BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Ashkelon LC earned wins over Belgian and Czech clubs en route to a 3-3 record at the 14th annual ISB Youth Lacrosse tournament in Brussels, Belgium last weekend. The finish cemented a sixth-place finish of the 10 participating teams in Europe’s largest international youth lacrosse event.
The “Fighting Alephs” opened with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Czech club Jizni Mesto. Liran Sapozhnikov, Lidor Ashtamkar, Oran Hen Hamo and Ronen Abramovich each scored while Maxim Vaysblekh (30:00, 8 saves, 3 GA) earned the win in goal.
Later in pool play, German club Frankfurt LC topped Ashkelon, 4-1; Ashtamkar scored the lone goal for the Israelis, while Vaysblekh (30:00, 5 saves, 4 GA) was dealt the loss in goal.
Ashkelon secured their second win, 5-1, over the Belgian All-Stars. Ashtamkar led the Israelis with one goal and one assist, while Abramovich, Sapozhnikov, Natanel Voronov and Yoel Obreja added singles. Vaysblekh (30:00, 10 saves, 1 GA) was stellar between the pipes to earn the win.
The Braine Lions topped Ashkelon, 3-1, to eliminate the Israelis from Championship contention. Noam Tal scored the lone goal for Ashkelon, while Vaysblekh (30:00, 5 saves, 3 GA) was dealt the loss to the Belgian club.
Ashkelon opened consolation bracket play against the International School of Brussels JV squad. Ashtamkar (three goals), Sapozhnikov (two goals) and Obreja (two goals) led the Israelis, while Abramovich and Tal added singles. Vaysblekh (40:00, 4 saves, 1 GA) collected the win in goal.
The Israelis wrapped up their tournament with an 11-3 setback to the International School of Brussels varsity squad. Tal, Ashtamkar and Abramovich scored for the Israelis.
Caps (x6): Ronen Abramovich, Lidor Ashtamkar, Harel Ben Harush, Dolev Geva, Solomon Guangul, Oran Hen Hamo, Almog Jember, Ioel Obreja, Liran Sapozhnikov, Noam Tal, Maxim Vaysblekh, Natanel Voronov, Bar Yahalom, Gilad Yosef, Daniel Yuffa