The Atlas Cup is so back.
USA Lacrosse’s marquee fall event debuted in 2025 and will again be the center of the lacrosse world this weekend as men’s and women’s sixes national teams from Canada, the Haudenosaunee Nationals, Ireland and the United States compete for titles at the headquarters in Sparks, Maryland.
It’s the second of three international sixes events this fall for the U.S. teams, which swept the Pan-American Sixes Lacrosse Championships earlier this month in Oshawa, Ontario, and will also debut in the brand-new Global Lacrosse Games in December in Washington, D.C.
Whether you are from or traveling to the Baltimore area or watching from afar, here’s everything you need to know about the Atlas Cup.
ABOUT THE EVENT
USA Lacrosse introduced the Atlas Cup as its signature fall event in October 2025.
It featured 12 games over the three days with record attendance and viewership numbers compared to previous USA Lacrosse fall events. A total of over 3,250 tickets — including three-day passes — were sold, while streaming numbers on the USA Lacrosse YouTube channels were up 400 percent from the previous year’s fall event.
USA Lacrosse social media channels logged 11 million total impressions related to the Atlas Cup.
“With Atlas Cup, we set out to build more than just another event — we wanted to create a symbol of where the game is headed,” said Dave Krupinski, vice president of marketing, media and communications at USA Lacrosse. “You could feel the electricity on the field and in the stands all weekend long, and with 90 percent of our broadcast audience being first-time viewers, we directly advanced our mission to fuel the growth of the game.”
The 2026 edition is on pace to eclipse 2025. All stadium seat tickets are sold out. Lawn seats ($50 full event, $25 single day) and select VIP ticket packages remain available for purchase.
While walk-up visitors are welcome, ticket prices increase at the gate. Purchase yours in advance to save.
It’s half price for kids ages 5 and under if accompanied by a ticketed adult. USA Lacrosse members also receive exclusive savings, with access to the member hospitality tent behind the scoreboard at Tierney Field.
USA Lacrosse will again stream all 12 games live and on demand on its YouTube channel. Audio of the games also will be available on iHeart Radio, part of a new partnership between USA Lacrosse and iHeart Media.
The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcers Joe Beninati and Glenn Clark, as well as color analysts Steven Brooks, Courtney Connor and Mitchell Pehlke.
For the second straight year, USA Lacrosse has set aside $5,000 in cash giveaways for fans watching the Atlas Cup livestream on YouTube. Prizes include $100 awarded every quarter plus two surprise $200 bonus quarters announced randomly across the 12-game tournament.
Tune in live on YouTube and enter the secret phrase from the announcers into the live comments section during each quarter to qualify.
Last year, the USA women swept through the competition to win the championship and Chloe Humphrey earned the Titan Award as the event’s outstanding player. Canada won the men’s championship on the strength of a 23-18 victory over the U.S. team. Jeff Teat, the men’s recipient of the Titan Award, had six goals in that victory for Canada.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Canada, the Haudenosaunee Nationals and the United States are plenty familiar with one another. They’re running it back after last year’s Atlas Cup and were medal contenders at the Pan-American Sixes Lacrosse Championships that concluded Oct. 4.
On the men’s side, the U.S. defeated Canada in sixes for the first time since 2021, capturing the gold medal in dramatic fashion. Pat Kavanagh scored with 1.5 seconds left to lift the U.S. to a 12-11 victory. The Haudenosaunee Nationals beat Puerto Rico 15-13 to win the bronze medal.
On the women’s side, the U.S. was tested for the first time in a long time, needing a late goal by Emma LoPinto to eke past Canada 15-14 in the gold medal game. The Haudenosaunee Nationals fell to Puerto Rico 15-9 and finished fourth.
Ireland is the newcomer to the Atlas Cup. Its teams are preparing for the European Sixes Lacrosse Championships happening next month in Spain. Like the Pan-American games, they are a continental qualifier through which teams can punch their tickets to the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.
That event, of course, will serve as the springboard into the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
ABOUT THE PLAYERS
When we say the world’s best players are coming to Sparks, it’s not hyperbole.
On the men’s side:
- Canada boasts a trio of PLL first-team All-Pro picks in Zach Currier, Tre Leclaire and Brett Dobson.
- The Haudenosaunee Nationals have a pair of pro veterans in Kyle Jackson and Zed Williams. Williams was a coach at the Atlas Cup last year.
- Ireland is making its international debut in sixes and getting a boost with the addition of Ronan Jacoby, a former All-American midfielder at both the Division III (Wesleyan) and Division I (Rutgers) levels.
- Superstar Brennan O’Neill, the MVP of the 2023 world field championship, makes his sixes debut for the United States. Matt Campbell and Joey Spallina both starred for the Pan-American team. Five-time PLL Goalie of the Year Blaze Riorden and 2026 NCAA championship MVP Ryan Croddick will be fun to watch in net.
On the women’s side:
- Three players from the Canadian team that pushed the vaunted United States to the limit at the Pan-American championship — Nicole Perroni, Erica Evans and Annabel Child — are back for the Atlas Cup.
- Goalie Paige Crandall and runners Sierra Cockerille and Jalyn Jimerson are fixtures for the Haudenosaunee Nationals. Crandall can be streaky in a good way. If she gets hot, watch out.
- Maggie Egan and Amelia Heisler played for Ireland when it finished in seventh place at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China. They’re adept at sixes. It’s new terrain for Livy Rosenzweig, who played the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s box team in 2024. The former Loyola star’s 439 career points rank fifth in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse history.
- Team USA reloads. Ally Kennedy is a two-time world championship MVP in different disciplines. Goalie Shea Dolce was the showstopper in the world field final this past summer in Tokyo. Izzy Scane and Madison Taylor have brought their Lake Show mojo to the U.S. National Teams. Star power everywhere at the Atlas Cup.
ABOUT SIXES
Sixes is a fast-paced version of the sport played on a smaller field (70 x 36 meters), with fewer players (6v6), a condensed game length (four 8-minute quarters) and a 30-second shot clock.
Developed in 2021 by World Lacrosse to facilitate the growth of the game internationally and best position the sport for its return to the Olympics as a medal sport for the first time in a century, the discipline can best be described as a hybrid of box and field lacrosse.
New this year at the Atlas Cup: VIP field-level sideline seating with bar service and many more perks. You’ll never see sixes the same again.
Here’s a great article by First Class Lacrosse on the strategic nuances of sixes.
Play Huge
A massive sectional wall built by USA Lacrosse's Joe Atkinson and painted by street artist James McMenamin awaits your reps.
Photo Credit: Keith Sneddon
ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
Oh, it’s a scene.
USA Lacrosse is running it back with a DJ on the field, partner activations and fan zones. Things to do:
- “Play Huge” and sharpen your skills with STX on a massive sectional wall built by USA Lacrosse’s Joe Atkinson and painted by renowned muralist and street artist James McMenamin aka "Glossblack."
- Prop yourself up on the massive Gait Lacrosse throne, cradle a massive Gait Lacrosse stick and train for the real thing with Gait Lacrosse athletes Ally Mastroianni, Kori Edmondson and Sydney Scales (Saturday 4:30 p.m. EDT in training grounds).
- Get autographs from all your favorite U.S. National Team athletes between games at specially curated sessions on the field.
- Get a selfie with the official mascots of Chick-fil-A and the Baltimore Orioles. Yes, the cow returns Saturday to encourage you to eat more chicken, while The Oriole Bird makes an appearance Friday.
- Fill your belly with delicious offerings from local food trucks and your gullet with good booze from the Boston Beer Company.
- Bring the kids and let them run. There will be inflatable bounce houses, crafts and plenty more fun activities all weekend long at the Atlas Cup.
- Shop the latest USA Lacrosse and Capelli National Team gear and apparel, including replica jerseys ready for order at the Capelli booth.
- Lax or Treat! Wear your costume, trick-or-treat your way through the fan zone (Saturday 3-5 p.m. EDT) and then stay for a night of world-class lacrosse.
