USA Overwhelms Jamaica to Stay Unbeaten at Pan-American Championship

Host Jamaica defended vigorously but could not withstand the barrage, as the U.S. Men’s National Team improved to 2-0 at the Pan-American Championship with a 16-2 victory Wednesday at Stadium East in Kingston.

Chad Palumbo scored four goals and Brian Kelly added a hat trick, as the U.S. outshot Jamaica 63-20. The score would have been more lopsided if not for Jamaica goalie Nate McPeak, the Syracuse graduate who made 24 saves.

“Props to the Jamaican keeper,” Palumbo said afterward in an interview with World Lacrosse TV. “He was playing his angles great.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to step up for your defense and fly around a little more,” McPeak said. “We put up a fight.”

Ranked eighth in the world after a surprise quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego, Jamaica has risen fast. Lacrosse didn’t even exist in the Caribbean island nation until Fields of Growth brought the sport there in 2012.

Now it’s the site of a continental qualifier featuring nine nations vying for five spots at the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Tokyo.

McPeak and the Jamaican defense frustrated the U.S. early. Nearly all the offensive production in the first quarter came from predominantly defensive players.

Short-stick defensive midfielder Aidan Maguire scored from distance on a pass back from Ben Ramsey in transition, long-stick midfielder AJ Larkin nailed a jump shot off a reset and then Maguire buried a jump shot of his own for a shorthanded goal to stake the U.S. to a 3-0 lead.

Attackman Ryan Stines converted off a wing dodge with four seconds left in the first quarter to make it 4-0.

That alone would have been enough with how well the defense played. The U.S. shut out Jamaica for nearly 40 minutes before midfielder Dante Bowen got the home team on the board late in the third quarter.

Starting goalie Colin Kirst did not face nearly the volume of shots that McPeak did, but he was equally as stout. Kirst made four saves in the first quarter alone. Anderson Moore played the second half.

Eight different players scored for the U.S. Ryan Tierney and Josh Yago had two assists apiece.

Jamaica had opened the tournament with a 22-2 win over Colombia.  The U.S. defeated Puerto Rico 23-5 in its opener. Both teams have off Thursday before wrapping up pool play against those respective opponents Friday.

“Always a blessing to wear these three letters, these three colors,” said Palumbo, who has six goals and three assists in the two games. “We want to use all these opportunities to be more connected every day.”

The USA-Colombia game is at 3:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern) and will be streamed live on World Lacrosse TV (tv.worldlacrosse.sport).