After Chaotic Finish, U.S. Turns Attention to Haudenosaunee Clash

The words of defensive coordinator Ryan McClay echoed in Quintan Kilrain’s head moments after the United States escaped Gongcheonpo Training Center with a 7-6 victory over Canada in their World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship debut Saturday.

“Play with emotion,” McClay told the team before the game, “but don’t play emotionally.”

For the first 45 minutes, the Americans mostly heeded their coach’s advice. They got an early lead, smartly milked the clock with running time and capitalized when Canada committed penalties or overextended on defense.

Then came the fourth quarter — a final 15-minute frame that was fraught with self-induced drama. The U.S. did not win any faceoffs, squandered its few possessions with turnovers or less selective shots and most glaringly committed six penalties.

Clinging to a one-goal lead with just over a minute remaining, the Americans missed two attempts on an empty net. After having his goal disallowed due to a crease violation, Owen Duffy (three goals) shoved Canadian defenseman Logan Fletcher and received a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Because Canada’s Brendan Marino retaliated, it was 5-on-5 until the final 10 seconds. The U.S. leaned once more on a defense that allowed just three even-strength goals the entire game.

Twice, the Canadians isolated David Peterkin on short stick Kyle Bergen, who blunted both dodges without necessitating a slide. Peterkin settled for a low angle shot at goal line extended. It hit the chest of goalie Patrick Jameison, who then heaved the ball to the other end of the field as time expired.

“We knew we were going to be man down for the last 10 seconds. Definitely a little nervous, but that’s the fun of it,” said Jameison, who also stopped Justin Tavares’ game-tying attempt a couple minutes earlier. “Great defense allowed them to get low to GLE. From there I just get to stand tall and it hit me right in the chest because of great defense.”

When the final 22-man U.S. roster was announced last month, it became evident that an experienced defense could become the backbone of the team.

Kyle Foster (Ohio State), Shawn Lyght (Notre Dame) and Kilrain (Johns Hopkins) are all two-year starters at close defense for prominent NCAA Division I programs. Lyght is considered the best defenseman in the country. Goalies Anderson Moore (Georgetown) and Jameison (Duke) are All-Americans with NCAA tournament experience. Moreover, head coach Shawn Nadelen opted to carry four short-stick defensive midfielders.

“I think all teams become somewhat of an image of their head coach,” McClay said at the time. “And the head coach of this team is a defensive guy. So he's going to lean on what he knows.”

Canada mostly avoided Lyght, found little breathing room against the shorties and had its hands full with Kilrain, who scored a juice goal in transition before halftime and came up with a key interception in the fourth quarter.

When the Canadians did get to goal, Moore (three saves) and Jameison (four saves) both proved capable.

“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Finding those out early was helpful for us,” Kilrain said. “Having two great goalies who will gobble up shots from the outside and getting our rope unit involved, they played their asses off today. All of us buying in, communicating and using our strengths — that’s all you can really ask for.”

Nadelen praised Kilrain’s versatility and said the Purcellville, Virginia native stood out for his playmaking ability as the team rounded into form at its final training camp last month at Cornell.

“Q had some key plays, a couple knockdowns and some caused turnovers,” Nadelen said. “And that goal — reading the play after we worked on quite a bit of transition throughout our camp — it’s good to see that come to fruition.”

There were positive developments on the offensive end of the field as well. Duffy was explosive and routinely beat defenders from behind and on the wing. High school superstar Brendan Millon blended in seamlessly with his more experienced teammates, finishing with a goal and two assists coming out of the midfield. 

But it was the defense that saved the day when the offense faltered. Kilrain pointed to himself when acknowledging the U.S. needs to stay out of the penalty box. He was flagged twice. Overall, the Americans committed 10 penalties in the game.

The U.S. can ill afford similar missteps when they play the Haudenosaunee Nationals on Sunday. In another Pool A thriller Saturday, the Haudenosaunee scored three goals in the final three minutes to force overtime against Australia before falling 15-14 in a rematch of the 2022 bronze medal game.

Rising high school senior Chase Cogan (four goals) was a revelation for the Haudenosaunee, scoring the last two goals of regulation and nearly winning it in overtime. Goalie Ethan Jaffe came up with his 12th save, however, and Hudson Robb scored on the ensuing possession as Australia avenged its loss from three years ago.

The United States and Haudenosaunee play Sunday at 11 a.m. local time, which is Saturday at 10 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. All games from the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship are being streamed live at tv.worldlacrosse.sport.