From July 19 to 27, 13 U20 men’s national teams descended on Wroclaw, Poland, to offer a glimpse into Europe’s lacrosse future. In seven total contests, Israel went 3-4 and reached seventh place at the 2024 ELF U20 Men’s Lacrosse Championship.
In the preliminary stage, Israel shared Group C with Poland, Czechia, and Italy. The Blue-and-White got off to a fast start, blowing by Czechia, 14-4, in their opening game behind a five-goal flurry via attacker Ofir Stern. Things did not go as well two days later against Poland – the host nation cruised to an 8-3 victory.
That put plenty of pressure on Israel’s final game against a Group C opponent. Israel needed the win over Italy to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. The moment molded the matchup into one of the best of the entire tournament.
After more than 18 scoreless minutes, Israel struck first. The team put up three unanswered before Italy responded. But respond they did – the Italians posted the game’s next six scores, amassing a 6-3 advantage with fewer than seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Unwilling to surrender, Israel never lost belief. With 1:38 on the clock, attacker Gary Felsher scored an unassisted goal to make it 6-4. Thirty-seven seconds later, defender Ethan Dicturel made it 6-5. Then with 47 seconds left, Felsher fed Stern for the game-tying goal. Almost five minutes into overtime, defender Aiden Housenbold assisted midfielder Shalev Tal for the comeback completer.
“(Goalie) Ethan Train made some huge saves down the stretch, and a massive ground ball from Shalev Tal off the great feed from Aiden Housenbold in transition was a huge moment,” head coach Drew Morris said. “The team showed heart, grit, and determination to claw back into the game late.”
The 7-6 nail-biter confirmed a quarterfinals invitation for Israel, but first the team was awarded a fourth match of the tournament – a crossover game versus Ireland that did not affect the knockout stage status for either squad. Ireland won, 11-4.
The following day, Israel faced off with Germany for a bid to the semifinals. A dominant run through the early portion of the second half was too much for Israel overcome, and the Germans advanced to the next round, 7-2. Dicturel and Housenbold chipped in the goals for Israel, and Felsher added an assist.
Israel met Czechia in its first consolation bracket pairing. The Blue-and-White fared worse in this rematch, failing to repeat success against the Czechs for a second time in the tournament, 16-9. Felsher, Tal, and midfielder Ben Goudsmit scored two goals each in the game.
In Israel’s final chapter of the 2024 ELF U20 Men’s Lacrosse Championship, it sat opposite of Poland in another rematch with a Group C opponent for the right to seventh place. Israel corralled a 6-3 lead with a Felsher goal early in the second half, but Poland wasn’t done. The hosts scored three times in a 12-minute span to knot things at 6-6. But Goudsmit unlocked the game-winner with 2:30 to play, setting Israel up for the 7-6 triumph.
Morris named Stern, Felsher, Housenbold, and Train as the team’s MVP from the tournament. Felsher was the team’s leading scorer with 11, followed by Stern and Tal, both with nine. Train ended the event with a 58% save percentage and 63 total saves in seven games.
“All of these guys were vital to our success and held down the fort at both ends,” Morris explained. “Gary and Ofir were our two most prominent offensive threats. Aidan consistently matched up with the other team’s top player and shut him down. Ethan was rock solid in goal for us and kept us in every game, as well as was a leader on and off the field for this group.”
The head coach named a couple of other players as unsung heroes whose impacts in games might not reflect accurately on the scoresheet.
“Two guys who played the hardest position of the field – defensive midfield – and did not get a lot of credit with stats but were vital to our success as a team were Alon Bar David and Idan Vogel,” Morris said. “Both were consistent, tough, smart players who did everything we asked of them covering all over the field.”
Ireland ultimately claimed supremacy at the event, conquering England in the final, 10-7. Sweden defeated Germany for bronze, 8-5.