LIMERICK, Ireland – The 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U21 Championship kicked off here on Wednesday with a thrilling win for the defending champion United States and a resounding win for host Ireland in front of a home crowd for the first time at a world championship. The Haudenosaunee rounded out the trio of winners in the first three contests, which featured 46 goals.
The United States opened its title defense with a narrow 7-5 win over Canada in the first game of the tournament. Six players scored in a balanced attack for the USA, led by a two-goal effort from Brennan O’Neill. Canada tied the game at 3-3 in the second half, and fought back to within one goal with 13 minutes to play, but the United States extended the lead back to 7-4 and held off a late comeback.
USA goalkeeper Liam Entenmann turned in 11 saves on 16 shots faced to help ward off Canada, while Jake Naso won nine out of 11 face-offs to help the USA control the game.
The Haudenosaunee ran away with a 14-3 victory over England to make a statement in Pool A, keyed by an 8-0 first-half run. Anahalihs Doxtator led the offense with four goals and an assist to finish with the most points of any athlete on the day. Jake VanValkenburgh made 13 saves on 16 shots for the Haudenosaunee.
Ireland impressed in front of a home crowd, defeating Germany 12-5 in the evening matchup. The hosts trailed 4-2 in the second quarter but scored nine unanswered goals over the next 20 minutes of play to grab a commanding lead. Aidan Dempsey paced the offense with five goals and an assist, including a 3-0 personal run in the fourth quarter. Conor Foley chipped in four points for Ireland as well.
German goalkeeper Len Oswald made 17 saves on 29 shots.
August 10 Results
USA 7, Canada 5
Haudenosaunee 14, England 3
Ireland 12, Germany 5
August 11 Schedule
Times listed in Irish Standard Time. The games at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. will be distributed by ESPN with the remaining games shown on Lax Sports Network.
10 a.m. // Latvia vs. Jamaica, Field 1
11 a.m. // Netherlands vs. Sweden, Field 2
1 p.m. // Israel vs. Puerto Rico, Field 1
3 p.m. // China vs. Chinese Taipei, Field 2
4 p.m. // England vs. United States, Field 1
5 p.m. // Hong Kong, China vs. Korea, Field 3
7 p.m. // Canada vs. Australia, Field 1
