LANGLEY, British Columbia — The United States built a big lead and withstood a late surge by England, claiming its fifth straight bronze medal in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship with an 11-8 victory Saturday at Langley Events Centre.
Anthony Kelly, Connor Kelly and Cody Radziewicz scored two goals apiece and Joe Resetarits finished with five assists, as the U.S. outshot England 61-29.
The U.S. led 10-1 at halftime and appeared well on its way to a blowout win. But England showed it belonged among the medal contenders, clawing its way back into the game and limiting the U.S. to just one second-half goal.
That goal, a Connor Kelly tally, put the U.S. ahead 11-3 with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter. The U.S. would not score again over the final 20-plus minutes.
Matt Marsh led England’s comeback, finishing with four goals.
The U.S. was able to keep England at arm’s length thanks largely to the faceoff dominance of Trevor Baptiste, who went 19-for-23.
The U.S. finished 4-3 overall in the tournament, including the round robin and playoffs. The team fell just short of qualifying for the WILC gold medal game for the first time in history after a 9-7 loss to the Iroquois Nationals in the semifinals Thursday.
Canada, the four-time defending world champion, and the Iroquois will meet in the gold medal game at 8 p.m. PST (11 p.m. EST) on Lax Sports Network.
