Haudenosaunee win silver at Heritage Cup

The U19 Haudenosaunee Junior Nationals team could count on Kahnawake throughout its Heritage Cup run.

Three laxers from town, Darris Jones, Stone McGregor, and Katinontie “Bear” Martin, as well as head coach Al Jones, helped the U19 Nationals make it to the finals of the annual tournament, which took place May 23-26 in Boston. The squad ultimately fell to the Greek team 10-3.

“That was a tough Greece team. After the game, we found out they were practicing and they had been working together for a week before this tournament, and they were ready,” said Al.

In comparison, the U19 Haudenosaunee team had very little time together prior to the tournament, due to the team being made up of players from all across the Confederacy, meaning some had to travel for 10-15 hours just to make it to Boston.

The night before their first game of the tournament against the Israel White team was when Al and assistant coaches William Chuch and Jason Johns gave the team a rundown of what their systems were and what was expected of them.

“The game has evolved so much. There’s so much talent out there,”

– Al Jones

“Thankfully, these kids are at a pretty high level, so they take things really quickly. They’ve played around so many teams and have a lot of experience under their belts, which makes it really easy for them to fall into certain systems,” said Al.

That first game, a 6-5 win for the Junior Nationals, was proof of that.

“They responded very well. Our first game, it’s always a test, because it’s our first showing,” said Al.

The Junior Nationals were perfect en route to the Monday finals, winning 6-5 against Israel Olive, 4-2 against Puerto Rico, and 8-7 against the Netherlands, all hard-fought victories.

In the finals, the game came down to special teams, with Greece receiving - and capitalizing on - numerous power plays.

“That’s kind of what did us in. We’re a really aggressive group with our box background. We kind of push the limits with some physicality, but it’s part of our game, and it’s not dirty, we’re just a physical team,” said Al.

He said that the team started to second-guess their playstyle during the game as they took penalties, making things worse for them.

“Now we have to change our game and tone it down. And when you change out of your routine and your game plan, it messes you up. It’s a bit of a glitch,” said Al.

To him, the game ultimately came down to who made the fewest mistakes, and that was Team Greece.

Still, winning silver is nothing to scoff at.

“To finish second out of 15 teams was, in my eyes, an accomplishment. Our pool of players is nowhere as big as the other countries,” said Al.

As the 2028 Summer Olympics get closer, which will mark the return of lacrosse to the Games, Al said that international talent is as good as it has ever been in his memory, whether as a player in the 1990s or in his time coaching.

“The game has evolved so much. There’s so much talent out there,” said Al.

That’s true as well of the Haudenosaunee Nationals programs, which had many new faces on this year’s roster.

“What I love is that the Haudenosaunee Nationals is a development program. It’s great to see and meet new friends and new players each time around. For this tournament team there were a lot of fresh faces.”

The full tournament results - which include the results for the U13 and U15 Haudenosaunee Junior Nationals, neither of whom medaled - can be found on the Heritage Cup’s website.

[email protected]