Four-time defending world indoor lacrosse champion Canada defeated the United States 19-6 in the Heritage Cup revival Saturday at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.

Curtis Dickson scored four goals, Shawn Evans and Ryan Benesch each added two goals and three assists, and Canada’s big-bodied defenders frequently forced the U.S. to settle for perimeter shots. Goalie Brandon Miller, a reserve on Canada’s gold-medal winning team in 2015, kept the U.S. at bay for most of the game.

Joe Resetarits and Tom Schreiber were the lone bright spots for the U.S., scoring two goals apiece. Resetarits added an assist in the loss.

The U.S. deployed a mix of players with National Lacrosse League experience, like Resetarits and Schreiber, the reigning NLL Rookie of the Year, and field lacrosse stars making their box lacrosse debut, like Rob Pannell. Pannell and Blaze Riorden, the field lacrosse goalie turned box lacrosse forward, each scored a goal for the U.S.

Resetarits and Schreiber scored back-to-back to pull the U.S. within 6-4 early in the second quarter. But a power-play goal by Dan Dawson ignited a five-goal run for Canada, which led 11-5 at halftime.

“Once we got our feet moving and got the ball moving around, we started finding some openings to put the ball in the net,” Dickson said during the CBC broadcast of the game.

Canada blanked the U.S. in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 17-5, with Jordan Macintosh dominating at the faceoff dot and Miller remaining stout in goal. Miller was named the Heritage Cup MVP during a ceremony after the game.

Both teams are building toward the 2019 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Langley, British Columbia. The U.S. finished in third place in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

“Some guys are very green,” U.S. defender Brett Manney said. “Their first time playing box was yesterday. We kind of threw them into the fire a little bit.”

Canada also is the reigning world field lacrosse champion after defeating the U.S. in the FIL final in 2014.

“Canada is on top of the lacrosse world,” Manney said. “We’re trying to catch them.”

“Anytime you step on the floor, you want to play to win, but we realize this is a couple-year process here,” Schreiber said. “We’re looking to learn a little bit more and make some strides forward.”