The Netherlands caught fire in a must-win game against Hong Kong, China at the 2025 World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship, storming to a 24-14 win on Monday in Seogwipo, Korea.
The two teams dueled to a highly entertaining 6-6 first quarter, but the Dutch attack stayed in high gear for the rest of the afternoon, posting an eight-goal second quarter and a six-goal third quarter to run away with the win.
The Netherlands improved to 1-1 in the three-team Pool B to clinch second place in the pool and a spot in the play-in round. The Netherlands will be seeded between ninth and 12th before a game against a pool winner with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Netherlands raced to 58 shots total, shot over 40%, and put 35 of the 58 shots on goal. While the Netherlands did commit 21 turnovers, they paid Hong Kong back in a frenetic contest with 27 turnovers induced.
On day with relatively even face-offs, ground balls, and shooting percentages, the increased volume for the Netherlands was too much for Hong Kong to keep up with.
Callum Witter put together one of the games of the tournament with six goals and four assists. Cameron Crew, Jasper Tessel and Ryker Babcock all recorded six points each.
Goalkeeper Gus von Metzch made nine saves.
Carter Li notched five points for Hong Kong, China and Baron Lee scored four goals. Andrew Ho made seven saves.
The Netherlands will compete in the play-in round on Wednesday while Hong Kong will continue into placement play.
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