Lacrosse World Championships 2002

World Championships report, 9th July 2002

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LAX Herald Tuesday - July 9, 2002
The official publication of the 2002 World Lacrosse Championship

Australia coasts to first victory

By Ben Spencer

AUSTRALIAN star Peter Inge scored the fastest goal of the World Championship so far as Australia easily accounted for an error-riddled England 19-8 last night. Inge's brilliant goal after seven seconds set the tone for a dominant Australian performance, with the home side rarely troubled. The first quarter, marred by a high turnover count from both sides, saw neither team able to control play for extended periods. Australian goalie Warren Brown continually halted England's forwards in the first quarter with several reflex saves, but weight of numbers saw Daniel Green and Paul Flowers find the back of the net. England's early 2-1 lead was quickly eradicated as Russell Brown and Jamie Buchanan rifled goals past England goalie Richard Smith. After going to the first break with a handy 4-2 advantage, Australia's midfield set about running the English ragged, largely a result of the brilliance of face-off specialists Inge and Matt Schomburg. England's second quarter woes continued from their match against the Iroquois, with Australia piling on six goals to two. With England midfielder Steve Talbot sent off for tripping just before half-time and allowing Australia an extra man on the field, the home side were able to score three unanswered goals, the last coming from Brad Ross with just four seconds left. Australia carried that momentum into the third quarter with Russell Brown scoring one of his six goals 40 seconds in, again a result of a Buchanan assist. England's players threatened to lose the plot as midfielder Tom Caplin received a 30-second penalty for throwing the ball at an Australian opponent and then another one minute penalty for kicking a chair on the sidelines. But goalie Richard Smith kept his side in the game with saves belying the application of his defenders. Flowers gave the small pocket of English supporters some hope when he cut through the Australian defence to score one of his four goals from close range to reduce the gap to six. But Australia's dominance of the faceoffs saw another goal added by Nathan Roost only seconds later to snuff out any English resistance. England will welcome today's bye before they play the US tomorrow.

Japan maintains perfect record

By Tessa Heal

JAPAN secured a 16-5 win over the Czech Republic yesterday, stamping itself as the team to beat in Red Division. Yoshiro Suzamra and Masayuki Kadota were best afield for the Japanese side, who maintained its perfect record at the World Championship. Suzamra scored a goal in every quarter while Kadota ran rampant around a slow Czech side. In a game marred by poor Czech skills, Japan dominated every quarter and go into today's game against Scotland as red-hot favourites. Japan started strongly with Shinya Maruyama and Suzamra scoring before the Czech team rallied with two goals. But the pressure of Japan was too much for the Czech side and three late goals set up a 5-2 lead at quarter-time. Mistakes proved costly for the Czech team in the second quarter with Czech goalkeeper John Hetzel, who was starting to show signs of a heavy workload so far in the tournament, letting in four unanswered Japanese goals. Japan went into half-time with a comfortable 9-2 lead and looked set to blow the game wide open, but the Czech team would not lie down. They peppered the goals early in the third quarter but could not find the back of the net. Japan piled on five inspiring goals to win the game 16-5 and bring the band of loyal Japanese supporters to their feet. An invincible Japan has now knocked off Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Irish too good for NZ

Story and photo by Sarah Roberts

THE IRISH team continued their dominance of Green Division with a solid 19-3 win over New Zealand yesterday. Strong crowd support and a large New Zealand flag could not compete with Ireland's clean passes, effective movement and communication. Midfielder Dan Daley and attacker Pat McKee led the Irish charge, netting 10 goals between them. The team celebrated with an enthusiastic rendition of the Irish national anthem. Players form the team with Irish backgrounds from America, Canada, Australia, South Africa and England. They will tour Ireland next year to play exhibition matches and promote the sport. "The [team's] emphasis is solely on development," Irish coach Richie Moran said. "The World Championship provides great visibility and the players are exposed to world-class competition." He credited team manager Maryellen Garvey as the team's "foundation", with the players as the "bricks". Ms Garvey's son Joe, the team's goalie, inspired her to form an Irish side for the 2001 European Championship. The team had no coach and lost every match. Ms Garvey said their World Championship success under Mr Moran's coaching was very rewarding. She received 500 applications for the team and used fundraising and sponsorship to help them reach Perth. "The team has been my baby," she said. "It's been a long road but I feel like I've finally 'given birth'." Most of the players met and trained in Brisbane but the full team only came together on July 4. Ms Garvey hopes the Irish team will soon rise to the Red Division. "Hopefully in 10 years we'll be in the Blue Division competing with USA and Canada," she said. Ireland plays Hong Kong for the second time at 10am today. New Zealand will be hoping to repeat their win over Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Park Buzz

DURING yesterday's match between Korea and Hong Kong a Green Division runner ensured one of our journalists was comfortable by bringing her a chair from the other side of the ground and offering an umbrella. Many thanks.
WHAT's this with the Canadian player asking for the music to be changed during match warm-up last night? Good to see Canadians hate Bryan Adams as much as we do here in the bunker.
ANYONE wondering what is keeping Scotland equal with Japan on top of Red Division? One suspects it could be the small vials of what seems to be whiskey passed out to players after the match. "Medicinal purposes" quoted one Scottish team official. Park Buzz fully supports the concept of mixing business with pleasure as long as Scotland doesn't take a leaf out of William Wallace's book and moons the opposition.

Dickson heroics save Germany

Story by Jason Dattilo

GERMANY rebounded from its six-goal loss to Japan to record a second victory in Red Division with an 11-8 defeat of Wales yesterday. The match was highlighted by the brilliance of German goalkeeper Beret Dickson and Welsh goalkeeper John Hudson, both thwarting numerous scoring opportunities from opposition attacks throughout the match. Dickson proved to be the difference between the sides with his quick reflexes in front of goals preventing the Welsh side from closing the gap in the final minutes of the game. The Germans started the match strongly, with Christopher MacAulay converting just three minutes in, courtesy of a strong drive from Gregory Wojtech. Despite a Welsh reply seven minutes later, Germany found themselves ahead again after some crisp passing resulted in a Florian Kriependorf goal. However, redemption was only one minute away for the Welsh as they levelled scores again thanks to Craig Caputo. Wales started the second quarter in exciting fashion, scoring a goal in the first minute which was quickly followed by a superb long goal from Eric Jones. But the Germans hung on and replied with three goals of their own to go into half time on level terms with the Welsh at 5-5. The third quarter was the turning point of the match with Germany scoring three goals to one, two coming from the tireless efforts of MacAulay who finished with six goals, his last coming just four seconds from full-time. Gavin Chamberlain top scored for Wales with four goals. Wales paid a heavy price for a lop-sided 13-4 foul count, being forced to play a man down on several occasions. Despite the loss Wales coach Ray Nash said he was pleased with his team's effort and endeavour. He said Wales had their chances. "Germany are one of the best teams and we created plenty of chances," Nash said. "We need to work on our finishing but overall there were lots and lots of positives."

Korea regain form with massive win

By Jessica Vanderende

KOREA bounced back from Sunday's defeat to the Irish to convincingly beat Hong Kong 19-3 yesterday. The first thirty seconds of the match were an indication of what was to come, with Korea winning the face-off and quickly finding the back of the net through the stick of Cortland Kyoung-Jin Kim. Korea made the most of Hong Kong's poor passing skills and high turnover rate and would have held a more substantial lead at quarter time if it weren't for Hong Kong goalkeeper Kwan Pak Yip's athletic saves. Hong Kong opened their scoring in the second quarter with a shot from player/coach Greg Pilarowski but had problems forming attack on the few occasions they gained possession. By the second half Hong Kong's defence was tighter and Korea did not have a clear path to goals. However, Korean domination in the face-offs meant their attacking style of play continued. Korea's head coach John Haus said face-offs had been a major problem during their loss to Ireland and they had worked on improving that aspect of their game. "It was a great job," he said. "We had a late game yesterday and after that loss we had to come back with enthusiasm this morning." Korea's Kyoung-Jin Kim and Sung-uk Hwang starred with seven goals and six goals respectively and Haus applauded their efforts. "They've done a nice job for us," he said. "[Kyoung-Jin Kim] has a lot of experience and [Hwang] has played in the States, so their experience is really valuable to us." In the final quarter Korea took advantage of a tired Hong Kong defence, winning many physical clashes against larger players. They added a further eight goals to the tally to crush the spirit of Hong Kong. But Hong Kong refused to show their disappointment after the match and both teams showed great camaraderie as they posed for photographs together.

Sharp Canadians crush Iroquois

By Rhonda Plenty

CANADA steamrolled a shell-shocked Iroquois Nationals with a stunning 20-8 win. A brilliant hip shot from Canadian star Paul Gait two minutes in set the tone for the game with attacker John Grant Jr. bringing up the rear with five assists. Consistent centre feeds from Canadian midfielder Gavin Prout kept the team focused after confusing referee calls kept the game going after the first quarter time had been called. The Iroquois lost momentum and the game began to take on the tell-tale chain of events seen in their previous two contests. Iroquois goalie Chris Hopps was in fine form to deflect the onslaught of balls from Canada but also lost form in the final half. Canadian head coach Frank Nielsen said sharp defence and a stabilised offense kept them one step ahead of the game and will be part of the strategy against their arch rivals USA tomorrow. "The USA game will tell us how much we've learnt, it's their game," Nielsen said. Assistant coach Bill Bjorness will be lamenting some of the referee calls made as he jeered and heckled throughout the game with one Iroquois player demanding the ball after a questionable technical foul. Mr Bjorness sai the Iroquois will have to pull out all the stops to go against the odds and beat Australia tomorrow.

Scottish make it three in a row

By Ben Anderson

SCOTLAND made it three wins in a row yesterday with a 10-5 win over Sweden. Three quick goals to the Swedes at the start of the match gave their fans reason to cheer. Scotland regrouped and kept the ball in their half for the rest of the quarter but were unable to capitalise, scoring only one goal. Two spectacular saves by Scottish goalie Ethan Harris kept Sweden's lead to just two at quarter time. Donaghy scored his second to level the scores at three all, but a goal from Jeremy Hobbs saw Scotland grab the lead as half time approached. Scotland's defence was the difference between the two teams, keeping Sweden goalless in the second quarter. John Sagrelius goaled for Sweden in the first minute of the second half, again levelling the scores. The rest of the quarter belonged to Scotland who scored four goals, including a long range shot from Zac Aitken. Doucette scored Sweden's fifth goal half way through the last quarter, but it was not enough to trouble Scotland. Scotland coach Phil Collier said he was happy with his team's performance despite a tight first quarter. "We moved the ball better and our goalie had a good game," Collier said. Scotland now faces difficult matches against the two Red Division favourites Germany and Japan. "Japan will be the toughest game," Collier said. "I think they will give the fifth placed team a run for their money."

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