canada
* USA
* Australia
* Iroquois
* England
* Japan
* Ireland
* Germany
* Finland
* Italy
* Scotland
* Netherlands
* Wales
* Latvia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Spain
* South Korea
* New Zealand
* Hong Kong
* Bermuda

## Awards
### All World Team

The International Lacrosse Federation named an All World Team at the conclusion of the championship, along with four other individual awards.

#### Goalkeeper

Chris Sanderson

#### Defence

John Gagliardi
Brodie Merrill John Tokarua

#### Midfield

Brett Bucktooth Jay Jalbert Geoff Snider

#### Attack

John Grant, Jr.
Michael Powell
Jeff Zywicki

### Best Positional Players

Brodie Merrill - Defence Jay Jalbert - Midfield Jeff Zywicki - Attack

### Tournament MVP

Geoff Snider - Midfield, face-off