Brief roundup of Monday's events

Between nail-biters in men's softball and men's soccer, it was a day of drama and excitement.

By ZACK COLMAN
maccabiah wrestling 88 (photo credit: )
maccabiah wrestling 88
(photo credit: )
It was a shortened schedule at the Maccabiah Games on Monday to make time for the opening ceremonies in Ramat Gan, but it still was an eventful day of action nonetheless. Between nail-biters in men's softball and men's soccer, it was a day of drama and excitement. And just in case you missed it, it's all right here: Men's Soccer There was a bevy of tight games in the men's soccer tournament, with two ties and the largest goal differential being three goals. Israel had the lone lopsided victory Monday, defeating Germany, 3-0. Sweden and Australia also registered shutouts, as Sweden beat South Africa, 2-0, and Australia narrowly edged Chile, 1-0. The day's two draws, each at a goal apiece, came in the Switzerland versus Russia and Argentina versus Great Britain matches. Israel is the only team to have already played two games, winning both by 3-0 margins. Futsal Blowouts characterized the futsal tournament Monday, as several teams marched to easy victories. The most interesting game might have been America's stomping of Estonia, 11-3. It is the USA's first Maccabiah futsal team, and it is playing in an experienced group that includes Brazil and Argentina. The Brazilians also scored 11 goals in their matchup while holding Finland to two. When the US and Brazil meet, the scorekeepers could have plenty of work. Brazil, along with Denmark, has the best record of the tournament thus far at 2-0. Denmark bested Guatemala, 5-1, on Monday. Mexico scored the most goals in a single game out of any team for Monday's action, notching 13 in a 13-2 victory over Hungary. Mexico is now 1-1 in the tournament after falling 4-3 to Denmark on Sunday. Lithuania and Australia earned their first wins of the tournament Monday. Lithuania defeated Spain, 5-2, in its first game while Australia recovered from Sunday's 7-2 loss to Israel by beating Great Britain, 5-2. Men's Softball In Monday's men's softball, the US won a thriller against Canada, 13-12. Just one day after posting 18 runs on Venezuela and allowing three, the US bats were alive again but had to endure a tough Canadian club. Canada's pitching wasn't as strong as in its Sunday outing, either, as it failed to duplicate its 6-0 shutout of Israel. In Monday's other game, Mexico beat Venezuela, 8-1. Even though Mexico put up strong offensive numbers and got help from impressive pitching and defensive performances, the US and Canada both showed between Sunday and Monday that each game is different from the last. Tennis The victors in Monday's women's singles tennis had little difficulty with their opponents. All the winning players were from the US and took their matches in straight sets. Emma Levy (USA) beat Sharon Friedman (GER) 6-1, 6-0; Emily Wolf (USA) defeated Nadezhda Shein (EST) 6-1, 6-2; Emma Leibowicz (USA) bested Olivia Tara Davis (GBR) 6-0, 6-0; and Lauren Gruber (USA) won against Samantha Leigh Stiefel (GBR), 6-0, 6-1.