"The Iroquois Nationals beat England to capture the bronze medal Saturday at the 2008 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championship tournament in Canada.

“Our boys were really hustling and moving the ball,” said Cameron Bomberry, assistant coach for the Iroquois. “That's how we got all our opportunities to put the ball in the net. We got back to our style of game and pushed that on them. It worked out for us.”

The Iroquois, the only internationally sanctioned indigenous sports team in the United States, beat England, 19-10, at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam, B.C. The team's run-and-gun style proved to be a force in some hard-fought games against the United States and Canada, the only teams to bestow losses upon the Iroquois. Team USA won the gold medal, defeating Canada 19-12 in the championship game, also on Saturday. The Iroquois successfully challenged both powerhouse teams early in the tournament with its young players - about half the Nationals team are high school sophomores or younger - against mostly Division I college players.

Two members of the Nationals, Emmett Printup and Jason Johns, were named to the all-tournament team.

“Luckily, for three of us, we might get another shot,” said Warren Hill, one of three 15-year-olds on the Iroquois team. “That could really benefit us the next time. We'll have more experience and be used to this atmosphere.”

Hill and teammates Lyle Thompson and Randy Staats will all be eligible to play in the under-19 World Lacrosse Championships in four years. The team's win on Saturday was the first U19 medal since 1999. The Iroquois are relatively new to international play, taking to the world field in 1990 after the International Lacrosse Federation agreed to sanction the team. The organization recognizes the tribal sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy, a league of Six Nations from Canada and the United States."

Get the Story:
Iroquois Nationals claim bronze at world lacrosse tourney (The Missoulian 7/13)
Canadians top Iroquois Nationals in U19 world lacrosse semifinals (The Missoulian 7/12)

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