Vienna was going wild. The biggest lacrosse tournament in Austria took place for the eleventh time and the Austrian Lacrosse open offered an excellent starter field. From June 19th till 21st 2015 teams from all over Europe and the United States found their way to Vienna's twenty second district. Top teams were competing for three days under beautiful weather for the title of ALO champion.
Preparation for the Women's European Championships
In the women's tournament well-known names such as the Global Players, the Czech U19 national team and the SIS Flamingos could be found in the starter field and, as an excellent preparation for the European Championships taking place in Nymburk/Czech Republic in August, the Austrian, Swiss, Norwegean and Italian national team competed on the field. The tournament hosts, the Vienna Monarchs, were playing as a mixed-team, as eleven of their players are active in the national team.
Exciting games - nerve-wrecking women's final
The eight women's teams left everything on the field. Each team was able to show their best in five games. In the end the Global Players and the Austrian national team faced each other in the final - and the stadium was going wild. The two teams fought a very tough game and gave each other a run for their money which ended in the overtime in favor of the Austrians. The ALO women's final was seldom so gripping - a true thriller. Bianca Blei, goalie of the Austrian women's national team was named women's MVP. Congratulation!
Strong men's starter field
On the artificial turf, the men were hitting the field, or rather the arms of their opponens with their lacrosse sticks. Under the eight participating teams, international top teams such as the Global Players, the Vienna Monarchs, LoveLax, Tricksters Bratislava, DreadLAX, Zürich Lions Lacrosse, Team Italy, and the A-Team could be found and they all wanted to take the title back home. In the final, just as in the women's final, it was a very competitive game when the hosts, the Vienna Monarchs, met the experienced US-players from the Global Players. The victory as well as the men's MVP belonged to our friends from the states.
At night it was also crazy
Just as in the years before, the Vienna Monarchs proved that they didn't just perfectly organize everything on, but also off the field. The lacrosse players got their money's worth at night from the Welcome Party on Thursday, to the BBQ on Friday and the Players' Party on Saturday in the MMX-Bar.
The extensive Austrian Lacrosse Open picture gallery can be found on the official ALO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AustrianLacrosseOpen
