Team USA to Face Team Canada in September Duel in Denver

US Lacrosse announced that the U.S. Men's National Team will take on Team Canada in a Sept. 8, 2012, exhibition game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., featuring the top two lacrosse teams in the world. The game will take place at 7:00 p.m. Mountain time.

The "Duel in Denver" is a rematch of the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship gold-medal game, in which Team USA defeated Canada, 12-10, in Manchester, England, and it serves as a prelude to the 2014 FIL World Championships, which will be hosted by US Lacrosse in Denver. The U.S. and Canada have met in the championship game of the last four FIL World Championships.

"This game is a great opportunity for the people of Denver to experience the excitement of international lacrosse, as the two best teams in the world face off against each other for the first time outside of a world championship in nearly 25 years," said Bill Schoonmaker, chief operating officer of US Lacrosse. "We will be launching our ticket sales for the 2014 FIL World Championship in conjunction with this game."

The event will feature many of the top U.S. and Canadian players from the 2010 FIL World Championship and will also serve as a launch point for the selection of the training team that will eventually comprise the 2014 U.S. men's national team. The game will be the first for the U.S. national team program under the direction of new head coach Richie Meade.

"We are excited to begin the player evaluation process as we move toward selecting the 2014 national team," said Meade. "Everything we do from this point forward will be considered an evaluation. I expect tough competition from Team Canada, and I look forward to taking the field with Team USA for the first time."

"We are really excited to travel to Denver and compete against our cross-border rivals, Team USA," said David Huntley, director of Canadian national teams. "It's going to be a great taste of things to come in 2014."

General admission tickets to the "Duel in Denver" are priced at $20.60 and are available at http://tickethorse.com/event/team-canada-vs-team-usa/1218.

In 2010, the FIL named the United States as the host country of the 2014 FIL Men's World Championship in Denver. US Lacrosse will host the quadrennial event with local support from Visit Denver, the Denver Sports Commission, and the Denver lacrosse community. The championship will be held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park July 10-19, 2014. More than 40 countries and nearly 1,000 athletes are expected to compete in the 2014 championship, and more than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Both countries plan to initiate a series of home-and-home international games in the years between senior world championships. The next would be in Canada in 2016.