July 16: Iroquois, Australia Advance to Semifinals
Running staff reports (excerpts) from WorldLacrosse2014.com
Australia Comes Back to Edge Israel 9-8
Tom Vickery made three saves in the final minute of the game, all in extra man situations, as Australia held off Israel 9-8 to advanced to the semifinals. Vickery came off the bench late in the first quarter and made 12 saves in the game while allowing just four goals as Australia rallied from a 4-1 deficit after the first quarter to earn the victory.
Australia took its first lead midway through the third quarter and never led by more than two. Israel’s Ari Sussman pulled his team to within 9-8 on a goal with 1:35 and Israel had two separate extra man opportunities to close the game, but Vickery came up with the huge stops.
Marty Hyde was the only multiple goal scorer for Australia, netting two goals. Sussman led Israel with three and Cole McCormack and Michael Grosz combined to win 16-of-20 faceoffs.
Australia advances to the semifinals and will play the United States at 4:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on ESPNU. Israel will play England at 3 p.m. and can finish as high as fifth.
(Scott McCall Photography)
Iroquois Holds Off Scotland
Scotland gave the Iroquois Nationals all they could handle, but the Iroquois prevailed 10-8 in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 FIL World Championship, presented by Trusted Choice, behind a solid 12-save performance from goalie Warren Hill. The Iroquois advance to tomorrow’s semifinals where they will face Canada at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of an epic pool play game that Canada pulled out by a 9-8 score with a goal by Curtis Dickson in the final minute.
The Iroquois jumped out to a 5-2 lead after one quarter, but Scotland wouldn’t go away. Scotland’s Jimmy McBride scored the first goal of the third quarter to cut the Iroquois lead to 6-5 and Dan Heighway scored the last goal of the third quarter to cut the lead to 8-7, but Scotland could never even the score.
Miles Thompson led the Iroquois with four goals and Randy Staats had two goals and two assists. Jimmy McBride led Scotland with two goals and three assists and Heighway and Jesse Ferh also had two goals. Scotland’s Dean Stewart made 12 saves, including a flurry of stops in the fourth quarter that brought roars from the crowd.
Scotland will play Japan at 2:30 tomorrow and a victory would guarantee them at least a sixth place finish, which would be its best ever. Scotland finished seventh in 1998, 2002 and 2010.
Story at WorldLacrosse2014.com: July 16: Iroquois, Australia Advance to Semifinals
England Picks Up First Victory
Ben McAllister made 13 saves while allowing just one goal in 60 minutes of action to lead England to its first victory of the tournament, a 15-3 win over Germany.
England scored the first six goals of the game and 13 of the first 14 to break into the victory column. Adrian Bennett had three goals and Samuel Russell had two goals and two assists. Philipp Broz, Chris Murphy and Wolfgang Griessl scored for Germany.
England will play the loser of tonight’s Israel-Australia game tomorrow at 3 p.m. The winner of that game will play for fifth place. Germany plays Sweden tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. and can finish as high as ninth place.
In tonight’s first quarterfinal, the Iroquois Nationals lead Scotland 7-5 early in the third quarter.
Latvia Downs Hong Kong 19-9
Christopher Zarins, Eli Lasda and Arturs Krastins each scored four goals as Latvia poured in 13 second half goals in a 19-9 victory over Hong Kong. Jay Wich had four goals for Hong Kong and Wai Kwan Wong mad 15 saves.
Latvia will play Wales tomorrow at 1 p.m. and can finish as high as 17th. Hong Kong will play Bermuda at 1 p.m. tomorrow and can finish as high as 21st.
Japan Keeps Blue Division Hopes Alive
Japan exploded for eight goals in the final quarter to pull away for a 17-8 victory over New Zealand. Leading just 9-7 entering the final frame, Japan scored eight straight goals to open the quarter and keep their hopes of remaining in the Blue Division intact.
Twelve different players scored goals for Japan with Ken Ikegawa (2g, 3a) and Shunki Hatada (2g, 2a) leading the balanced offense. Masumi Jinno also won 23-of-30 faceoffs. Andrew Clayton and Richard Clayton each had two goals for New Zealand.
Japan plays the loser of today’s Scotland-Iroquois Nationals game tomorrow afternoon. The winner of that game will be assured of a top six finish. New Zealand will play Ireland tomorrow at 12:30. They can finish as high as ninth.
Austria and Thailand were knotted 7-7 entering the final quarter, but Austria pulled away for a 10-7 victory. Gabriel Wagner led Austria with five goals and Klaus Hauer scored two of three goals in the fourth quarter. Colton McCaffrey led Thailand with four goals.
Austria plays Norway tomorrow morning and can finish as high as 25th. Thailand plays France tomorrow and can place as high as 29th.
Latvia defeated Hong Kong 19-9, but we are having technical difficulties with the statistics for that game. We will update with more info as soon as possible.
Sweden outscored Finland 4-0 in the third quarter to break a 2-2 tie and went on to defeat Finland 8-4. Sweden goalie Jonathan Andreass made seven saves while allowing just the four goals to earn the win and Sten Jernudd added two goals and two assists. Alexander Edena and Kevin Powers also had two goals. Anssi Kalsalmi and Jarno Aaltonen each had a goal and an assist for Finland.
Sweden can finish as high as ninth and plays the loser of today’s German-England game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Finland will meet the Netherlands tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. They can finish as high as 13th.
Italy Opens Day with Victory Over Turkey
Italy scored the final seven goals of the game to pull away from Turkey for an 11-3 victory in a consolation bracket game. Turkey scored the first two goals of the second half to pull within 4-3 of Italy, but the Italians then shut out Turkey for the final 33 minutes of the game.
Italy’s Steve Whitford scored four of his game-high five goals during the closing run to pace an offense directed by John St. John. St. John had a goal and six assists in a game that featured 21 penalties. Tyler Rinko, Cem Kalkavan and Bijan Firouzan scored for Turkey while Jacob Adoni made 10 saves.
Italy will play Poland tomorrow at 12 noon and can finish as high as 17th place. Turkey plays Mexico tomorrow at 11 a.m. and can finish as high as 21st.
Ireland took advantage of 30 turnovers by Switzerland in a 13-6 victory, overcoming a 17-save performance by Switzerland goalie Tyson Ehinger.
Ireland rallied for a win over the Czech Republic yesterday and got off to another slow start today, but closed the first half on a five-goal scoring run to take a 7-2 halftime lead. Brian Gillis scored four goals for Ireland and Tom Burke dished five assists. Juan Schmid led Switzerland with two goals.
Ireland, which can still finish as high as ninth, plays the loser of today’s Japan-New Zealand game tomorrow at 12:30 pm. Switzerland plays the Czech Republic tomorrow at 8 a.m. They can finish as high as 13th place.
Diego Spillebeen won 11-of-13 faceoffs to help Belgium control possession in an 8-4 victory over Russia. David Taylor scored all three of the game’s first quarter goals to stake Belgium to a 3-0 lead it never relinquished. Belgium pulled to within 6-4 midway through the fourth quarter, but Kevin McKeown and Brendan Murphy answered with goals for Belgium.
Taylor and McKeown each had three goals for Belgium and Matt Taylor made eight saves. Jordan Friedman led Russia with two goals.
Belgium will play Slovakia at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and can finish as high as 25th place. Russia plays Spain at 10 a.m. and can finish as high as 29th.
