Canada coach Randy Mearns and players Jake Withers and Graeme Hossack will play the Iroquois Nationals.
Three members of the Rochester Knighthawks will hit the turf Thursday at the 2018 FIL Men’s Lacrosse World Championship as Team Canada battles the Iroquois Nationals. The semifinal showdown will take place at Wingate Institute at 11 am ET on ESPNU.
The defending champion Canadians are 4-1 after knocking off Australia 17-7 on Tuesday.
“It was a grind,” said Canada head coach and former Knighthawk Randy Mearns. “We were trying to make sure we were in that semifinal spot, so we needed to get this win today. Australia is very talented, and they battled us hard, but we were able to grind it out.”
Knighthawks Jake Withers and Graeme Hossack have played in all 5 games. Withers has collected 1 goal and 15 loose balls while sharing faceoff time with veteran Geoff Snider. Hossack has been a force on defense and has recorded 8 loose balls.
Kyle Jackson will suit up for the Iroquois Nationals, who defeated Puerto Rico 14-7 to advance to the semifinals. Jackson was tied for the team lead with 3 goals in Wednesday’s quarterfinal victory. In 6 games, the attackman has 5 goals and 2 assists.
The winner will advance to the finals to play the winner of the United States and Australia game, which will face off at 2 pm. The championship game will take place on Saturday, July 21 at 3 am at Netanya Stadium. Fans can watch the contest on ESPN2.