SAN DIEGO, California — Marietta College head men's lacrosse coach Ben Suchomma recently returned from the 2023 World Men's Lacrosse Championships, held in San Diego, California.  Suchomma was the assistant coach of the Puerto Rico national men's lacrosse team, which made its second ever appearance at the World Championships. He helped guide Puerto Rico to a tenth-place finish among 30 teams.
 
Suchomma began his involvement with Puerto Rico Lacrosse last summer when the national team hired Alec Jernstedt as the head coach.  Suchomma was an assistant to Jernstadt at Grove City College.

From June 21 to July 1, more than 100 total games were played during the event hosted by San Diego State University and the University of San Diego.  "I was proud of the resiliency our team," said Suchomma.  "They had to play many games in such a short amount of time. There's not a lot of time to reset and refresh.
 
Puerto Rico competed in Pool C and had to face off against Czech Republic, Sweden, the Philippines, and Israel, with the top two teams from the pool advancing to the 12-team playoffs.  This group was nicknamed the "Pool of Death" because 3 out of the 5 teams finished top 10 in the last World Championships. (Philippines 10th, Puerto Rico 8th, Israel 7th).
 
Puerto Rico opened the event with 14-6 win over the Czech Republic, ending the game on a 5-0 run.  They followed that with a convincing 16-4 win over Sweden.  Two players, Blake Behlen and Kevin Lewis, recorded four goals apiece.  The team was also collected 24 ground balls in the match.  Puerto Rico then improved to 3-0 the next day with a tense 9-7 victory or the Philippines, setting up a battle of unbeatens the next day with Israel.
 
Unfortunately, Israel proved to be a worthy opponent and defeated Puerto Rico 12-6 to claim a playoff spot as the pool winner.  "It was a close game all the way up until the 4th quarter," said Suchomma. "That quarter got away from us, and Israel pulled ahead."  Despite the loss, Puerto Rico's 3-1 record and strong goal differential meant the team locked a playoff spot as well.
 
Puerto Rico faced a tough squad from England in round one of the tournament.  They forced an overtime period after ending the fourth quarter tied at six.  Puerto Rico goalkeeper Will Mark made nine saves, none more important than his save of a point-blank shot in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter as he fell to his back.  England was able to find the net in the bonus period to earn a dramatic 7-6 win, knocking Puerto Rico from the championship.
 
"The team was very excited to play a team like England in the first game after pool play," said Suchomma. "They wanted a shot at one of the top 5 teams in the world to prove what they could do. Although we fell short in overtime, I think we stood our ground and represented the country of Puerto Rico well."
 
Puerto Rico began the next day in placement play and defeated Netherlands 12-2 in a battle between two teams that exited the first round of the playoffs.  Puerto Rico would then upset Ireland the following day, 7-6, to ensure the team would finish the top-10.  "After the close loss to England, it was really special to see the guys reset and defeat two great teams," said Suchomma.
 
Despite being down 9-2 at the half in the 9th-place game against Italy, Puerto Rico made a furious comeback only to fall one goal short. With the 10-9 defeat, Puerto Rice would claim tenth place.  "Our guys never go down without a fight," said Suchomma of his team.  "We ended coming all the way back to make it 9-8 with a chance to win it at the end."  Suchomma also stated that, despite the loss, their tenth-place finish automatically qualified Puerto Rico for the next World Championships.
 
"Overall, it was a really special experience to be a part of the World Championships," said coach Suchomma. "It's awesome to see how the game of lacrosse can connect people from all different walks of life. I think it was unique to see countries from all different parts of the world come together and play for something bigger than themselves."