Owen Sound Athletes Represent Canada at Rivalry Challenge in Maryland

Owen Sound North Stars girl’s field lacrosse players, and one coach, participated in the inaugural Rivalry Challenge this past weekend at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland.

The nine-team competition was the first time Lacrosse Canada, featuring teams from Canada East and Canada West, played the U.S. Youth National teams.  The teams were made up of players in the U19, U17 and U15 divisions. 

The U19 Canada East squad featured Owen Sound natives Taryn Lee and Laine Nissen, who were joined on the sidelines by coach Lyndsay Brooks.

Bree Wilkins, Taryn Weppler and London Doyle played on the U17 Canada East squad, while Ella Todd was on the U15 team.

On the first two days of competition, the Canada East squads squared off against the U.S. National Youth team along with their counterparts from Canada West in traditional 10 vs 10 (nine runners and a goalie) games.  On day 3 and 4, the teams were divided in half to play 6 vs 6 games (five runners and a goalie) which will debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

As stated on the U.S. lacrosse website, “The Rivalry Challenge will celebrate the history of lacrosse in the USA and Canada,” said Amy Markwort, manager of the U.S. National Team Development Program.  “There’s tremendous respect for each other in this rivalry and we’re excited to give our young players the chance to both have this experience and explore different disciplines of the sport.”

“The Rivalry Challenge is a pivotal step in the growth and development of our national team pathway,” said Terry Rayner, executive director of Lacrosse Canada.  “Bringing together our Canada East and Canada West development teams to compete at this level provides invaluable experience for our athletes and coaches.  It’s an opportunity to measure ourselves against top-tier international talent, build unity within our program, and inspire the next generation of Canadian lacrosse players as we build towards the Olympics.

More information on the tournament can be found at this LINK

Pictured are top left Taryn Weppler, top right Bree Wilkins and bottom left to right Laine Nissen, Taryn Lee and Lyndsay Brooks