Israel outdueled Italy, 9-8, in a blockbuster final that delivered on its hype to cap off the 2025 European Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday in Wroclaw.
Israel took home its first ever title in the event to cap an undefeated seven-game campaign while Italy collected its first medal. Both teams previously qualified for the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Japan with wins in the quarterfinals.
The gold medal contest was a tense see-saw of game, with Israel leading 3-0 and Italy tying it at 4-4 into halftime.
Israel opened daylight with a go-ahead goal two minutes before the end of the third quarter by Hayden Fruhling and an insurance goal 40 seconds in the fourth by Ryan Cohen.
With a two-goal lead, Italy and Israel traded goals the rest of the way, with Israel holding off Italy charges multiple times. Beau Chetner and Sascha Gannon scored the crucial padding goals in the final 10 minutes.
Israel’s defense and goalkeeping did enough to see out the lead on a day when Italy enjoyed a 16-3 advantage on face-offs won, keyed by Angelo Michael Venuto. Israel limited the trio of John Piatelli, Brian Piatelli, and Ryan Bell, who had been an unstoppable combo previously for Italy, to just three goals and two assists total.
Goalkeeper Drew Morris did his part for Israel, with 10 saves on 18 shots faced.
Israel’s lead attacking trio of Beau Chetner, Matthew Balter and Ryan Cohen did enough, combining for three goals and four assists, but Hayden Fruhling provided the needed spark in a tight game with three goals. Israel needed an extra gear in attack to score on Michael Dominick Ippoliti, who backstopped Italy admirably with 15 saves on 24 shots faced.
Italy’s pair of attackers topped the championship points leaderboard with 37 points for John Piatelli and 35 points for Richard Bell, composed of a tournament-high 23 assists.
Israel’s Cohen was the team points leader with 23 points, but Israel’s defense was a majorly impactful as a unit, allowing just 29 goals in seven games, good for an average of just over four goals a game allowed. Morris’ 64% save percentage was third in the tournament.
Both teams will appear at the 2027 Men’s Championship alongside a European cohort of Czechia, England, Germany, Ireland, Latvia and the host Japan. Saturday’s final indicated the new 16-team format for the Men’s Championship will have tightly contested games full of star power throughout the field.
