TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — The Israel women’s national team again rolled past the Birthright/USA All-Stars, 13-2, while Team Birthright mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to beat the Israel men, 8-6, on Wednesday night at Nave Golan Sports Center.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai was on hand to take in the action, and conducted a ceremonial opening faceoff before the men’s game.
The Israel women, who won big on Sunday night in Ashkelon, again scored early and often to command the match against the visiting team of collegiate players from the United States who are participating in a Taglit-Birthright trip this week.
The blue-and-white led 6-0 at halftime, and 12-0 late into the second half, before Hofstra’s Jenna Baverman finally put the All-Stars on the board at 19:58. Baverman scored again as time expired on a feed from Cortland State’s Sidney Oshinsky.
Amanda Tuck (four goals, two assists) was named game MVP for Israel, while Courtney Miller (three goals, one assist), Halsey Diakow (one goal, two assists), and Leah Sherman (two goals) also had big days for the blue-and-white.
Sarah Greenberg (one goal, one assist), Jess Rothstein (two assists), Emily Brodsky (one goal), Sophia Rosetti (one goal) and Sarah Meisenberg (one assist) also cracked the scoresheet for Team Israel.
Julia Szafman (50:00, 2 saves, 2 GA) earned the win in goal. Hannah Magarian (25:00, 3 saves, 6 GA) and Molly Witten (25:00, 3 saves, 7 GA) split time in net for Birthright; Magarian was dealt the loss.
The Israel women’s national team is preparing for the 2015 ELF European Lacrosse Championships in Nymburk, Czech Republic. The blue-and-white open on August 6th against Wales, who is ranked 2nd in Europe and 5th in the world.
It was a different story for Israel’s men, who couldn’t complete the sweep over Birthright in a defensive battle. Israel held a 6-3 lead after three quarters, but, the All-Stars outscored the blue-and-white 5-0 in the fourth quarter to wrap up their trip on a high note.
Israel held the All-Stars scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the match, building an early 3-0 lead, but Birthright battled back to cut the score to 4-3 at the half. Following another scoring drought for the entire third quarter, the Stars finished strong to earn the comeback win.
Amherst’s Aaron Mathias was named Game MVP for Team Birthright with three goals and two assists, while Binghamton’s Jesse Parker (two goals, one assist) and Cornell’s Nate Archer (two goals), also had big days. Justin Diamond (one goal), Caleb Brodie (one assist) and Aaron Feinberg (one assist) also cracked the scoresheet.
Gabe Weissmann (40:00, 2 saves, 4 GA) and Justin Issaacs (40:00, 8 saves, 2 GA) split time in net; Issaacs was credited the win.
Seth Mahler (two goals), Matt Flapan (one goal, one assist), Bryan Hopper (one goal), Matt Greenberg (one goal), Gabriel Leonhard (one goal) and Max Friend (one assist) were responsible for Israel’s scoring.
Ted Bergman (80:00, 15 saves, 8 GA) had a big game in goal for the blue-and-white, but was dealt the loss.
Most men’s players from the All-Star tour will be competing in the inaugural season of the Israel Premier Lacrosse League (IPLL), which faces off on Monday night at Ashdod Sport Club.
Additional caps (women) – Hannah Deoul, Hannah Epstein, Marlee Galper, Sara Greenberg, Ellie Rosenblum, Taylor Roy
Additional caps (men) – Dima Bondarenko, Yotam Drori, Chris Friedman, Jesse Hartman, Avi Kolel, Mitch Goldberg, Sagi Hasi, Evan Kalish, Ilay Mashash, Jon Rathauser, Davey Siegal, Sacha Stout, Phil Sussingham, Matt Trinkle, Gaddy Weissman