Australia overcame a hot start from England to secure an 8-4 win in its opening match at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Pool A action at USD Torero Stadium on Thursday night.
England came out swinging and jumped to a 3-0 lead. It took Australia until the halfway through the second quarter to get on the board.
Australia recovered, tying the game by the end of the first half, and running away in the second half with what ended up being an 8-0 run across the middle of the game.
“It’s a big rivalry, huge between the two countries,” said goalkeeper Sean Aaron. “They got off to a couple goals early but we knew that if we played our style we would come back. It was a really great night and a good way to start the tournament off.”
Aaron posted one of the best statlines of a goalkeeper of the championship so far with 11 saves on 15 shots on goal, but he was quick to praise the defense.
“The defense did an absolutely incredible job tonight,” said Aaron. “They limited quality looks and made life easy. We kept feeding the ball to the offense and knew that they would take care of things.
Australia put 14 of its 18 shots on goal while England took 25 shots on the night with 15 on goal, where Aaron did his part. It was an efficient night from Australia all-around, as the team won 10 of the 13 face-offs. The trio of Isaac Cahill, Matt Heuston and Connor McDonough combined to shoot 7-9 on the night.
“Really, the defense played incredibly, and it was everybody in front of us,” emphasized Aaron. “The attackers were causing havoc between the lines and getting the ball back. It was a fantastic team win and the guys in front should get the credit.”
Australia is now tied atop Pool A with the United States, and the two teams will face off on Friday night at 7 p.m. PT at USD Torero Stadium.
