One late goal and one overtime possession separated the sides.
Ireland 10 Finland 11 (after overtime) European Men's Boxlacrosse Championship, Radotín, 26 June 2026
Ireland's senior men opened their European campaign with a performance full of fight and a result that got away from them in the cruellest fashion. Finland won it 11-10 in overtime, but the scoreline flatters a Finnish side that spent much of the night chasing an Irish team refusing to fold.
Jeff Dowling's side went in led by captain Brian Gillis, with assistant captains Patrick Corbett, Nick D'Amico and Ciaron Costello. Dowling, head coach since 2010, took plenty from the performance despite the result.
The start was a warning. Ireland went 2-0 up inside ten minutes, Conor Foley and Patrick Quinn scoring, then watched Finland take five of the next six to lead 5-3 after the first quarter. Roope Jokela ran the Finnish attack and finished with three goals and four assists. Ireland stayed within range and never let the deficit stretch out of reach.
The comeback came in stages. Brian Gillis and Matt Duncan traded blows with the Finns through the middle periods, and Patrick Corbett's power-play goal at 32:06 pulled Ireland back to 7-6 before Foley levelled it at 7-7 at 38:31. Finland edged back ahead, but Ireland kept coming. Luke Coppinger and Gillis scored inside a minute to make it 9-9, and Duncan's goal at 58:11, set up by Gillis, put Ireland 10-9 in front with under two minutes left.
That should have been the win. Finland tied it at 59:21 to force overtime, and Alex Kiviniemi settled it at 66:21 to take the extra point.
Devlin Shanahan was outstanding in the Irish goal, stopping 42 shots at 79 percent against a Finnish side that fired 69 times. Gillis top-scored with two goals and three assists. Duncan, Foley and Quinn each finished with two goals.
The margins were tiny. Ireland outshot Finland 75 to 69 and won the ground-ball count 45 to 42. One late goal and one overtime possession separated the sides. Ireland will need to build on that effort through the rest of the group stage.