Haudenosaunee suffers upset loss 13-7 to Australia in third game of pool play at Men’s U21 World Championships

Teharonhiorens McComber cradles the ball in the first half versus Australia defender Thomas Richards. Photo by Decolonize Sports

LIMERICK, Ireland - The Haudenosaunee Nationals dropped a tough game 13-7 to Australia in their third game of pool play at the 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s Under 21 World Championships. Koleton Marquis finished with two goals to lead the Haudenosaunee offense and one goal each was added by David Anderson, Cobie Cree, Anahalihs Doxtator, Gregory Elijah-Brown, and Keelan Seneca. Haudenosaunee goalie Jack VanValkenburgh finished with 14 saves between the pipes. Australia was led by Lucas Koczwara’s five goals and one assist and Mitchell Baker’s three goals and three assists. Edison Pike added three goals and one assist and goalie Lachlan Hodge finished with 8 saves on the day.

Koleton Marquis scored two goals for Haudenosaunee versus Australia. Photo by Decolonize Sports

“It’s a tough loss, obviously. We just couldn’t get it going today. We had a tough time on both offensive side and defensive side,” Haudenosaunee head coach Mark Burnam said. “We couldn’t pick up ground balls. There were a lot of one-on-ones that we could have buried and made a different momentum change and they weren’t falling.”

Australia on the other hand was clearly ecstatic about their upset win, their first over Haudenosaunee since 2006 in international lacrosse competition at any level.

“Just really excited for the boys. We speak about being in the fight. And we showed today that we were in the fight from the beginning,” said Australia head coach Gavin Leavy. “And even though Haudeosaunee came back at us late, just the composure to be able to hold out and get the win was great.”

Haudenosaunee scored first when Mason Homer found Gregory Elijah-Brown on left side 47 seconds into the game. Australia responded with two goals in a row from their duo of Baker and Koczwara, who gave Haudenosaunee trouble all day. The first by Mitchell Baker cutting down the right side and the second when Edison Pyke found Lucas Koczwara open in front of the net. The game went back and forth as David Anderson’s goal tied the game for Haudenosaunee before Koczwara streaked behind the net to find Edison Pyke cutting down the middle of the lane in front to give Australia the 3-2 lead. Anahalihs Doxtator went low on a feed from Teharonhiorens McComber to notch the score at 3-3 after the first quarter.

Koczwara scored his second of the game on a deep shot to put Australia back in front early in the second quarter. Haudenosaunee’s Cobie Cree scored his first goal of the tournament to tie it at 4-4. Australia then finished the half on a 3-0 run on another goal by Koczwara cutting inside, a deep shot from Arlen Lim, and a beautiful behind the head backhand pass from Baker to Pyke who buried it in front of the net to give Australia 7-4 lead heading into halftime.

Australia’s Baker Mitchell carries the ball against Haudenosaunee’s Trey Deere. Mitchell finished with 3 goals and 3 assist to lead Australia to the upset victory. Photo by Decolonize Sports

Australia struck first in the third quarter on another goal by Mitchell Baker spinning off the defender and finding the back of the net to make it 8-4. Haudenosaunee clawed back on a top shelf snipe from Keelan Seneca assisted by Clay Scanlan and Koleton Marquis unassisted splitting the defenders down the left side to bring Haudenosaunee back within two goals at 8-6. Haudenosaunee could never quite get momentum as Australia finished the third quarter with back-to-back goals from Koczwara as he was found wide open near the net both times to make it 10-6 Australia headed to the fourth.

Koleton Marquis struck again one minute into the final frame as he was working behind the net and finished on a wraparound shot to the right of goalie Hodge to cut the lead to 10-7. Haudenosaunee had two big missed opportunities to trim the lead even more as Marquis found himself open from deep after running over a defender and Hodge made the save. Marquis then found Piseno streaking open down the middle but the shot from Piseno hit the post. Australia went the other way and got their second goal from Arlen Lim, followed by goals from Baker and Pyke to finish the game on a 3-0 run and make the final score 13-7.

After the game Australia shared their thoughts on the importance of their win and significance and of playing Haudenosaunee on the world stage.

“It’s the biggest honor in Lacrosse,” said Australia’s Lucas Koczwara. “Absolute honor to play them, let alone beat them. We’re all at home watching their highlights. It was pretty wicked to beat them. But highest honor (to play them)”

“To beat Haudenosaunee, the culture and the game itself , we got taught by them. I’ve learned that this is their sport since I was growing up,” added Australia goalie Lachlan Hodge. “To be able to play them, let alone beat them, no offense, is such a big honor. They’re some pretty good shooters. A very impressive bunch.”

With the loss Haudenosaunee moves to 1-2 in pool play. Up next for Haudenosaunee is Team Canada on Monday, August 15 at 7 p.m. Irish Standard Time (2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) and can be seen streaming on ESPN+. Game schedule and live stats can be found here.

Follow Decolonize Sports on social media for more coverage of the Haudenosaunee Nationals and their journey at the 2022 World Lacrosse Under 21 Men’s World Championship.