Israeli lacrosse team to take on Czech Republic in quarterfinals

Thursday’s quarterfinal winner advances to the World Championship semifinals on Friday.

By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
Israeli lacrosse teammates celebrating (photo credit: Courtesy)
Israeli lacrosse teammates celebrating
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Israel men’s national box lacrosse team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship at Onondaga Nation Arena in the Haudenosaunee territories near Syracuse, New York.
The blue-and-white will meet the Czech Republic from the Premier Blue Group on Thursday at 7:30 pm local / Friday 2:30 am Israel time. The game will be streamed live, free of charge, on NBC Universal Sports online.
After three hard-fought round-robin games, the Israeli men took top spot Green Division with a 2-1 record, beating Serbia and Ireland and falling to Germany in earning a berth into the playoffs.
Kyle Bergman (8 goals, 3 assists), Chad Culp (5 goals, 6 assists) and Bryan Hopper (4 goals, 9 assists) lead Israel offensively, while Zachary Higgins has seen most of the action in goal for Israel, making 66 saves and allowing just 23 goals in three games.
Israel (4-1) then defeated Finland, 14-4, in Monday’s firstround playoff match to punch its ticket into the quarterfinals.
The blue-and-white then defeated Ireland 12-7 in a seeding game, taking the favorable No. 5 seed.
Thursday’s quarterfinal winner advances to the World Championship semifinals on Friday. Israel is 0-1 all-time against Czech Republic; the teams met in a friendly in Prague in April.
Most of Israel’s players are active IDF soldiers and participate in the Israel Premier Lacrosse League (IPLL), the highest level of lacrosse in the Middle East, with teams in Ashkelon, Haifa, Netanya and Tel Aviv stocked with active NCAA athletes competing in a summer season. For more information on how you can get involved with Lacrosse in Israel, please visit www.israelleague.com.