JULY 12 – A tale of two halves would be the best description of Thursday’s Iroquois-USA matchup. Team Iroquois lost to Team USA by a score of 17-9 after flying in that same day.
Team Iroquois, plagued by passport issues, flew the 11-hour flight to come into Israel only to be soundly defeated by Team USA. The Iroquois missed the 2010 tournament in England due to issues with their Haudenosaunee Confederacy passports; thankfully, the Israeli and Canadian governments were able to work things out in time.
The first half showed a pretty evenly matched game with Team Iroquois up at the half 7-5. Strong showings by the Thompson brothers and Tehoka Nanticoke led many to question whether Team USA is really that good or Team Iroquois was just too tired, as they let the lead slip away in the third, outscored 12-2 in the second half.
The USA nearly doubled the Iroquois in shots 50-28.
Ryan Brown led the USA with four goals. Rob Pannell scored three and also added four assists. Matthew Danowski, Marcus Holman, Tom Schreiber and Jordan Wolf all contributed a pair.
Lyle Thompson led the Iroquois with three goals. Randy Staats and Nanticoke scored two each.
Both Lyle Thompson and Tom Schreiber appeared to be injury free and fully recovered from their injuries. Both played like they never had issues.
On Saturday, the USA will face Australia and the Iroquois will face England in Blue group play.
