LAS VEGAS — The Six Nations River Rats participated in a full weekend of hard fought lacrosse with the Rats coming away 5-0 and as Champions of the Sin City Box Classic hosted in Nevada.
They defeated the B.C. Kings 12-1, the Sin City LC 16-6, and the Alberta Oil 17-2 before heading into semi-finals where they again struck gold.
Holden Vyse, who has been playing for over 20 years, said that he wanted to focus on home life and his career, but still wanted to play and this team was the result.
“My wife and I got the inspiration to start the team from my grandmothers softball team she had years ago, which was a mixture of family and close friends from around home so we stuck to the same idea,” said Vyse. “I actually left organized team play a few years back to focus more on career and family life, but I still wanted to play so the tournament scene is how I can do that.”
“Taking this group to compete in a tournament, shows that even the busiest person can enjoy the game competitively, no matter the situation. So I think [people] will see more teams like our pop up.”
As the scores show, the team was well comprised of experienced scorers and defenders as they were able to shut down opposing teams on both ends.
“We had a very strong team going into the tournament and we knew that if everyone did what they could, we would be successful. Luckily everyone came prepared to play and we got what we wanted.
He noted that although there are a few “faces from different places” on board, the majority of the team live within a two mile radius of each other. This made the team tight knit and equally ready to take on their opponents, as they defeated each team with heavy leads.
Last year, the River Rats also won the Origins Cup in Rossford Ohio.
