This year marks the 25th anniversary of USA Lacrosse. To celebrate, we’re revisiting some of our favorite magazine stories of the USA Lacrosse era on the 25th of each month. This story ran in the September 2014 issue of the magazine.

YES, CANADA DEFEATED THE U.S. on American soil.

But the enduring legacy of the 2014 world lacrosse championship — USA Lacrosse hosted 38 nations, a record at the time — was that for the first time ever a team from Africa competed on the international stage.

TEEING OFF ON THE 18TH HOLE at the Village Club of Sands Point, Rodney Dumpson had one of those rare moments when the world makes perfect sense.

The private golf course had lush greens and breathtaking views of Hempstead Harbor and the Manhattan skyline. A wealthy Long Island enclave, the Sands Point peninsula inspired the fictional East Egg of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” a century ago.

It’s also just a stone’s throw from the Port Washington public housing project where Dumpson grew up.

There was an instant attraction when Melinda Wright first picked up a lacrosse stick in seventh grade. It was almost magnetic.

Growing up in New Haven, Conn., Wright soon established herself as a sought-after prospect. She dreamed of playing for Feffie Barnhill at William & Mary, but she spurned programs that recruited her heavily to walk on at Cornell, where the Africana Studies program was an incomparable draw. Cornell was one of the few universities in the early 1990s to have a reputable program.

As the game clock hit 0:00 at Maryland’s Byrd Stadium, eager children began shuffling across the bleachers toward the home and away tunnels. The goal was to snag a piece of equipment from members of the Princeton men’s lacrosse program — a team on its way to another national title game in the 2000 final four.

Among the hordes of youth lacrosse players were Harry and Thomas Alford, natives of Washington, D.C., looking for gloves from Tigers’ star Damien Davis — one of NCAA lacrosse’s lone Black stars — or anyone that would offer up some of their gear.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of USA Lacrosse. To celebrate, we’re revisiting some of our favorite magazine stories of the USA Lacrosse era on the 25th of each month.

REPORT THE STORY, they say. Don’t become part of it.

But in the case of Connor McKemey, we are inextricably linked.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Shooters shoot. Even if they aren’t falling, a shooter can only get back into a rhythm by staying the course and taking what’s given.

Justin Guterding had been going through the motions of a rare shooting slump at The World Games. In three Group A contests, Guterding tallied four goals on 21 shots — an unsightly mark of 19 percent.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Adam Ghitelman’s voice carries — far.

It’s not hard to hear the gruff echoes of his instructions as he calls out cutters. He does it on the field, in the goal and on the sideline. It doesn’t matter if he’s involved in the play or observing from a distance. When it comes to defense, he’s the U.S. men’s Sixes team’s eyes and ears.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Andy Shay said he couldn’t hear it from his position on the sideline. Just about everyone else seated at PNC Field could.

During a transition chance for the U.S. men’s Sixes team on Saturday, Conrad jogged slowly up the field. In the 100-degree Alabama heat, he was using a few precious seconds to re-energize. Great Britain’s Ryan Hunns pointed to him with his stick some 20 yards away.

“He doesn’t want the ball!” Hunns yelled.

It was clear as day. So was Conrad’s response.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jack Kelly wasn’t necessarily surprised by much during the first game of Group A play during The World Games.

Germany, the opponent of the U.S. men’s Sixes team, provided little challenge, as the U.S. poured in 27 goals in a 27-10 win. Eleven of the 12 players on the roster scored, and that includes goalie Adam Ghitelman, who played the field in the first half. Connor Kirst (pictured) led the U.S. with five goals and Matt Brandau added four.

TOWSON, Md. — The underdog tropes trickled out of each team’s camp as the medal round neared

Australia coach Trish Adams said the team would continue to “punch above its weight.”

“Any given Sunday,” England coach Phil Collier professed.

The stark reality reinforced in the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship semifinals Thursday, however, is that Canada and the United States exist in a class of their own.