Tue July 12, 2022 | Kenny DeJohn | USA Insider Team USA Sixes World Games
PHOTO COURTESY OF WORLD LACROSSE
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Jack Kelly’s knees were encased in ice. Another bag of ice was wrapped around his midsection, covered by his sweat soaked navy jersey no. 31.
Battered and a little bruised after a 23-9 loss to Canada in the men’s Game 6 of the World Games Tuesday night at PNC Field, Kelly slowly made his way to the fans who remained after the medal ceremony.
“I have to sign some autographs,” he said.
Kelly was the consummate professional, smiling and taking pictures with a crowd of young fans. Some experienced lacrosse for the first time. Others were spirited members of several leagues and teams scattered throughout the greater Birmingham area.
“There were a few hollers in the crowd that were really, really loud,” Kelly said. “The game is really up and down, so there’s a lot of action at one end, and then all of a sudden, someone makes an incredible play at the other end. And it can happen in less than five seconds. It’s a really exciting version of lacrosse. I’m excited to see where this goes. I hope for the Olympics.”
The Sixes discipline moves fast, and Canada seemed to move even faster. The U.S. mustered just 18 shots on goal and won eight fewer possessions in the loss, struggling to gain any traction against a Canadian team that relied heavily on its box-to-box principles and indoor stars like Josh Byrne, Dhane Smith, Jeff Teat and Zach Currier, to name a few.
American coach Andy Shay thinks it’s an oversimplification to say that boxers inherently have an advantage in the Sixes. He said the Canadian team is simply special.
“I think it would be very easy to say, ‘Yeah, it’s just because they’re great at boxing.’ But it’s a very impressive team,” Shay said. “What they did was surgical.”
Canada, who cruised through the Birmingham competition scoring 117 goals in five games, got off to a flying start. Twice Currier leaked in transition and scored no-doubt goals, giving Canada a quick 2-0 lead.
Brian Tevlin scored the first goal for the USA three minutes in, but the Americans didn’t score again until Ryan Tierney’s goal with 5:50 left in the first half. By then, Canada was leading 7-2. It was 14-4 after Byrne’s goal on the doorstep and 14-5 at halftime after Zach Goodrich scored for the USA.
Kelly was continually tested with shots near the crease, as the Canadiens’ offense used pick-and-rolls and quick inside passes for a high percentage of looks. Currier scored five, and Byrne and Teat scored four each. Canada shot 22-for-33 from the field compared to 9-for-30 for the USA.
“These guys are all box players in the NLL and they’re used to working in that narrow format and setup,” Kelly said. “They have a net that’s two meters higher and two meters wider to shoot in this format, so it’s really, really challenging to defend.”
The US showed signs of life in the third quarter. Goodrich, the USA’s only multi-goal player, scored in a man down situation to make it 16-6, then a yellow card on Currier opened the door for back-to-back goals from Colin Heacock and Connor Kirst to make it 16-8.
But Canada responded with the final four goals of the period.
For Kelly, who made seven saves, it was a disappointing end to a remarkable tournament and his re-emergence as the starting goalkeeper for the US national team. After a devastating knee injury in 2018 in Netanya, Israel, at the World Men’s Lacrosse Championship, Kelly considered calling it quits.
He persevered and was emotional and a leader on the field for the Sixes team. So did Adam Ghitelman, whose solid defense and communication sparked transitions for the USA multiple times throughout the tournament.
“It was an honor,” Shay told Gitelman as they hugged after the game.
“You never know when you’re going to be able to [put on the American jersey again], or if you’ll ever be able to,” Kelly said. “I think everyone in that locker room, including the coaches, really appreciates the opportunity to represent our country.”
