Gold Medal Preview

Convincing semifinal wins by Canada and the United States Friday night propelled the top two seeds into a gold medal clash at the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship. 

Canada dominated the opening quarter, peppering Scottish goalie Ethan Dalkeith with 22 shots while only allowing 5 against Shane Friesen in their net, and the result was a 5-1 lead that the Scots were never able to overcome as Canada prevailed 24-11. 

Joshua Goodman was named Canada's player of the game after scoring 4 goals and adding 2 assists to help lead the Canadian offensive onslaught. Finn Halladay had 4 goals and 4 assists while five other Canadian players totalled at least 5 points each. 

Nolan Eastwood continued to be one of the most impressive players in the tournament, playing well all over the floor and leading Scotland with 7 points from 4 goals and 3 assists. Grady Holmes chipped in a hat trick for Scotland. 

Canada will face the US Saturday night at 8:00 PM CST in the gold medal game after the Americans doubled up Israel 14-7. 

The US had beaten Israel 25-3 in pool play, but Israel put up a much stiffer challenge in the semifinal, although a sluggish start put Israel in a hole they were never able to climb out of. The US led 3-0 after the first quarter then added a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the second before Israel got on the board. 

The score was 7-2 for the US early in the third then Israel found a spark. Easton Berrns scored once and Jaxson Baker twice to pull Israel within two goals. The momentum was short lived, however, as Jackson Carawan scored just 22 seconds after Baker's second goal, sparking a 5-goal US run spanning into the early fourth quarter and dashing the hopes of a comeback. 

Carawan, Ryan Colsey and Nate Senez each had 2 goals and 2 assists to lead a balanced American attack. Jason Piechota was excellent on defence for the US and chipped in with a pair of goals and an assist in transition. 

The final day of the tournament opens with Australia and Poland meeting for fifth place at 2:00 PM CST. Poland won 7-2 when the teams met in pool play but they anticipate a much tougher challenge from the rapidly improving Aussies. 

Scotland and Israel will play a rematch of their thrilling pool play game when they meet for the bronze medal at 5:00 PM CST.