Gabriel bags big goal in World Sixes

Looking for talent, the coach of the Haudenosaunee Nationals World Lacrosse Super Sixes women’s team travelled to Utica a few weeks ago to watch the World Lacrosse Box Championships.

That’s where he saw Kanehsata’kehró:non lacrosse star Ava Weriasanoron Gabriel dazzle spectators the world over – it was no matter that she couldn’t attend the tryout for the sixes squad. She’d made the team.

“She lit it up at World Box,” said Tim Bomberry, the Nationals’ head coach for the world sixes tournament from October 11-13 in Coquitlam, BC.

The fact Gabriel, who is more familiar with box lacrosse, racked up field lacrosse experience at Onondaga College last season was just icing on the cake, as the fast-paced sixes variant brings elements of both versions.

The decision to put her on the field paid off. “She did a great job for us,” Bomberry said.

The team had little time to prepare as a group and struggled in the round robin, but all three competing teams got to participate in the playoffs on Sunday.

The Nationals were winless going into the semi-final against Great Britain, but that didn’t deter their coach.

“I told them, ‘It’s like last goal wins,’” said Bomberry. “They kind of didn’t know what I meant by that. I said, ‘You know, you play backyard, the sun’s going down, you’re getting beat 20-5 and then you say, okay, last goal wins.’”

The team took the pep talk to heart, coming out fighting in a tight game that saw a 9-9 tie in the waning minutes, but the Nationals rallied to take down Great Britain in an 11-9 upset, niá:wen in no small part to the efforts of Gabriel, who scored the last goal of the game for a little insurance with just over two minutes left.

The clutch goal came to the surprise of no one – except, perhaps, Gabriel herself.

“I honestly did not look at the score,” Gabriel said. “When I scored towards the end, I didn’t realize how close the game was until I came off. It felt good. It made me that much more confident in playing and knowing I can do well in the field game as well.”

The win put the Nationals in a championship game against Canada, whom the Nationals almost took down on Friday in a 14-13 heartbreaker.

“I said if you guys pull this off, you guys are the biggest sandbaggers around,” Bomberry recalled.

The Nationals hung on for most of the game, down just 8-6 in the fourth quarter, but then they got into penalty trouble, giving up a handful of powerplay goals, leading to a 12-7 finish for tournament silver.

But the tough loss does not sour Gabriel’s memory of the tournament.

“I really learned a lot over the weekend, especially the game of sixes,” said Gabriel. “It’s new to everyone as it was introduced only in the last couple of years.”

Bomberry urges Onwekhón:we communities everywhere to invest in sixes programs – after all, it’s the genre of lacrosse that will be played at the 2028 Olympics.

Gabriel, for her part, isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon. This weekend she’ll be back in Utica to compete in the LAXNAI North American Invitational lacrosse tournament.

“I love putting the extra work in at the gym, at the box, on the field, and it shows once you hit game or practice time,” said Gabriel.

“I used to be very nervous, and the anxiety would hit me before big tournaments, games, and even practices. Over the last year, I proved to myself that I can do what everyone around me in the game can also do. It changed my mind, gave me more confidence, and I go into all these games very calm and focused.”

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