Fireworks on the Fourth
July 4, 2008
Box Score
by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
Coquitlam, B.C. -- The U.S. boys under-19 lacrosse team got to spend the Fourth of July in a way that few people ever do -- winning a game in international competition wearing a Team USA jersey. Craig Dowd scored four goals to lead the U.S. to a dominant 21-7 victory over Australia. A stingy defense stifled the Australian attack, including a shut-out third quarter, while the U.S. attack lit up the sky with their own type of fireworks.
""First thing I thought about when I woke up was how the best way to give a present back to country is to get a win for it," said defenseman Bray Malphrus.
Dowd's first goal, an overhand shot in traffic, sparked a 4-0 first quarter run, but Australia answered with a pair of goals from Joshua Naughton and Blair Coggan. One minute into the second quarter, Gene Kehoe beat defender Max Schmidt and put a left-handed bouncer past starting goalie Adam Ghitelman (5 saves) to cut the lead to 4-3.
After Kehoe's tally, the defense allowed only one goal over the next 42:05 minutes. Matt Divers's power play score made it a 7-4 game at the end of the second quarter, but it was a rare hiccup in an otherwise smooth performance. Head coach Chuck Apel said his goal before the game was hold Australia to seven goals, a prophecy the defense fullfilled and nearly surpassed, if not for a last minute give-and-go between Naughton and Nigel Morton.
"We just wanted to be a little more patient on defense. I think were impatient yesterday. We did a better job with our slides, and our individual defense," said Apel.
After an uneven defensive performance against the Iroquois on Thursday, no Australian player scored more than one goal. Malphrus accredited the difference to the increasing cohesion between the players.
"From yesterday to today, we were kind of doing our own thing. By the time the third quarter rolled around, we really nailed what coach wanted us to be doing," he said.
Meanwhile, the attack evolved from tentative to triumphant in the second half. The U.S. found its stride when Brian Shemesh got the putback on goalie Steven Stojkos's save of a Tony Mendes shot to make it 8-4, kicking off an eight-goal run in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.
"Everyone just starting working a little bit harder. And things started opening up. Coming out at halftime we knew the offense had to step it up, because the defense was doing their part," said Dowd.
Despite a solid performance from Stojkos (16 saves), the U.S. attack gained speed and confidence as the game wore on. Success began at the X, where Matt Dolente won 17 of 24 faceoffs. One of the prettiest goals of the day came when Dolente grabbed the ball of the face-off and fed Dowd near the restraining line. Dowd connected with Andrew Feinberg on the crease, who buried a shot to lift the U.S. to a 13-4 lead.
"Most of our exhibitions we definitely played a lot better in the second half. I don't know if we get in our groove, or we wear people down. We have a lot of weapons and we use them," said Apel.
Twelve different players scored for the U.S. After Dowd, attacker Jack McBride was second with three goals, and four more players contributed two goals apiece. Starting goalie Adam Ghitelman and backup Tyler Fiorito each contributed five saves.
Coquitlam, British Columbia - Canada
Friday's Results - July 4
Blue Division
Iroquois Nationals 27, Japan 9
United States 21, Australia 7
Canada 26, England 7
Red Division
Bermuda 6, Wales 5
Germany 9, Scotland 2
Finland 8, South Korea 3
Saturday's Schedule - July 5 (All times Pacific time)
Blue Division
9:30 a.m. - United States vs. Japan
12:45 p.m. - Canada vs. Iroquois Nationals
4 p.m. - Australia vs. England
Red Division
10:45 a.m. - Bermuda vs. Germany
2 p.m. - South Korea vs. Wales
7:15 p.m. - Scotland vs. Finland
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