The Irish men's lacrosse team picked itself up after a heavy loss to a strong Israeli national team and faced off against the Czech Republic at the World Lacrosse Championships in Denver. The Czechs are mainly known for their strong tradition in indoor (box) lacrosse, which meant they would have particularly good stick skills and excellent shooting capabilities.

Just as the two teams had warmed up and were ready to go, the tournament officials notified all participants that all matches would be postponed due to incoming bad weather (something which had now become a daily occurrence in Denver). This resulted in a delay of around 30 minutes.

When the game finally did start, it was the Czechs who got their noses in front, scoring the first three goals of the game. The Irish team rallied and halfway through the second quarter had it all tied at 4 - 4, but the Czechs nudged ahead again and were up 6-4 at half-time.

The weather once again wreaked havoc on the game and there was a second delay at half-time. This gave both teams a chance to rest and compose themselves, and once the game started again, the Czechs scored within the first couple of seconds to make it 7-4. The Irish team dug deep though, and buoyed by the fanatical support they got from the stands where the Éire team players now joined the other friends and family of the Irish team in supporting the cause, they started to go on a run.

The fourth quarter ended 10-7 in favour of the Czechs, but the Irish team went on to score 5 unanswered goals in a spirited comeback to win the game 12-10. The Irish team's success came down to three key factors - the goals were distributed throughout the team (Shea led with 4 goals, Gillis and Burke had 2 each, and Prior, Riley, Cahill and Ferry had one each), Aaron Cahill put on a superb performance getting from box-to-box, taking face-offs and generally putting his heart and soul into the team, earning him the Physio Company Game MVP, and Connor Sweeney was once again outstanding in the goal, making key saves at key moments.

The Irish team now faces Switzerland, who had a surprise win over a normally-strong Welsh team, at 4pm Irish time. The Éire team (the Irish B team) also begin their campaign in the festival tournament that takes place alongside the World Championships at 9am tomorrow morning against the Lofers of Colorado.

Tom Beary