Iroquois team takes bronze

Iroquois Nationals claim bronze at world lacrosse tourneyThe Iroquois Nationals beat England to capture the bronze medal Saturday at the 2008 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships 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.