Israel stuns Germany, to face Wales in lacrosse Euro semis
By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFFTHE ISRAEL national lacrosse team.(photo credit: ISRAEL LACROSSE)
The Israel men’s national team used a four-goal burst in the second quarter to stun Germany 8-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 ELF European Lacrosse Championships on Wednesday in Budapest.The blue-and-white is now one win away from securing the program’s first medal, which would be a monumental achievement for the fiveyear- old Israel Lacrosse Association.Israel (6-0) meets Wales (5-1) in the semifinals on Thursday, while England (6-0) takes on Scotland (5-1) in the other semifinal.Israel and Wales have met once prior, in group play at the 2012 European Championships.The Israelis prevailed in a 14-12 nail-biter, a victory that secured the group and put them in the Round of Eight.Four years later, the stakes will be much higher as a trip to the championship game is on the line in the rematch.The Germans, who were picked by many to challenge defending champions England for gold, gave Israel all they could handle in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.Philipp Broz gave Germany and early 1-0 lead and the European lacrosse powerhouse took advantage of Israel’s sloppy play, dominating time of possession. The blue-andwhite didn’t get on the board until the 21:02 mark. The two teams traded goals to go into the half 2-2.Israel came out of the half in clear command, scoring the next four goals to electrify the crowd and take a 6-2 advantage after three quarters. Germany chipped back to 6-4, but it could not take advantage of a number of late opportunities to close the gap, and Israel was able to close out the win.Daniel Leventhal scored an empty-netter with 49 seconds left to seal the victory.
Caleb Brodie (three goals), Leventhal (two goals), Ian Kadish (one goal, one assist), Matthew Cherry (one goal, one assist) and Jacob Silberlicht (one goal) scored for the Israelis. Eric Fischer (80:00, 8 saves, 4 GA ) was phenomenal in between the pipes.Six different players scored for the Germans, who were unable to capitalize on Israel’s penalty trouble. Germany was 1-for-12 on the man advantage.Darin Eakins (80:00, 18 saves, 8 GA ) was excellent in goal for Germany in defeat.