The first time the Americans disrupted the Iroquois Nationals’ momentum was when players from both teams swarmed midfield bodying each other up on the brink of a brawl before halftime.

But seconds later, Lyle Thompson put the Iroquois back in control, and up 8-4, with a 15-yard sidearm rip at the buzzer.

After Team USA cut the lead to one at the end of the third, Thompson kicked off the fourth quarter with another goal. For the second time, he added to the Iroquois’ cushion and ended the Americans’ comeback while sparking a four-goal fourth-quarter run.

“When it’s a one-goal game, two goals are real important,” Iroquois head coach Rick Kilgour said of Lyle Thompson. “Big players make big plays in big games. He’s proven over and over again he’s a big-time player and he came up big when the team needed him.”

On the first day of the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, Lyle Thompson’s three timely goals helped the host nation Iroquois defeat the United States 13-9 in front of a sold-out crowd at the War Memorial Arena on Friday night.

The Iroquois benefitted from three power-play opportunities early on and got out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter. The U.S.’s defense struggled matching up with Miles Thompson and Randy Staats, who set the tempo with off-ball movement and slick passes in tight spaces.

Late in the second quarter, Team USA’s Jeff Ratcliffe ran to midfield and shoved Sid Smith to the ground several seconds after the referee’s whistle blew. Players from both teams clustered in the middle and the Americans had one of their best chances to change the game’s momentum, in need of something to spark a potential comeback.

But just the opposite happened as Thompson, a two-time Tewaaraton Award winner, scored his first goal of the tournament.

“Especially at the end of the half, those are back breakers,” U.S. head coach Tony Resch said.

The U.S. kept it close in the third quarter making it a one-goal game, but it was Thompson who made the most of the fourth as the Nationals’ halftime adjustments finally took effect.

“Every time we passed the ball three or four times, we usually got a good shot on net,” the Iroquois’ Jeff Shattler said. “So, our game plan worked.”

Early on, Thompson was more of a facilitator. He helped distribute the ball as his brother, Miles Thompson, scored three first-half goals. But Kilgour wanted Lyle Thompson to use his speed and once he started getting the ball in his stick, the Iroquois put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Slashing from the top left of the offensive zone, blowing by multiple defenders and easily picking his spot to slip the ball into the net, Lyle Thompson scored his second goal.

With the game already out of reach and just minutes remaining, he did it again by cutting in front of the net and picking up a rebound, tiptoeing the crease and sliding the ball in to pad the Iroquois’ lead.

Lyle Thompson’s three goals weren’t a team high, but they came at crucial moments.

“Carrying into halftime obviously it got us going,” Lyle Thompson said. “… we came out a little slow in the third, but once it came to the fourth, we definitely got it going (again).”

Published on September 19, 2015 at 7:47 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds