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TURKU, Finland – A United States Men’s National U19 Team Captain and Towson midfielder, Robby Zoppo has helped lead the US men’s team (4-2) to the world championship game at the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) U19 World Championships. They will play top-seeded Canada (5-0) in the final on Saturday at 4 p.m. (9 a.m. EST) for the world title.
The US have won all six gold medals contested since official under-19 play began in 1988. But unbeaten Canada defeated Team USA, 11-9, in overtime on July 14. It was the US men’s under-19s’ first-ever loss since official competition started 24 years ago. The Canadians scored the final three goals of the game in the second 4-minute OT period last week to pull off the upset.
For the first time ever in international field competition, the Iroquois U19 team defeated a US lacrosse team, 15-13, in pool play this past Tuesday. Zoppo scored a goal in the losing effort against the Iroquois Nationals. The US led 5-2 after the first quarter and 8-6 at the half, but the Iroquois took a 9-8 edge at the start of the second half and never looked back. The US knotted the score twice, at 11 and 13 in the fourth quarter, before the Iroquois’ Hank Delisle put them ahead for good at 5:35.
After finishing pool play with a record of 2-2 after a loss to the Iroquois Nationals, the US men bounced back with a 22-2 win over Germany in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Zoppo contributed an assist as the US got out to a 9-1 halftime lead before exploding for 13 goals in the second half. The win sent Team USA into the semifinals and a rematch with the Iroquois Nationals.
The US men dominated the face-offs (16 of 22) and scored seven goals in the second half to win their rematch with the Iroquois, 12-7, Thursday evening. The two teams were tied at five at the half before the US began the third quarter with three consecutive goals and took a 9-5 lead six minutes into the second half.
To keep up with the action during the gold medal game, click here for a live, in-game blog.
