A Bronze in Jamaica!

We’ve done it again. The second consecutive Bronze medal for Argentina at a PALA Sixes Cup! 

Our 13 player roster arrived at Kingston on Wednesday November 8th. As everyone trickled in, we experienced the usual mixture of feelings: excitement for the moment we had been looking forward to for months, joy of seeing teammates once again, tiredness from travel, cautiousness of our new surroundings, anticipation of the unknown ahead.

The first team meeting occurred that evening, where Coach Nico laid out the game plan for the week. The process had its share of X’s and O’s, but it also focused on a grander approach. It called for each member of the team to bring forth everything they had to offer and to commit to improving every chance they got in the tournament. For some, the contribution would be scoring and leading our offense, for others it would be causing turnovers and making big stops, and yet for others it would be leading or supporting their teammates in less tangible ways. No matter the role, we knew we all needed to contribute something in order to be the strongest unit we could be.

Day one started up early with the Opening Ceremonies, where we got to catch the first glimpse of the other nations being represented: Puerto Rico, Mexico, Haudenosaunee, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, and Peru. After the ceremony came our first challenge… hanging out in 90 degree heat for several hours, waiting in anticipation for our first match vs. #15 ranked Mexico at 1:30pm. 

Our game vs Mexico was a roller coaster ride. During the first two quarters we struggled to find our rhythm, which left us down by nine at half time. Sixes is a much faster style of play so our players had to adjust to the speed, while also learning how to play with each other in the scorching heat. The most important thing we did during half time was to take a deep breath and relax. As soon as the second half whistle went off, a switch was flipped. The team rallied together and one stop at a time, goal after goal, they made an incredible comeback to win the game 15-14.

The following day was the largest challenge of them all as we had to play three group stage games to define the standings. We started with a tough, yet respectable 22-12 loss to a very strong #11 ranked Puerto Rico. We then had our second battle with Mexico, once again defined in the last few minutes of the game, which ended in a 16-13 Argentina victory. Lastly, we had to face Puerto Rico once again, which was tricky as we had already clinched second place in our group and had to consider the state of our players after playing all day. We finished the day with a 12-2 loss, but with our heads high and our gaze set on the following day. 

The final day consisted of the most difficult matchup against #8 ranked Haudenosaunee, followed by the Bronze Medal game. The eventual Gold Medal winners lived up to their reputation, as they played faster and smoother than anyone we had seen thus far in the tournament. Our strategy for this game was more about possession and conservation of energy on offense and refinement of a new scheme on defense. 

Finally the moment we had been waiting for arrived; the battle for Bronze! Peru was a talented young team, who had only played one game the day prior, so we knew it was going to be a steep mountain for us to climb. The game was extremely close quarter after quarter: Argentina 3, Peru 4… Argentina 7, Peru 8… Argentina 11, Peru 13. Our players were increasingly tired and overheated, every quarter barely making it off the field. Some icing their heads to fight lightheadedness, one pressing her sides to battle a cramp, another taking deep breaths to keep from thinking about her fractured finger. One last quarter was left, and it was at this moment that Coach Nico was thankful for all the gut-checks we had experienced in all the games leading up to this one. Just like that, it was happening again, one stop at a time, goal after goal, the team started feeling the ever-so-desired momentum switch which carried them to victory! Argentina 16, Peru 14.

2022 Women's World Championship

In September 2021 we formed a team to compete in the PALA Sixes tournament in Florida. This competition served as our first tryouts for Argentine players residing in the USA. Some months after, in December 2021, we had our second tryout in Chubut, Argentina, where our players from Buenos Aires traveled to compete for a spot on our team. In the following months, we finalized our initial roster and began to prepare with routine zoom calls, a million email exchanges, text messages, calls with players, parents, World Lacrosse, donors, etc. In the meantime, our players were responsible for preparing themselves physically for the tournament in June. During these months we fundraised and collected player contributions and donations from several supporters, in order to meet our goal of $20,000. 

On June 25th the day we had waited for finally arrived: the arrival to Towson, Maryland for the 2022 World Championship! It was then that our players all finally met in person for the first time. After our first team meal, we got right to business with the first of our practices; these went on once or twice per day for 5 days. On the sixth day we had our first game, and then did not stop playing games for 8 days straight, no days off! 

We ended with two victories, and lost three of the other games by just one goal (two in OT!!), and one by two. Our team never stopped fighting  game after game and was able to have a very successful first World Championship.We entered the tournament ranked #35 in the world, and we finished with a #26 ranking. This brings us tremendous joy and enthusiasm for the next tournament! 

We’d like to thank all the families that were able to come cheer us on (una hinchada tremenda!!!), as well as all those who supported us from afar. None of this would have been possible without the support of so many spending their time and resources on us.

Nico Prandi 

PS: Check out a couple of articles by Argentine newspapers, as well as the YouTube playlist of our games and trip compilation in case you missed any of the action and want to check the team out!

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/mundial-de-lacrosse-las-chicas-argentinas-cumplen-el-sueno-de-jugar-por-primera-vez-pero-hacen-rifas-nid01072022/

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfqvLFZK-EvDFo3z1PtwbAWzYBebJB4eC

Women's Team Update

Women's National Team MAKES HISTORY!   Bronze Medalists at the PALA Sixes Tournament

In preparation for the World Games in 2022, our national women’s lacrosse coaches, coaches Holly and Nico, were planning a tryout for Argentine women living in the United States. Around the same time, they were informed of the Pan American Lacrosse Association organizing a tournament for Pan American teams to test out the new 6 vs 6 discipline being designed for Olympic competition. Upon some brainstorming they thought, what better way to see their candidates than in a tournament representing Argentina!

After some last minute cancelations, the team ended up being composed of 7 enthused players ranging from ages 15 to 23. Outnumbered by every team (12 to 7), our resilient young players battled in the Florida heat for five games in three days, having only one substitute player. The first day of play was already historic for this squad as they earned the first two international victories for Argentina after defeating Puerto Rico by one goal in an extremely exciting battle, and then Colombia by a wider margin in an easier contest. The following day the team lost to a very talented and experienced Haudenosaunee team, who ended up winning gold, and a better rested and improved Puerto Rico team, who forced them out of gold or silver contention. The final day, Argentina played for third place against Colombia and, after an amazing defining goal in overtime, managed to pull off the victory and take home the Bronze medal, therefore making history once again!

Our coaching staff is now turning their gaze onto the World Games and continuing to run tryouts in both the US and Argentina in order to assemble the best possible team.

Women's Team Update

Argentina Women's Lacrosse continues to train virtually connecting players from various locations throughout Argentina and the United States. The team anxiously awaits the opportunity to reunite and train as a unit! Coach Nico looks forward to a trip to Argentina this July to visit Argentina lacrosse hotbeds in Buenos Aires and the South (Trelew and Rawson) to kick-off tryouts for the 2022 World Cup. He will train with dozens of players who hope to be the first to represent their country next summer at the 2022 World Cup Championship in Towson, Maryland.

Looking ahead to September, a contingent of Argentine native players living in the United States will compete in the PALA Sixes as a second round of tryouts for the 2022 World Cup. This will be a fast-paced tournament with 6v6 play aligned to the recent new ruleset designed for potential Olympic play. Read more about 6v6 play HERE. Thank you for your support, and ¡Vamos Argentina!

Women's Team Update

 In November 2019, ten players representing Team Argentina traveled to Auburndale, Florida, as the first international contingent of Argentine female lacrosse players.  Hailing from north of Buenos Aires to Patagonia, some players had never trained together prior to arrival in Florida.  As a participating nation in the Pan-American Lacrosse Association qualifiers in Florida, Argentina competed against regional foes Puerto Rico, Mexico, Columbia, and Jamaica.   Placing sixth in the tournament, Argentina earned a birth to the 2021 World Lacrosse Championships in Towson, Maryland!

     Team Argentina is coached by Holly McGarvie Reilly, former Team USA Champion, and Nico Prandi, former Team Argentina Men’s World Cup player.  Both coaches have a vision to help Team Argentina reach its goal of attending a World Championship in 2021 and for the players to return to Argentina to grow the game of lacrosse.

     Following the November Pan-American qualifiers, Coach Reilly, along with her husband and two young boys, traveled to Argentina in March 2020.  The goals were to enjoy the beautiful Argentine culture and to hold training and evaluation sessions in preparation for the 2021 World Championships.  Training sessions kicked off in Buenos Aires with players traveling as far as 3000 kilometers to participate.  The girls were eager to improve coming off their first international playing experience, and it was evident the girls were working hard in the off season. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, Coach Reilly had to cut her trip short just before flying to the South to train in Trelew and Rawson. 

     Looking ahead, Team Argentina anxiously awaits a reopening when players may return to play and continue to prepare for the 2021 World Championships.  Eighteen players will represent Team Argentina next July.  While there is much preparation and improvement to achieve before then, there is tremendous excitement and passion from the women who will wear their country’s uniform in their first-ever World Championship. 

Thanks for all your support!
-Argentina Lacrosse

2018 FIL World Championship Update

Thank you your support of Argentina lacrosse! We wanted to update you on the men's team best-ever performance at this year's FIL World Championships! We finished in the top half of the world and almost broke out even higher with some tight games against teams ranked directly ahead of us.

Tryouts for this tournament's team were the most competitive in the program's history by a long shot. Argentine players traveled to Buenos Aires for a week-long tryout while USA-based players to Denver, Colorado to compete for their shot on the roster. The strong pool of athletes made for some tough cuts for the final roster. We would expect it to get even more difficult to join the Argentine team in the future.

The team traveled to Munich, Germany prior to the tournament for a training camp & friendlies against some local German club teams organized by long-time supporter and former player Christopher "Gogo" Gogolin. A big thanks to Gogo for hosting!

A few of our standout performances included (and there were MANY more):

• Mariano "Caru" Carugatti's making huge leaps as a FOGO and quickly becoming dominant at the international level (after stepping up for the position when asked by the coaches 5 months before!)

• Bruno "Pinguino" Stretti putting up a hat trick in a game and dominating down the stretch of the tournament

• Raul "Cachete" Mendy locking it down on the defensive end

• Alex "LFV" Weber leading a high-powered offense as one of the top scorers at the tournament

• Tomas Rigetti somehow keeping us organized on the ground in Israel

• Jorge and Maristela for their work keeping our players healthy and supporting the team

• Agustin "Colo" Gonzalez Lopez bringing it every single day

We have many more individuals we would like to recognize that helped make this possible but this e-mail would look more like a novel. Thank you to each and every one of you that helped the program over the last few years.

On the leadership side, we would really like to recognize the efforts of Rocky Miquelarena and Mariano Flores Lleyes. They are both rockstars and invaluable to the program.

We are really excited about the future of lacrosse in Argentina and expect big things of the program in the future. The players, organizers, coaches and supporters of Argentina lacrosse are out doing the hard work now: growing the game.