New Zealand made it 4 wins in a row with a tense win over the Netherlands. New Zealand started strongly with goals from Mike Clayton and Eddy Roberts but the Netherlands pulled 1 back to make it 2-1 at quarter time (International Men’s lacrosse is played over four 20 minute periods).
The second quarter saw the two sides wrestling for control with Netherlands coming back strongly and briefly taking a 4-3 lead before Mike Clayton evened things up and Graham scoring right on the whistle to make it 5-4. The game remained in the balance throughout the 3rd quarter. New Zealand briefly established a 2 goal lead but this was pegged back to a 9-8 lead with 20 minutes to go.
The desire, determination and fitness of New Zealand finally broke through the spirited Netherlands resistance. New Zealand players were first to every ground ball and broke down the Netherlands attack – goals from Mike Clayton, John Clayton and John Pritzlaff put New Zealand 4 goals ahead with 11 minutes to play.
The Netherlands managed 2 goals in the final period with Van de Veerdonk putting in an exceptional performance. He caused real problems for the Kiwis, dominating at the face offs and scoring 5 goals for the Netherlands. This was matched by John Clayton who scored the final 2 goals for New Zealand.
New Zealand are one of only 5 undefeated teams left in the tournament and go on to play Scotland and are now competing for a top 12 position (out of 38 teams). Both teams are guaranteed a play off game against one of the top 6 seeded sides.
Scorers for New Zealand were: John Clayton (5), Mike Clayton (3), Eddy Roberts (2), Andrew Clayton (1), Aaron Clayton (1), James Devine (1), John Pritzlaff (1). Andrew Clayton had 4 assists and Casey McLain made 4 saves.
Interview with New Zealand Captain Nick Ravenhall: http://arntrnassets.mediaspanonline.com/radio/s01/1457733/A1158_20140715040038589_0.mp3
Highlights from first 3 games: http://youtu.be/Je0nxJMByVY
Highlights from Day Three: http://www.lax.com/stories/World-Games-Day-3-Highlights-sid-4247.html
Results can be found at: http://www.worldlacrosse2014.com/nations/schedule
Follow the New Zealand Team at: https://www.facebook.com/nzmenslax
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