Action from Ireland v Israel at the World Lacrosse Championships
Ireland came up short in their top 16 showdown with Israel yesterday at the World Lacrosse championships in Denver, Colorado. Another high scoring game saw Ireland start strongly but Israel stepped on the throttle in the final 2 quarters to pull away and emerge as winners on a 19-8 scoreline.
Ireland will be disappointed as the previous meetings between the two teams and form coming into this match, suggested that Ireland would perform strongly. In the end, despite another great performance in front of goal from Tom Riley, who finished with 3 to his name, it was the Israel forwards who got the upper hand.
Israel’s Lee Coppersmith in particular put in a terrific effort as Ireland found themselves under added pressure late on as they had a number of players sent to the sidelines for penalties conceded.
Connor Sweeney presented with the Physio Company's MVP award by coach Tom Prior
Connor Sweeney had an outstanding performance in goal for the Irish and won The Physio Company’s MVP award as he faced down a barrage of shots from the Israeli offence. Patrick Ferry also emerged with huge credit and left everything on the pitch.
Next up for Ireland is a meeting with the Czech Republic and the opportunity to play for a top 10 position.