NETANYA, ISRAEL — Haifa LC held off a late rally by Ashdod on Tuesday night to improve to 2-0, while Herzliya did the same against Barak Netanya to secure their club’s first ever win at Tubruq Field on Tuesday.
Haifa jumped out to a 6-0 advantage as they held Ashdod scoreless for the first 34 minutes of the game. However, Ashdod scored five of the next six goals to get themselves back into the game. Trailing 8-5 with just under five minutes remaining, Jake Levine scored back-to-back goals to trim the score to 8-7, but Haifa was able to hold on for the win.
Noah Jaeger scored four goals to lead Haifa, while Russian national Eugene Arkhipov added two goals and three assists. Ted Bergman (60:00, 12 saves, 7 GA) earned the win in goal.
Levine led Ashdod (1-1) with three goals, while Jason Bram and JJ Pickard each chipped in two goals.
Haifa (2-0) will meet fellow undefeated Be’er Sheva (2-0) in a rematch of the 2016 IPLL Championship Game on Thursday night in Herzliya.
Later in the evening, Barak Netanya LC had another one-goal let down when their comeback fell just short to Herzliya, 9-8.
The new club in Herzliya jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never trailed, leading 3-1 after one quarter, 5-3 at the half, and 8-6 after three quarters. Jake Schuckman gave Herzliya a 9-6 lead early in the fourth.
Netanya native Ron Bentura and Jacob Milner scored back-to-back to cut the deficit to 9-8 with just under 10 minutes remaining. However, neither team would crack the scoreboard again as Herzliya was able to hold on for their first-ever win.
Ryan Hunter (two goals, two assists) led a list of seven scorers for a balanced Herzliya attack, with Latvian Raitis Zabrorskis (60:00, 11 saves, 8 GA) earning the win in goal.
Dan Applebaum led the “Bolts” with four goals.