SPARKS, Md. — It wouldn’t be the Brogden Cup without a nail-biting finish to a game between the USA Select and Team Ontario U18 men’s teams.
The budding international rivals staged another thriller Saturday. USA trailed 3-0 early and 6-4 in the fourth quarter before mounting a five-goal rally and holding off a late surge to defeat Ontario 9-8 at Gilman School in Baltimore.
Midfielder Justin Brown (St. Paul’s, Md./Baltimore Crabs), who has played in the USA Lacrosse National Team Development Program since 2019, scored five goals to earn game MVP honors.
“He put the team on his back and played well all around the field,” USA Select coach Steve Brooks said. “He’s a hell of a player. He’s a great kid and has got a good head on his shoulders.”
A rising high school senior who will play Division I lacrosse at Fairfield, Brown scored a hat trick in the fourth quarter alone.
Attackman Miles Mann (St. Ignatius, Ill./Team Illinois) punctuated the fourth-quarter comeback with an unassisted goal to make it 9-6 USA with 2:58 remaining.
Ontario would not go quietly, however. Midfielder Christopher Rathwell and attackman Jacob Keller scored to pull within one before time ran out.
The last five games in the Ontario-USA U18 men’s series have been decided by one goal, including two that went to overtime. Ontario defeated USA 6-5 in the 2022 finale — the lone loss for the U.S. at any level since USA Lacrosse started hosting the Brogden Cup in 2019.
They’ll meet again Sunday here at USA Lacrosse headquarters, a must-see game at 8:45 a.m. EST that will be streamed live on YouTube.
The USA Select U16 and U18 men’s and women’s teams — comprised of 44 high school boys and 44 high school girls selected from the NTDP National Combine in August following regional tryouts in the spring — combined to go 8-0 on Saturday.
The USA Select teams are competing with teams from the Haudenosaunee Nation and Ontario for the Brogden Cup. Each win is worth one point. Determined by the teams’ cumulative point total, the champion will be crowned Sunday. All eight games are on YouTube.
2023 BROGDEN CUP
Friday
U18W: ONT 9, HAU 7
U18M: ONT 18, HAU 5
Saturday
U16M: ONT 12, HAU 7
U16W: ONT 13, HAU 3
U18M: USA 13, HAU 1
U18W: USA 21, HAU 2
U16W: USA 20, HAU 1
U16M: USA 13, HAU 1
U18W: USA 20, ONT 0
U18M: USA 9, ONT 8
U16W: USA 19, ONT 4
U16M: USA 16, ONT 5
U18W: ONT 8, HAU 7
U18M: ONT 13, HAU 5
U16W: ONT 15, HAU 2
U16M: ONT 7, HAU 3
Sunday (all times EST)
U16M: USA v ONT – 8 a.m.
U18M: USA v ONT – 8:45 a.m.
U16M: USA v HAU – 9:30 a.m.
U16M: Award Celebration – 10:05 a.m.
U18M: USA v HAU – 10:25 a.m.
U18M: Award Celebration – 11 a.m.
U16W: USA v ONT – 11:20 a.m.
U18W: USA v ONT – 12:05 p.m.
U16W: USA v HAU – 12:50 p.m.
U16W: Award Celebration – 1:25 p.m.
U18W: USA v HAU – 1:45 p.m.
U18W: Award Celebration – 2:20 p.m.
