Canada Striving to Make Sixes Look, Feel Like 'Backyard Lacrosse'

SPARKS, Md. — When the Canadian women’s sixes team is going well, it’s because they’re letting loose. Team Canada wants sixes to feel more like backyard lacrosse than the structured nature of full-field play.

Nicole Perroni thinks Canada has made strides in the sixes discipline in the past few months. They earned a silver medal at The World Games in Chengdu, China, and are 2-0 over the first two days of the Atlas Cup after a 13-6 win over the Haudenosaunee on Saturday. Perroni was named the player of the game with three goals and four ground balls.

Reps will make any athlete better. But perhaps the hardest thing to learn is how to let go and be creative.

“This game is all about having fun and playing backyard lacrosse,” Perroni said. “Just stepping away from the ‘tens’ discipline where it’s, ‘This play, you cut for this person, you do this,’ and just having fun, letting the ball do the work, cutting for each other, and keeping it fun and keeping it light.”

Canada found its stride and its confidence in the second half against the Haudenosaunee Nationals, who are 0-2 this weekend despite two standout performances by goalie Paige Crandall (14 saves).

Canada scored the final two goals of the second quarter and then seven of the eight goals in the second half. The Haudenosaunee finished 0-for-6 in player-up situations, a testament to a Canada defense that survived a 3-v-5 scenario in the third quarter.

Goalie Lauren Spence was partly to celebrate for the defense’s success. She made eight saves, including four in the fourth quarter. The Loyola graduate added an assist on a full-field heave finished by Aurora Cordingley in transition with 44 seconds left in the first half.

It came after she turned to rake a Haudenosaunee goal by Paisley Cook out of the back of the net.

“I love the sixes game because it’s so fast, and as a goalie, you can’t really think about it a lot, so you just have to … you get scored on, you clear it,” Spence said.

Not thinking. Just playing. It’s what Canada is trying to do more of as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics approach.

ONE YEAR LATER

On Sept. 29, 2024, the U.S. Women’s Box National Team won the inaugural World Lacrosse Women’s Box Championship. Two days prior to the one-year anniversary of that moment, tournament MVP Ally Kennedy was lighting up the field at USA Lacrosse HQ playing her speedy brand of lacrosse in sixes.

Her one-goal, one-assist performance was part of a 24-9 U.S. win over Puerto Rico six weeks after the U.S. captured gold at The World Games.

“It’s just been a year of growth and change and a whole lot of lacrosse,” Kennedy said.

The U.S. (2-0) broke things open against Puerto Rico (0-2) in the third quarter, taking a 9-3 halftime lead and extending it to 17-5 by the period’s end. Kennedy credited the crowd for helping add a spark.

“I think the growth of women’s lacrosse is just amazing,” Kennedy said. “The fact that we get to play all year round now is actually a dream come true, and it truly feels like we’re paving a path for all the little girls in the stands right now to be able to make this their full-time job and be able to meet professional lacrosse players.”

THREE STARS

Charlotte North, United States: A seven-goal outing was punctuated by another signature Charlotte North highlight, this time a turnaround, between-the-legs tweener midway through the fourth quarter.

Paige Crandall, Haudenosaunee: Crandall faced an all-out assault from Team Canada, making 14 saves on 27 shots on goal. This continued her stellar play at the Atlas Cup, as she started the weekend with 16 saves against the United States.

Nicole Perroni, Canada: Perroni scored three times on six shots with four ground balls, leading Canada in a balanced effort.

SCHEDULE/SCORES

Friday, Sept. 26

Women: Canada 22, Puerto Rico 8
Box Score | Replay

Men: Canada 24, Haudenosaunee 16
Box Score | Replay

Men: United States 23, Puerto Rico 13
Box Score | Replay

Women: United States 18, Haudenosaunee 5
Box Score | Replay

Saturday, Sept. 27

Men: Haudenosaunee 25, Puerto Rico 13
Box Score | Replay

Women: Canada 13, Haudenosaunee 6
Box Score | Replay

Women: United States 24, Puerto Rico 9
Box Score | Replay

Men: Canada 23, United States 18
Box Score | Replay

Sunday, Sept. 28

Women: Haudenosaunee vs. Puerto Rico   
9 a.m. EDT | Watch

Women: Canada vs. United States  
10:30 a.m. EDT | Watch

Men: Canada vs. Puerto Rico  
12 p.m. EDT | Watch

Men: Haudenosaunee vs. United State  
1:30 p.m. EDT | Watch