Once again, the path to gold runs through Canada.
The United States defeated the Haudenosaunee 19-5 in the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship semifinals Friday on Jeju Island in South Korea, setting up a rematch with archrival Canada in the championship game Sunday.
Canada beat Australia 13-5 in the other semifinal, after which the United States staged another clinical performance.
The attack unit of Owen Duffy, Timothy Shannehan and Jack Speidell combined for 21 points against the Haudenosaunee. And after going a perfect 30-for-30 in the USA’s quarterfinal victory over England on Thursday, faceoff men Zach Hayashi and Brady Wambach authored a 22-for-26 showing Friday.
Make it, take it became the refrain, as the U.S. quickly forced the Haudenosaunee to abandon the zone defense that frustrated shooters when the teams met in pool play.
After a slow start, the Americans scored four goals in less than two minutes to take a 5-0 lead and ended the first quarter ahead 7-2 thanks to a pair of tallies in the final minute. Duffy put an exclamation point on the opening salvo, curling around the goal to catch a low pass from Speidell, faking a shot and then finishing with 3.7 seconds left in the frame.
The two former club and high school teammates from Long Island connected twice more in the first minute of the second quarter. Duffy ducked under a check and fed Speidell in front to make it 8-2. Then Duffy hit Speidell with a behind-the-back pass from the point on a faceoff fast break for another goal just six seconds later.
The Haudenosauee won the ensuing faceoff, ending a streak of 54 straight wins for the USA duo of Hayashi and Wambach going back to the final pool-play game against Australia. But the U.S. never let its foot off the gas.
Brendan Millon scored three highlight reel-worthy goals. He threw several fakes as he danced across the perimeter of the crease to score in the second quarter, went behind the back for a backside finish of a Duffy feed in the fourth quarter and then converted on a hip-to-hip howitzer off a toe drag to help put away the Haudenosaunee.
Canada and the United States have met in every world championship final in field disciplines since 2012. Sunday will mark the seventh straight time that they will play each other for the gold medal in junior-level men’s lacrosse. USA is 59-2 all-time since the advent of the then-U19 world championship in 1988 and has won all nine previous titles.
The gold medal game is Sunday at 1 p.m. local time (12 a.m. U.S. Eastern time) and will be streamed live at tv.worldlacrosse.sport. Australia and the Haudenosaunee will play for the bronze beforehand. International upstarts Puerto Rico and Japan play for fifth place Saturday after both advanced with wins over England and Jamaica, respectively.
The U.S. Men’s National Team trains and plays using best-in-class products from Capelli Sport (apparel) and game-changing, high-performance equipment from STX.
In addition to these partners, MedStar Health and NCSI are official sponsors of the U.S. National Team Program. Athletic Republic and GoLiveSports are supporting partners.
Funding for the national teams also comes from generous donors to the USA Lacrosse Foundation. Help support the team.
About USA Lacrosse
USA Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is a Recognized Sports Organization of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As the governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse in the United States, USA Lacrosse fuels the growth, enriches the experience and fields the best national teams, supporting more than 425,000 members across the country.
