NYMBURK, CZECH REPUBLIC — The Israel women’s national team dispatched 4th-ranked Germany, 10-5, at Sportovní Centrum on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2015 European Championships.
The win was the first-ever in a quarterfinal playoff game for any Israeli lacrosse program; the blue-and-white failed to progress past the round-of-eight in the 2012 Men’s European Championships (Loss to Netherlands), the 2013 Women’s World Cup (Loss to Canada) and the 2014 Men’s World Championships (Loss to England).
Israel makes their first-ever semifinal appearance on Friday against #1-ranked England at 12pm local time. The match will be streamed live, free of charge, at www.ec15lax.com.
Courtney Miller (12 goals, 3 assists) and Amanda Tuck (10 goals, 5 assists) lead a tremendously balanced offense for the undefeated Israelis; 11 different players have scored goals.
England hasn’t lost to a European opponent since 2008. The top-ranked team in Europe has rolled their competition so far, dispatching Czech Republic, Finland, Norway and Ireland by a combined score of 74-7.
Friday’s semifinal is the first-ever meeting between Israel and England.
Israel/Germany recap
Written by Megan Meluskey
Today Israel came away with a hard fought 10-5 victory over Germany. Early in the first half team Israel was presented with the challenge of getting the ball past Germany’s excellent goalkeeper, Britta Goldenstein. Goldenstein came up with save after save for the Germans, forcing the Israelis to execute good shot placement and to wait for the perfect look.
However, once Israel began to play smarter and harder they were able to confidently put the ball in the back of the net. Courtney Miller (four goals, two assists) and Amanda Tuck (three goals, three assists) led Israel offensively, while Jessica Rothstein (two goals), Kimberly Dubansky (one goal, one assist), Sarah Meisenberg (one assist), Halsey Diakow (one assist) also chipped in.
Unfortunately, no lead less than 10 goals is ever comfortable in the fast moving and momentum changing game of lacrosse. Therefore, Israel decided to run a challenging stall play as the Germans pressured hard all the way through to the final whistle.
Julia Szafman (60:00, 4 saves, 5 GA) earned the win in goal for the blue-and-white.
Israeli defender Hannah Epstein played a key role in today’s game, coming up with multiple interceptions during transition. After the game, Israel and Germany exchanged good wishes for the rest of the tournament and thanked each other for such a challenging and fun game.
Additional caps – Emily Brodsky, Hannah Deoul, Marlee Galper, Sarah Greenberg, Ifat Ribon, Ellie Rosenblum, Sophia Rosetti, Taylor Roy, Leah Sherman
Mon, Aug 3 – Israel vs. #8 Ireland (friendly; W, 10-2)
Tue, Aug 4 – Israel vs. #5 Czech Republic (friendly; W, 10-5)
Thu, Aug 6 – Israel vs. #2 Wales (pool play; T, 9-9) – Video
Fri, Aug 7 – Israel vs. Italy (pool play; W, 12-8) – Video
Sun, Aug 9 – Israel vs. #7 Netherlands (pool play; W, 18-3) – Video
Wed, Aug 12 – Israel vs #4 Germany (quarterfinals; W, 10-5)
Fri, Aug 14 at 12:00 PM – Israel vs #1 England (semifinals)