What day is it? It’s the final 2018 FIL Lacrosse day – that’s what day it is!
BONUS: Check out how teams finished in 2018 compared to 2014, HERE.
Sure, we have one more game tomorrow (USA Vs Canada, no big deal), and one last line to set, but the vast majority of the 2018 FIL Lacrosse lines are being set in stone as winners, losers, spread coverers and beaters all make one final effort to win games.
Let’s see how all my predictions panned out from today, then we’ll see how well (or poorly) I did overall!
Stay up to date on TODAY’s lacrosse lines, and all of the daily FIL results, HERE!
Have you been watching games on
FINAL 2018 FIL Lacrosse Lines
Games where I picked the winner correctly will be highlighted in BOLD. Games where I got the winner wrong will be highlighted in RED. Games where I predict a score within 2 goals are BOLD on the right.
Turkey Vs Croatia – TUR by .5 goals – Croatia won 15-8, covering with a win!
Poland Vs Spain – POL by .5 goals – Spain won 9-4, covering with a win!
Wales Vs Jamaica – JAM by 1.5 goals – Jamaica won 10-7, beating the spread by 1.5 goals
Belgium Vs Argentina – ARG by .5 goals – Argentina won 12-8, beating the spread
Colombia Vs Luxembourg – COL by .5 goals – Colombia won 13-10, beating the spread
Czech Rep. Vs Sweden – SWE by .5 goals – Sweden won 9-7, beating spread by 1.5 goals
Peru Vs Uganda – PER by 2.5 goals – Peru won 11-10. Uganda covers by 1.5 goals
Hong Kong Vs Hungary – HK by .5 goals – Hong Kong won 15-5, beating the spread
Ireland Vs Scotland – IRE by .5 goals – Scotland won 14-10, covering with a win!
Slovakia Vs Austria – SLO by .5 goals – Slovakia won 11-9, beating spread by 1.5 goals
Taiwan Vs China – CHI by 1.5 goals – Taiwan won 8-7, covering with a win!
Italy Vs Finland – FIN by 4.5 goals – Finland won 16-3, beating the spread
Korea Vs Russia – RUS by .5 goals – Korea won 12-7, covering with a win!
New Zealand vs Netherlands – NZ by .5 goals – NZ won 10-6, beating the spread
Iroquois Vs Australia – IRO by 1.5 goals – Iroquois won 14-12, beating spread by .5 goals
Switzerland Vs Greece – SWI by 1.5 goals – Greece won 8-6, covering with a win!
Bermuda Vs Mexico – BER by 1.5 goals – Bermuda won 9-6, beating spread by 1.5 goals
Germany Vs Philippines – PHI by .5 goals – Germany won 8-5, covering with a win!
Japan Vs England – ENG by .5 goals – England won 11-9, beating the spread by 1.5 goals
Norway Vs Latvia – LAT by .5 goals – Norway won 10-9, covering with a win by 1.5 goals
Denmark Vs France – FRA by 1.5 goals – France won 12-7, beating the spread.
Israel Vs Puerto Rico – ISR by 1.5 goals – Israel won 12-1, beating the spread.
8 missed games, 14 correct ones, and 8 games called within a 2 goal margin, with 7 of those bearing out the predicted winner. Not bad. Not bad at all given how each and every game today was a final placement game.
2018 FIL Championship Game Line
Don’t forget about the US – Canada game. It’s Saturday at 10am, 3am US Eastern Time if you want to see it live. There will be a replay.
USA Vs Canada
Update: I was actually right! USA won 9-8, beating the .5 goal spread by a .5 goal. I set an Over/Under on Twitter at 15.5 goals, and this game just barely hit the over, by 1.5 goals.
FINAL LINE Results – USA Vs Canada – USA by .5 goals – USA won 9-8, beating the spread by .5 goals.
Pretty much perfect!
138 out of 170 games predicted correctly for this tourney. That’s just over 81% correct. Not bad, not bad at all given all the tight games, upsets, and new teams rising quickly.
The US won the pool game over Canada, so it makes sense to have them as the favorite here, but a couple of things come to mind that need to be taken into account here and they are weird. Here we go!
- During EACH of the last 3 WLC men’s field events the team (US or CAN) that has won this match up in pool play has lost the finals against the same team they beat in the pool game. History has no bearing on today – or does it? 3 times in a row is trend to be aware of.
- Dillon Ward has been playing unreal lacrosse. If he continues to play the way he has, he makes Canada the favorite.
- Canada is known for keeping its cards close to its chest, and doing different things. They have shown an ability to play fast, play slow, and use all the FIL rules to their advantage.
- The US has been incredibly strong, but they have taken some shots and do not think this is theirs by right – they know they need to work for it.
- The US is likely more rested, even though they had a rough and tough affair with Australia in the semifinals. What a great game that was!
- This US offense can stretch with shooters, dodge with multiple players from multiple positions, and play inside well.
- Canada is extremely good in tight, and has some mid-range shooters who are nothing short of deadly.
- For the first time ever, I do not see the US having an advantage in the longstick department. Given Canada’s youth (and old age) there this is surprising, but the Canadian longsticks have been superb.
- The US will need to score transition goals. I know they can, but will they?
- Canada needs to control the pace of this game. It can not become a track meet. They will certainly try to slow it down at times and take the air out of the ball.
I honestly think it comes down to something the US can not control, which is scary, and that is Canada’s Dillon Ward. If this goalie plays as well, as he has all tourney, then Canada wins a tight game. If he doesn’t make all the stops he should, and a bunch that he shouldn’t, then the US takes it, possibly by 3 goals or more. The US is favored here, but by the thinnest of margins.
Can the US break the run of pool game winner being the ultimate losers of the title game? We’ll see on Saturday at 3AM Eastern Time on the
