4 days ago
9
JAMAICA’S UNDER-20 lacrosse team made history at the Lacrosse Under-20 World Cup in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea, after they defeated Ireland 10-7 in their play-in match to secure a first-ever berth to the quarter-finals, where they will face the world number-two ranked Canada.
Jamaica finished ninth at the last championship, and although they are sure to end the tournament with a higher ranking, coach Mark Wilson has his sights set on challenging for a medal.
“We entered the play-off round facing Ireland. They were the seventh seed. They actually finished seventh the last two times this tournament was held, and we were able to secure a win versus them.
“I can’t say enough about how hard the guys are playing, how focused they are, and how well they have grown together. And to really gel this team into a quarter-final is something that’s special.
“The worst we can finish is eighth in the tournament, which will be definitely the highest for us in an U20 tournament; and we still have the opportunity to play for as high as fifth.
“So it’s possible that we could break our record for World Championship finishes in this tournament, and we are definitely going to do everything we can to give ourselves a chance to continue on and be successful,” he said.
“We have an opportunity in the quarter-finals to play Canada and should we get the upset, we are talking about the medal round of games. So if we get the the big one versus Canada then hopefully we will play through till Sunday. So we will see how we do,” he added.
Jamaica took the lead after only a minute through Shaheed Mclaughlin. But goals from Jack Holmes, Boomer Staunton, and Deiter Butler put the Irish 4-1 up at the end of the quarter.
Carl Hyman cut the deficit to 4-2, two minutes into the second quarter. But Deiter Butler restored Ireland’s three-goal advantage soon after.
Nevertheless, the Jamaicans rallied with goals from Quincy White, Grayson Bromfield, and Hyman to tie the score at 5-5 at the half.
Early goals in the third quarter from Domani White and Hyman put the Jamaicans up 7-5. But Ireland reduced the score to one goal at the end of the third period when Jack Murphy and Seamus Staunton got goals for the British team in the last six minutes, while Quincy White scored a goal for the Caribbean side to make it 8-7 at the interval.
However, that was as close as the Irish got, with Mclaughlin and Stone Evans recording the only goals in the fourth quarter to give the Jamaicans a historic win.
English (US) ·