New Zealand upended China in a second half outburst to win the 15th place game, 6-2, on Saturday afternoon at the 2025 World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship on Jeju Island in Korea.
China ground out a 2-0 lead at halftime, but New Zealand turned the tables with a 6-0 half of its own, taking a 3-2 lead with three seconds left in the third quarter to break the floodgates open. The momentum propelled New Zealand to finish strong with another 3-0 frame.
China only had nine shots total in the game and four shots on goal, compared to 20 for New Zealand, which needed 45 minutes to make good on its superiority across the field. New Zealand also won all 11 face-offs.
New Zealand claimed 15th in its debut at the Men’s U20 Championship while China’s 16th place finish was a one-spot improvement on its placement in 2022.
Ben Cowen was behind New Zealand’s perfect day on face-offs. Scott Cathcart notched a much-needed hat trick for half of New Zealand’s goals. Kayde Jones added two.
Xu Zhuoran kept China in the game as long as he could with 11 saves total. Lu Xingyu and He Pengfei both scored.
After New Zealand’s six games, Cowen led the team with 14 points, followed by 10 from Cathcart.
China’s Cody Lam was the team’s standout attacker with 17 goals and one assist.
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