USA U20 Offense Finds Footing in 14-3 Win over Haudenosaunee

Box Score

The United States broke out of its offensive slump in a big way Sunday, overwhelming the Haudenosaunee Nationals with 10 goals in the final 21 minutes of a 14-3 victory at the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship on Jeju Island in South Korea.

Timothy Shannehan scored four goals, Jack Speidell had three goals and three assists and Owen Duffy doled out seven assists as the U.S. improved to 2-0 in the tournament.

The Americans are off Monday and will resume pool play Tuesday against Australia at 4 p.m. local time (3 a.m. U.S. Eastern time).

After the U.S. barely beat Canada 7-6 in the Pool A opener Saturday, its shooting struggles continued against the Haudenosaunee’s tightly packed zone and red-hot goalie Ryder Johnson (20 saves).

The U.S. led just 4-3 late in the third quarter when the floodgates opened. Speidell started the party with a sprawling back check that dislodged the stick from long pole Logan Lee, leading to a transition goal by Anthony Raio at the 5:32 mark.

It was all America from there. A rare faceoff loss by Zach Hayashi (17-for-21) on the ensuing draw was erased by long-stick midfielder Robby Hopper, who delivered a body check near the sideline to cause a turnover. The U.S. kept the rope unit on the field, and short-stick defensive midfielder Charlie Packard rewarded the decision with the first of his two goals thanks to an extra pass from Colin Kurdyla.

The Americans scored three more goals before the end of the quarter, punctuated by Kyle Bergen’s buzzer-beater to make it 9-3. They fired up the trademark USA transition game at the right time. After converting on just four of their first 30 shot attempts, they shot nearly 50 percent (10-for-23) the rest of the way.

It was a welcome sight considering the U.S. had mustered just one second-half goal in the win over Canada.

“We were getting opportunities throughout the game,” head coach Shawn Nadelen said. “The goalie, he’s very good. But we also made him look good when we weren’t getting the ball outside his frame. We talked at halftime about elevating our play. Things started to fall with about five minutes left in that third quarter, a couple nice transition opportunities to open things up.”

The U.S. added five more goals in the fourth quarter, knocking Johnson out of the game. Hayashi won all six faceoffs in the final frame, eliminating any hope of a Haudenosaunee comeback. Another positive sign for an offense still finding its footing: All 14 goals were assisted.

The defense did its part as well, limiting the Haudenosaunee (0-2) to just 14 shots, eight of which were on goal. They did score perhaps the best goal of the tournament, as Noah Snyder was handcuffed by a feed on the doorstep but managed to wrap his stick around his body for an around-the-world finish in the second quarter.

Beyond that, however, the Haudenosaunee highlights were few and far between. They had nearly as many turnovers (12) as they did shots, a testament to the stifling American defense that has allowed just five even-strength goals through two games.

Anderson Moore and Patrick Jameison again split halves in goal, combining for five saves.

“Defensively 6-on-6 our guys seem to be pretty locked into what we need with good communication and solid teamwork,” Nadelen said. “Transition defense, we’ve got to continue to work on that to make sure we understand how the breaks are unfolding. But those guys are doing a great job, from our goalies all the way through the middle of the field.”

“Offensively, we’re continuing to understand how to play with pace, but also a little more control in the international game,” Nadelen added. “Shooting is going to be such a high value here, so we’ve got to continue to dial in our shooting ability.”

Though it’s an off day Monday, Nadelen said the coaches will be grading film and working with their respective units.

“We’re here to win gold,” he said. “We’re going to be prepared. We want to get them healthy and make sure they’re ready to go for Australia.”