Day four of the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship featured a series of high-stakes games in the playoff race led by Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica all improving to 3-0.
Germany and Hong Kong, China delivered in must-win games to keep their playoff hopes alive, while the Netherlands and France took solid steps towards their own playoff aspirations.
It was also an electric night at USD Torero Stadium with nearly 6,000 fans in attendance who were treated to an epic battle between the United States and Haudenosaunee that went to the wire in a 9-7 win as the USA moved to 3-0.
The Haudenosaunee led in the third quarter and even after the United States threw a haymaker with a four goal run, answered back to cut the lead to 7-6 with over eight minutes to play.
Kieran McArdle answered the call for the USA with a team-high five points with three goals and two assists. TD Ierlan was also a perfect 14-14 on face-offs.
The Czech Republic enjoyed itself in a 12-7 win over Sweden for its first win in San Diego, featuring a memorable hidden ball trick goal.
The Czech Republic opened on a 10-0 run and was led by Pavel Srch with four goals.
The Netherlands took care of Korea in a 12-3 victory to improve to 2-1 and firm its grip on second place in Pool F.
Jake Bowman tallied three goals and an assist and Alderik van der Heyde chipped in three goals.
The Netherlands defense held Korea to 10 shots total.
Puerto Rico had just enough in the tank to outlast a spirited effort from the Philippines in a tense 9-7 win to improve to 3-0 in Pool C.
The Philippines led by a goal early in the second half but Puerto Rico delivered a four-goal run to lead 8-5. The Philippines scored two goals in the final minutes to cut the lead to one, but ran out of time before Puerto Rico tacked an insurance goal.
Brandon Aviles had three goals for Puerto Rico and Russell Melendez added two goals and an assist.
Canada picked up its first win at the championship after two days off with a 10-3 rebound against Australia in Pool A.
Curtin Dickson and Dyson Williams both recorded a statline of three goals and an assist and Jeff Teat added one goal and four assists.
Brett Dobson was outstanding in goal, making 10 saves on 13 shots faced.
Mexico also put its first result in the win column after racing past Austria, 15-5, keeping its playoff hopes alive in a chaotic Pool E.
Will Cabrera sparked the offensive explosion with four goals and an assist.
Klaus Hauer scored a hat trick in defeat for Austria.
Hong Kong, China roared back to life with a crucial 9-7 win over Scotland, which was previously 2-0, to inject drama in the race for second in Pool E.
Hong Kong, China moved to 1-1, but is just a half game back of Scotland with a game in hand.
The rollercoaster of a game featured seven lead change.
Scotland tied the game with Daniel McQuade’s fifth goal in the fourth quarter, but Hong Kong pulled away with the help of two points from Logan Ip. He finished the game with four goals and an assist. Marco Fung did his part in goal for Hong Kong, making nine saves on 16 shots faced.
Japan put the rest of the field on notice with its third win in a row and its most impressive yet, downing Wales 14-1 in another complete performance.
Ten different players got on the scoresheet for Japan, and San Diego points leader Shinya Tateishi continued his scorching form with three goals and three assists.
Japan limited to Wales to just eight shots overall.
France picked up its second win in a row with a dominant third quarter to pull away from Uganda in a 13-5 victory.
Uganda tied the game at 4-4 less than a minute into the second half, but France ripped off nine consecutive goals to stake its claim on the second spot in Pool B.
James Barlow set the single game tournament-high with five assists, and Alex Morghese scored five goals.
Yosef Ngowe scored the first goal for Uganda.
Ireland won an instant classic against Latvia in double overtime, 8-7, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in Pool F.
Tadhg O’Riordan scored the walk-off winner on an assist from Conor Foley, his third of the game. Ruairi Dunbar won nine of 11 face-offs.
Latvia goalkeeper Ryan Richters turned in one of the performances of the championship in defeat, making 16 saves on 24 shots on goal.
Jamaica also improved to 3-0 in Pool D with a trademark 6-4 win over Poland, featuring stifling defense – the team has held its opponents to five goals or fewer in each game.
Khairi Sears was a two-way force again for Jamaica with two goals, an assist and three caused turnovers, while goalkeeper Nate McPeak made nine saves on 13 shots on goal.
Poland’s goalkeeper Christian Dzwilewski made 11 saves on 17 shots in 53 minutes before exiting the game with an injury.
Germany delivered a timely performance in Pool D to ward off New Zealand for 9-6 win behind a 6-0 run in the third quarter.
The win improved Germany to 2-1 and second place in the pool. Lasse Volquardsen had his fingerprints on the win, with two goals and an assist all coming in the third quarter.
