Academy lacrosse defeats U19 National team
COLOMBUS, OH – CMA lac
rosse traveled to The Ohio State University’s Ohio Stadium for an afternoon exhibition match-up against the United States Under 19 Men’s National Team and came away with a 9-7 win.
The game was one event in a series of training camps for the U.S. Team, each part of the try-out process for the 2020 U19 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland in July.
The USA drew first blood, as Patrick Kavanagh (Notre Dame) scored his first of two on the day early in the first quarter. CMA’s Jackson Gray (Duke) would answer though, scoring on-the-run as he swept across the middle. The first quarter would end with the teams tied at two, in large part due to a four-save performance by CMA’s Michael Gianforcaro (Princeton).
CMA lost its nerves and found its rhythm quickly in the second quarter, scoring five unanswered goals before the half. Gray opened the barrage with a full field effort goal, legging the ball over the midfield lines after a Gianforcaro save, muscling his way to the net in transition for the dunk.
Owen Hiltz ’20 (Syracuse) contributed two of his own in the second, while Gray would notch one more and Ryan Essensa (Colgate) would cap things off with a low-to-high top corner step down shot.
Team USA adjusted well during the half-time break, as the defense managed to keep CMA scoreless in the third, while Kavanagh would open the scoring again and another would come from Brendan Grimes (Johns Hopkins) would tally another, 7-4 CMA.
USA went on to have another two-goal fourth quarter, and at one point, clawed their way back to within one goal. A two-goal fourth-quarter performance from Essensa would put the game out of reach.
