Israel claimed the Bronze Medal after downing Scotland 21-13 at the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship on Saturday night in Saskatoon.
After getting down early in the game, Israel was able to come back and led for most of the game. It was quite the same result when these two teams first met during round robin when Israel won 14-11.
Haakon Steen had a huge game for Israel with three goals and nine points, while Erik Tomkins finished with five goals and eight points.
Unusual Start
This game got off to an unusual start. Israel was called for delay of game before the ball even dropped for not coming to the bench in a timely manner to start the game.
On the power play, Scotland got on the board first off a goal from Nolan Eastwood 1:08 into the game. Eastwood struck again at 10:21 as he tip-toed the crease to make it 2-0 for Scotland.
Israel got on the board on the power play at 6:23 on a low shot from Erik Tompkins. Benjamin Reidy would go airborne at 5:39 to tie up the game.
At 4:44, Josh Fodchuk would give Israel the lead on transition. Easton Berns would make it 4-2 for Israel off of a rebound. Jaxson Baker rounded out a five-goal run for Israel 24 seconds later on the power play.
Shorthanded, Zane Fletcher fakes a behind-the-back shot and went forehand with 54.2 seconds left on the clock to get Scotland within two 5-3. It was the first of four goals in the last minute.
Berns scored for Israel with 31.4 seconds on the clock on the power play. Grady Holmes would then fend off a pair of defenders and found Fletcher for the goal with 18.6 seconds left.
A long shot by Tomkins with 5.6 seconds left to make it 7-4 for Israel for the first.
Scotland Staying Within Striking Distance
Flying down the wing, Fodchuk would extend Israel’s lead to 8-4 at 11:55. Holmes would reply on the delayed penalty at 11:04.
Berns once again found the back of the net for Israel to make the score 9-5 at 10:10. Tompkins added Israel’s 10th goal on a two-man advantage at 9:19.
Calem McAndrew would get Scotland back within four with a shot from the top of the crease at 6:29. Fodchuk would reply with 2:00 left on a breakaway to make it 11-6.
Cameron Fewster cut into the middle for Scotland’s seventh goal. However, with 31 seconds left in the half, Haakon Steen scored for Israel to take a 12-7 lead at the half.
Israel Takes Control
Baker got the scoring going in the second half with a power play goal for Israel at 12:13. Fletcher responded for Scotland at 11:55, crashing the crease to make it 13-8.
Ariel Soler-Camiel took a hit but scored for Israel with 9:00 left to play in the third as they took a 14-8 lead.
While four-on-four, Fodchuk scored for Israel at 6:36. Scotland replied on the power play with Jack Bamford scoring from long range down the middle to make it 15-9 heading into the fourth quarter
Israel Takes Bronze
Fourteen seconds into the fourth quarter, Steen scored from close range to put Israel ahead 16-9.
Scotland came right back to 12:44 when Matt McCarron buried a breakaway shot. Sixteen seconds later Steen’s pass was deflected and went into the net.
Walking out of the corner, Tompkins buried a shot at 10:15 to make the score 18-10.
At 9:31, Fletcher picked up a loose ball and found the back on the net for Scotland’s 11th goal.
The back-and-forth battle continued with Fodchuk scoring at 8:34 from a shot at the side of the net.
A long outlet pass from Alfie West at 7:57 to Fewster for the transition goal made it 19-12. Tomkins replied right back at 7:11 to restore the eight-goal lead.
At 3:18, Fletcher picked up his own rebound and jumped from the back of the net for Scotland to make it 20-13.
Israel finished off the game with a goal from Berns at 1:17 as they won the bronze medal by a score of 21-13.
Top Scorers
Israel
Haakon Steen, 3g 6a
Erik Tomkins, 5g 3a
Easton Berns, 4g 3a
Scotland
Zane Fletcher, 4g 3a
Cameron Fewster, 3g 1a
Grady Holmes, 1g 2a
Jack Bamford, 1g 2a
Nolan Eastwood, 2g 1a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9pm (ET) on eopsports.com
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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