Division I Update: Yesterday at the FIL World Lacrosse Championships (July 17, 2014)

Scores

Bracket
Switzerland 2, Czech Republic 8
Belgium 3, Slovakia 6
Austria 10, Norway 11 (OT)
Thailand 14, France 4
Russia 5, Spain 9
Uganda 11, Argentina 5
Korea 15, China 16
Turkey 9, Mexico 4
Finland 15, Netherlands 6
Italy 15, Poland 14 (2OT)
Ireland 12, New Zealand 10
Latvia 15, Wales 16 (2OT)
Hong Kong 14, Bermuda 13
Sweden 10, Germany 13
Costa Rica 4, Colombia 11
Japan 9, Scotland 10 (2OT)
England 10, Israel 9 (OT)
Australia 3, United States 22
Iroquois 6, Canada 12

Thailand
Dylan Sheridan (Denver) has helped turn a winless pool play effort into a 3-2 campaign for the first time World Championship participant. The team's victories don't make your eyeballs do that Roger-Rabbit-aaaahhrrroooogaaah thing, but considering where Thailand started this tournament and where they will finish, Sheridan's coaching has created an impact. Thailand will play for 29th place, a solid showing for a nation that had static volition a week ago.

Russia
The Russians will play for 31st place, the bottom portion of the second-lowest bracket in the consolation field, after falling to Spain (a team that the Ruskies beat earlier in the week). Jordan Friedman (Colgate) tallied a goal on six shots while also picking up five groundballs against Spain, the only current Division I player to get burn for the Russians. The game got away from Russia in the second half after Spain went on a four-goal run in a 20:24 span that started late in the third period and pushed deep into the fourth quarter. Russia has had trouble scoring goals all tournament -- the Russians have accounted for 5.6 goals per game this tournament -- and the fact that Friedman, a defenseman/long-stick midfielder, is running at attack for Russia is indicative of the answers that Peter Milliman (Cornell) is attempting to find on his roster.

China
The Chinese are playing for 33rd place after dispatching Korea by a bucket. Michael Tsiang (Villanova) won 20 of 31 draws for China, a big effort that included providing an assist that gave the Chinese its first score of the game. Taking 31 faceoffs makes your arms feel like concrete pylons, but Tsiang's work helped China erase an eight-goal deficit that the team faced with 1:54 remaining in the first half.

Finland
Hayden Johnstone (Stony Brook) had a nice little day for the Fins: Playing 40 minutes for Finland, the keeper yielded only one goal and made 11 saves. His effort complemented that of Nick Ranta (Furman), Eric Cooley (Rutgers), and Anssi Kaisalmi (Mercer): Ranta punched in a goal on five shots; Kaisalmi won three of his six draws and put up a monster four goals on seven shots; and Cooley gave the Fins a start on defense, laying down the law to the tune of back-to-back one minute slashing penalties (the Netherlands, unfortunately, capitalized on the man-up following the second slash). Finland's quartet of current Division I players will contend for 13th place in the tournament, a solid effort for a team that carries just two losses on its record (one avenged with the team's win yesterday against Netherlands).

Italy
Thomas Flibotte (Bucknell) is going to have his pick of smoking hot Italian models after this tournament. The midfielder unloaded on Poland for five goals on 15 -- !!!!!!!! -- shots. Not only did he stuff the stat sheet, but his goals came at vitally important moments in the game: Flibotte opened the game's scoring just 37 seconds into the contest; Flibotte scored three goals in the fourth period, the first drawing the Italians within two after giving up a five-goal run to Poland, the second tying the game at 11 with 7:04 remaining in regulation, and the third knotting the scoreboard at 12 with 1:22 left on the clock; and Flibotte's final bucket of the game gave Italy a temporary 13-12 lead in the first stanza of the first overtime period (if that makes any sense). The Italians will play for 17th place today. That isn't too bad for a team that finished 13th in the 2012 European Championships.

Latvia
Riley Lasda (Albany) was *thisclose* to playing for 17th place in the tournament. With five seconds remaining in the first portion of the first overtime, Lasda gave Latvia a soft 15-14 lead. The unassisted goal stood up until the 2:01 mark of the second portion of the first overtime when Paul Simpson rammed home a game-tying goal. Lasda finished the game with two goals and two assists, firing off six shots and collecting seven groundballs while winning just seven of 20 faceoffs. The Latvians will play for 19th place in the event, facing Poland -- a team it hasn't seen in the tournament -- early this afternoon. Riley's brother Eli (Albany) does not appear in the boxscore.

Sweden
Dickson (Virginia) and Eric (Michigan) Smith fell to the Germans, dropping the Swedes to a reality of playing for 11th place against New Zealand. Dickson filled up the stat sheet with a goal on one shot and four groundballs. Interestingly, the brothers took simultaneous penalties for slashing and illegal body checking early in the fourth quarter. O'Doyle rules! The loss to Germany marks only the second time in the tournament that Sweden has felt the cold hands of defeat, previously taking a shot to the mouth from Israel. The Swedes are on track to fall within the same position they finished in the 2010 World Championships (10th).

England
England's on a two-game winning streak! They are also on a collision course with Scotland, a member of the United Kingdom that is bringing a vote to the Scottish people in September to determine whether Scotland will pursue independence! I'm writing this while wearing sneakers with slacks and a dress shirt! Matt Sexton (Penn State) had an assist for the English and threw five shots at the net while Max Bonsall (Siena) does not appear in the boxscore. England will play for fifth place, assured of a position in the Blue Division of the 2018 tournament (assuming the FIL doesn't rearrange the structure of the pools in the next iteration of the event). That's pretty good for a team that had its skull crushed in pool play this year.

Canada
Team Toque is headed for a rematch with Team USA after handling the Iroquois in the semifinals. The team's current Division I players didn't heavily factor into the result: Wes Berg (Denver) took only one shot and committed a turnover and Jesse King (Ohio State) kept a clean boxscore line. Brennan Donville (Cornell) did not play against the Iroquois. The championship game starts at 9:00 ET on Saturday. Whoever loses keeps Bieber.

Iroquois
It's been an up and down tournament for the Iroquois in Colorado. After a hot start that saw the Nationals jump out to a 4-1 lead, Canada slowly and methodically started to chew away at its deficit and eventually accelerated down the stretch. Warren Hill (Syracuse) yielded nine goals on seven saves, but it sure seemed like Hill had made more stops than that given the pressure he was under. Lyle Thompson (Albany) returned to the Iroquois lineup and had three points. Zach Miller (Denver) pounded in a bucket while Randy Staats (Syracuse) had two goals on seven shots. The Iroquois will face Australia on Saturday to play for third place, an opportunity for the Nationals to earn their highest finish ever in the World Championships.

Today's Heat (ET)

10:00 A.M.: Mexico v. Bermuda -- 23rd Place Game (ESPN3)
10:30 A.M.: Turkey v. Hong Kong -- 21st Place Game
11:00 A.M.: Slovakia v. Norway -- 25th Place Game
11:00 A.M.: Austria v. Belgium -- 27th Place Game
12:00 P.M.: Thailand v. Spain -- 29th Place Game
12:00 P.M.: France v. Russia -- 31st Place Game
1:00 P.M.: Finland v. Czech Republic -- 13th Place Game (ESPN3)
1:30 P.M.: Poland v. Latvia -- 19th Place Game
2:30 P.M.: China v. Uganda -- 33rd Place Game
2:30 P.M.: Argentina v. Korea -- 35th Place Game
4:00 P.M.: Sweden v. New Zealand -- 11th Place Game (ESPN3)
4:30 P.M.: Italy v. Wales -- 17th Place Game
4:30 P.M.: Israel v. Japan -- 7th Place Game
7:00 P.M.: Netherlands v. Switzerland -- 15th Place Game (ESPN3)
10:00 P.M.: Germany v. Ireland -- 9th Place Game (ESPN3)