USA 13 - Australia 10
Despite a gutsy performance from the Australians, the United States maintained its 28-year undefeated streak in international lacrosse with a 13-10 victory Thursday afternoon. They will face Canada in the gold-medal game on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBC Sports Saturday, College Sports Television).
While goalies Trevor Tierney and Chris Garrity struggled at times, the U.S. offence stepped up for the victory. Mike Powell led the U.S. with two goals and two assists, while Jay Jalbert and Doug Shanahan also had two goals apiece. Brendan Mundorf led the Aussies with three goals and two assists. Wes Green also had three goals for Australia.
Quarter scores: 5-2, 8-4, 10-7, 13-10
England 19 - Germany 4
England jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead, en route to a 19-4 victory over Team Germany in second round playoff action at the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships Thursday afternoon. The win guarantees England a fifth or sixth place finish at this year's tournament. Germany will now play for either sixth or seventh spot in the event that wraps up Saturday. Mark Reynolds was the offensive star for England as he scored six goals. Teammate Matthew Beadle notched a hat trick while Andrew Beard and Samuel Dunwoodie each added a pair. Singles went to Thomas Caplin, Joe Duncan, David Bryant, Daniel Green, Phillip Brauch and Paul Flowers. Josef Kestermann had two goals for Germany while Freddy du Bois-Reymond and Florian Kriependorf picked up singles. Reynolds put England up 1-0 with an unassisted marker that beat German goalie RJ. Degenfelder at 1:58 of the first quarter. It was all-England for the balance of the opening twenty minutes as they led 5-0 heading for the second quarter. Kestermann got Germany on the board eight minutes into the second frame to narrow the margin to 6-1 but England, always aggressive on the attack, stretched the lead to 13-3 at halftime. Play was suspended with five minutes left in the third quarter and England leading 12-3 when a heavy thunderstorm moved across TD Waterhouse Stadium. The game was delayed for 47 minutes as players, officials and fans scrambled for cover. The delay did little to stem the English attack as they led 13-3 after three quarters. Benjamin McAllister and Wil Stelfox split the goaltending duties for England and recorded 15 saves. Degenfelder went all the way in goal for Germany and turned away 35 chances from England. Neither team was able to score on the power play with England going 0 for 9 while Germany was held scoreless on two chances.
Quarter scores: 5-0, 9-1, 13-3, 19-4
Canada 16 - Iroquois 6
Paced by a five-goal performance from attacker Jeff Zywicki, Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 16-6 in a strong defensive showing for the host side.
Zywicki, a native of Ottawa, was dynamite up front for Canada and kept his hot streak alive. Also scoring for Canada were Ryan Marshall (Toronto) and Gavin Prout (Whitby, Ont.) with two goals apiece, and Geoff Snider (Edmonton, Alta.), John Grant Jr. (Peterborough, Ont.), Andy Turner (St. Catharines, Ont.), Shawn Williams (Whitby, Ont.), Colin Doyle (Waterloo, Ont.), Jordan Hall (Surrey, B.C.) and Gary Gait (Victoria, B.C.) notched singles.
Snider was a key player for Canada, winning 18 of 25 faceoffs for Canada. This resulted in a key majority of the possession throughout the game. "Winning faceoffs is a huge mental game," said Snider. "You need to know your opponent, make the mental adjustments and do what you do best."
"I'm looking forward to facing the U.S. against guys like (Doug) Shanahan and their other great faceoff guys like Kyle Harrison and Kevin Cassese," Snider said. "It will be a battle." Canada last defeated the Americans in the 1978 championships, a dramatic 17-16 overtime victory. If last Sunday's round robin game is any indication (a 13-12 win for the U.S.), Saturday's championships should be a great game.
Chris Sanderson, a native of Orangeville, Ont., played a solid game for the first three quarters for Canada, making seven saves on 13 shots. "We came out and did what we needed to do," Sanderson said. "We already beat them once, but it was a dangerous game for us. They were coming off a big win over Australia. In the past we've struggled in the semi-finals, but this bodes well for Saturday."
Iroquois Nationals captain and defender Mark Burnham said he was disappointed with the result against Canada but that he was pleased with the fan support his team received, even when down late in the game, with kids running through the stands from the Iroquois communities carrying team flags. "That was a rough one, we expected a little more," Burnam said. "We created a huge hole to dig ourselves out of, trying to come back down 5-1."
Quarter scores: 4-2, 11-3, 14-5, 16-6
Japan 11 - Ireland 9
In the other match-ups of the day, Japan jumped all over Ireland and held an 8-2 halftime lead. The Irish fought back and brought the game to within two late in the third quarter. Japan weathered the storm and came out with their first win of the tournament, 11-9 over Ireland. With the wins, England and Japan are slated to play in the 5th/6th place game on Saturday morning. England was victorious in their earlier match-up, 9-8. Ireland and Germany will square off in the 7th/8th place game on Saturday morning. These two teams haven't faced each other since the 2001 European Championships.
Quarter scores: 3-1, 8-2, 10-6, 11-9
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