1978 World Lacrosse Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |
 England
|
| Dates | July 2-7 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | Edgeley Park, , Greater Manchester |
| Final positions | |
Gold 
|
 Canada (1st title)
|
Silver 
|
 United States
|
Bronze 
|
 Australia
|
| Fourth place |
England
|
| Scoring leader(s) | Stan Cockerton |
| MVP | Mike French |
|
← 1974
1982 →
|
|
The 1978 World Lacrosse Championship was the third edition of the international men's lacrosse tournament. The event took place at Edgeley Park in , England under the auspices of the International Lacrosse Federation. Four teams competed in the tournament. Canada defeated the United States in the final to win the tournament.
In the finals, Canada captured the 1978 World Championship with a shocking 17-16 double 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.
...
Wikipedia