Good morning. Here's the latest from the lacrosse world:
1. The U.S. has advanced to the World Lacrosse Men’s U21 Championship final.
Fueled by a four-point effort from Brennan O’Neill, the U.S. topped the Haudenosaunee 10-2 in the semifinals Thursday.
Alexander Slusher tallied two goals and an assist, while netminder Liam Entenmann made eight stops.
Alec Stathakis continued to dominate from the faceoff stripe. Stathakis went 8-for-11 against the Haudenosaunee and leads the tournament in faceoff percentage at 81 percent.
The win put the U.S. men at 53-2 all-time in junior championship competition, which was previously designated as U19. A victory over the Canadians in Saturday’s final would give the Americans a ninth gold medal.
2. Canada routed Australia for a berth in the gold medal game.
Canada held Australia scoreless until the game’s final four minutes and went on to win 19-1. Ross Scott tallied six points for the second straight game, this time on four goals and two assists. Owen Hiltz scored a game-high five goals and added a helper, and Brock Haley dished one assist to bring his tournament-leading total to 15. Goalie Caleb Creasor made seven saves.
The win sets up the fourth time this summer that the Americans and Canadians will square off for gold in an international competition. Team USA won the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, while the Canadians struck gold in men’s and women’s Sixes at The World Games.
The title tilt, which will air Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU, is also a rematch of the 2016 championship won by the U.S. in the waning seconds.
3. Jared Bernhardt continues to make headlines.
The Associated Press caught up with Jared Bernhardt, the former Tewaaraton Award winner at Maryland, vying for a spot on the Atlanta Falcons.
“I’ll say it’s been pretty eye-opening to see how quickly he’s made the transition,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith told the AP.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Michael Alexander and Kenny Brower have been playing together since fourth-graders growing up on Long Island. On Thursday, the two defensemen teamed up to stifle the Haudenosaunee.
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Former Denver standout Molly Little may have finished toward the bottom of the Athletes Unlimited leaderboard (54th out of 57), but her participation in the pro league was a big deal to the nation’s smallest state.
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The Whipsnakes have set the standard in the fledgling PLL, writes Josh Russell of Lacrosse All Stars.
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More coverage of World Lacrosse U21 action, including a full scoreboard and schedule, can be found here.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
O’Neill is unstoppable, whether or not he’s on his feet.
RUMBLIN’
— U.S. Men's National Team (@USAMLax) August 18, 2022
BUMBLIN’
STUMBLIN’
Brennan O’Neill can score falling down. pic.twitter.com/IItUekThsE
WHAT’S ON TAP
Coverage of the U21 gold-medal game and PLL season.