World Mens Lacrosse Championship: Hong Kong to battle for 13th place after testing Germany
Hong Kong were outgunned by Germany at the World Men’s Lacrosse Championship, losing 10-6 in their second play-off match in San Diego on Wednesday.
Having qualified for the first time for the tournament’s top-14 play-offs, the Hongkongers’ defeat by Haudenosaunee had sent them into the matches to decide the minor placings, starting with a clash with the world No 9 Germans.Ranked 18 places below their opponents, Hong Kong were very much in contention. After trailing 1-0, Logan Ip’s 13th goal of the tournament restored parity for the city only for the Germans to put the next four past Hong Kong goalkeeper Wesley Wong to assert control.
However, Hong Kong then scored three in a row to bring it back to 5-4. Dash Tsai got one just before half-time, before Liam Ferris and Tony Ko, both assisted by Ip, netted in the opening minutes after the restart.
Evan Mok-Lamme claimed another for Hong Kong in the fourth quarter after Germany had pulled away, with Tsai’s second of the day adding to the scoreline’s respectability.
“Playing five games in a row has been a big challenge for us in terms of our conditioning and readiness,” Kelvin Mak Ho-chun, the Hong Kong captain, said.
“Germany are a good team, and we lagged behind them a bit in various aspects.”
The defeat, Hong Kong’s third of the tournament, determined that they will now play the Netherlands on Friday to decide who will take 13th place in the 30-team event. Hong Kong, who are guaranteed their best ever finish, were 27th in the last tournament, in Israel in 2018, and 22nd in Colorado four years earlier.
Top four tournament seeds the United States, Canada, Haudenosaunee and Australia all advanced to the semi-finals. Reigning champions the US will play Australia for a final berth, while three-time champions Canada will take on Haudenosaunee.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1moaeenHqsu82gZpqqpJ6wrbGObGlrbWhohXDDzqujnWWdmru0ecuamquno6iybq%2FHmqSpoZ%2BjwKm1z2afqKaXYriwusZmmZqspKGybn2SrZ9mqJyWsKZ5wJ%2BrnqpdqbK0wMinnmaflae6orrY