The U.S. (3-2) advances to play the second-seeded Iroquois (3-1) in the semifinal round at 8 p.m. (1 p.m. EST) on Thursday in Finland. The Iroquois beat the U.S. 15-13 on Tuesday in both teams’ final pool play game. It was the first time an Iroquois Nationals team defeated the U.S. in international field competition.
In what was the U.S. under-19 men’s national team’s final tune-up before the challenge that lies ahead for a gold medal – a rematch Thursday against the Iroquois in the semifinals and a potential rematch with Canada in the title game – Team USA breezed past Germany 22-2 on Wednesday in a quarterfinal game at the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships.
Matt Kavanagh tallied four goals and two assists while Connor Buczek also had four goals and Kyle Keenan had two goals and three assists. U.S. goalie Kyle Turri started the game in net, making one save. Zach Oliveri played the second half as the U.S. defense was not largely tested.
“After yesterday, with a heartbreak like that in a game where we really thought if we did a few things better we could have won, coming out here today was good,” U.S. midfielder Mike Tagliaferri said. “Just to clear you mind a little bit, clear the air, fresh start. We got three more games. We knocked one down, so two to go.”
On Tuesday night, several hours after that loss – the first ever for a U.S. team to the Iroquois in international field competition – the U.S. team held a players’ only meeting for about two hours, discussing what happened and plans for rebounding in the medal rounds.
laxbuzz
