LIMERICK, Ireland – Fourteen teams were in action on the penultimate day of pool play at the World Lacrosse Men’s U21 World Championship, as Australia and Germany both pulled out late victories.
Australia and Germany improved to 2-1 with wins over the Haudenosaunee and Jamaica. Australia’s win was the first over the Haudenosaunee in men’s competition since 2006. Germany’s win was the third game of the tournament decided by one goal.
Wales and Ireland both stayed undefeated with wins to claim the top spot in their pools. Four other teams have yet to lose in the United States, Japan, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong, China, but they all did not play on Sunday.
The Netherlands started the day with a 12-5 win against Uganda, spurred by a 4-0 third quarter. Christian Della Rocco and Luke MacDonald both delivered five-point outputs with three goals and two assists each. Della Rocco leads the tournament after five days with 20 points and MacDonald ranks third with 14 points. Joost van der Horst also added four points on two goals and two assists.
Uganda goalkeeper Andrew Asiimwe made 10 saves.
Ireland rolled to its third straight win in front of its fans, as it overpowered Latvia, 20-1. Ronan Walsh enjoyed an eight-point outburst with four goals and four assists, becoming the first player in the tournament to record four of each in the same game. Conor Foley added three goals and four assists and is tied for the fourth-most total points in the tournament with 13. Sean Horkan rounded out an impressive trio of five-point efforts with four goals and an assist.
Sweden ran out to an 11-2 lead against Korea and held on for a 12-6 win, its second in a row to bring its record to 2-1. Jonas Hunter starred for Sweden, as he tied the tournament-high for points and goals with seven goals and an assist. It was his second game with six or more points. Midfielder Erik McCallion helped control the game by winning 16 of 19 faceoffs. Anton Berg made 10 saves on 16 shots on goal for his third game in a row with double-digit saves.
Ethan Ashley recorded four points for Korea while goalkeeper Theodore Kim made 10 saves.
Australia claimed its historic win over the Haudenosaunee, 13-7, after a dominant second half. The Haudenosaunee trailed by two in the third quarter, but Australia closed the game on a 5-1 run. Mitchell Baker totaled six points on three goals and three assists, while Lucas Koczwara also registered six points on five goals and an assist. It was Koczwara’s second game in a row with five goals. Edison Pyke added three goals and an assist.
Haudenosaunee goalkeeper Jake VanValkenburgh made 14 saves.
Germany edged Jamaica in a back-and-forth thriller, 7-6. Jamaica led 5-2 in the first half, but Germany tied the score at 5-5 just over a minute into the fourth quarter. Jamaica took the lead minutes later, but Germany scored the crucial two last goals for the win, including the go-ahead goal with 3:20 to play from Luis Stetzka. Goalkeeper Len Oswald made the difference with nine saves on 12 shots. Wynton Bastian and Leon Böhm scored two goals apiece.
Owen Stephenson won 11 out of 18 faceoffs for Jamaica while Khari Sears tallied three points.
Wales improved to 4-0 in Pool D by coasting by Poland, 12-4. Owen Braddock paced the Welsh offense with five goals while Aaron Eastwood was right behind him with four goals. Midfielder Harry Green Longin won 14 out of 20 faceoffs.
Canada improved to 2-1 after handling England, 13-1, in the rain. Owen Hiltz spearheaded a balanced attack with five goals and an assist and Ross Scott and Brock Haley both added four points. Bo Columbus won 12 out of 17 faceoffs, and as a defense, Canada limited England to just seven shots on goal.
England goalkeeper Jack Allen made 13 saves.
Monday’s slate features a trio of battles for the top spot in their pool, headlined by two undefeated teams squaring off in Japan and Puerto Rico in Pool B. The undefeated United States will try to hold off Australia for first place in Pool A while Hong Kong, China will look to the do same against Sweden in Pool E.
More information can be found at WorldLacrosse.sport and WorldLax2022.com.
August 14 Results
Netherlands 12, Uganda 5
Ireland 20, Latvia 1
Korea 6, Sweden 12
Chinese Taipei 0, Kenya 1*
Haudenosaunee 7, Australia 13
Jamaica 6, Germany 7
Wales 12, Poland 4
England 1, Canada 13
*Chinese Taipei has withdrawn from the tournament and forfeited its remaining pool play games.
August 15 Schedule
Times listed in Irish Standard Time. The games at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. will be distributed by ESPN, while the remaining games will be shown on Lax Sports Network.
11 a.m. // Uganda vs. Korea, Field 3
12 p.m. // Israel vs. Czech Republic, Field 2
3 p.m. // Japan vs. Puerto Rico, Field 2
4 p.m. // Australia vs. United States, Field 1
5 p.m. // Kenya vs. China, Field 3
6 p.m. // Sweden vs. Hong Kong, China, Field 2
7 p.m. // Canada vs. Haudenosaunee, Field, 1
