Inside the U.S. Men's Box Team Historic Win Over the Haudenosaunee

UTICA, N.Y. — History was within reach for the U.S. men’s box program — a trip to its first World Lacrosse championship game — but one of the sport’s biggest legends was in position to wreck those plans.

The Haudenosaunee’s Lyle Thompson came running right in front of the center of the goal and had a chance to tie the game with under 30 seconds to play. U.S. defender Ryan Terefenko peeled off his man to force Thompson to his right and U.S. goalie Gowah Abrams deflected Thompson’s shot with his left glove for his 43rd save of the night to preserve a 12-11 victory.

“Just be patient,” said Abrams of his thought process as he saw Thompson running at him. “That’s all you can do as a goalie, is just be patient. At that point it’s 1-on-1 and it’s me versus him and I was lucky enough to get the save.”

THE SAVE OF A LIFETIME. @G_abrams01 is a legend. 🫡

Seconds left staring down one of the GOATS, Gowah stood tall. pic.twitter.com/ApdnkObufJ

— U.S. Men's National Team (@USAMLax) September 28, 2024

After five straight bronze medal finishes at this event that dates to 2003, the U.S. finally gets a chance to play for gold. It meets Canada on Sunday at 4 p.m. in a game that will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

“We’ve always gotten bronze and haven’t been able to get over the hump,” said head coach Regy Thorpe, who played on the 2007 U.S. team and was the head coach in 2019 when the U.S. couldn’t hang on to a fourth quarter leader against the Haudenosaunee in the semifinal round.

“I’m just really proud of not only this team, but the teams past that paved the way,” Thorpe said. “There wasn’t really a big player pool in the United States. In field lacrosse the standard is gold, but in box lacrosse it hasn’t been the standard because we haven’t had the guys playing. Each year we’ve been getting a lit bit more and we’ve been close.”

The U.S. jumped to an early 2-0 lead on Friday night and took a 4-3 lead late in the first quarter on a power play goal by Joey Spallina, the youngest player on the U.S. roster.

The lead would be short-lived as the Haudenosaunee dominated the second quarter. The Haudenosaunee outshot the U.S. 20-9 in the quarter and took a 7-5 halftime lead on the strength of two transition goals from Noonzy Thompson.

The U.S. veterans responded to open the second half. Blaze Riorden and Joe Resetarits, both playing on their third U.S. box team, scored goals in the first 95 seconds of the third quarter to tie the game. The teams then traded goals and entered the fourth quarter tied 9-9.

Eli McLaughlin opened the scoring in the final quarter, getting one past Abrams after he had gotten a piece of the shot to give the Haudenosaunee a 10-9 lead with 9:42 left. Lyle Thompson then scored just 50 seconds later to give the Haudenosaunee its first two-goal lead since halftime.

The U.S. was able to answer quickly, in part due to the faceoff domination of Joe Nardella. Nardella, who was injured in the opening game win over the Haudenosaunee and missed the next two games, won 25 of 27 faceoffs in the game.

After another Nardella faceoff win, Resetarits got a goal home just 24 seconds after Thompson’s goal to pull the U.S. back within one. Spallina, whose three goals all came in the clutch, tied the game with 7:27 to play.

“Joey’s Joey,” Thorpe said. “He’s made for big moments. No moment is too big for that kid. It’s also a testament to our leadership and our veteran NLL guys that took him under their wings. He didn’t have to do everything, but we did need a couple out of him tonight and he responded. The kid scores big goals. You can’t deny it. Whether it’s field, box, whatever he’s been doing since he was, I don’t know how old.”

A little over two minutes later, Connor Kirst seized the moment. Kirst, who had buried an outside shot in transition early in the game, got another opportunity. The Haudenosaunee defense was slow to slide to him on the break and he stuck what proved to be the game-winner. The coaches have placed trust in their players to take advantage of the opportunities they see.

“He allows us to push the ball and T.J. Comizio set a great seal and I let it fly and was fortunate it went in,” Kirst said.

KIRSTY IN TRANSITION. 

IT’S 12-11. pic.twitter.com/5iIyJSaJ8P

— U.S. Men's National Team (@USAMLax) September 28, 2024

The U.S. defense hung on from there. With just over two minutes to play, the Haudenosaunee had a fast break opportunity wiped out for having six runners on the floor, resulting in a two-minute penalty. Even playing man down, Lyle Thompson got a decent look with 1:28 left, but Abrams made a save. A minute later Abrams made the save of a lifetime.

“This is a great bunch of guys,” said Abrams who played on the 2019 U.S. team is well. “This is the best experience for me. These are memories that will live with me forever.”

Kirst couldn’t help but reflect on his family as he talked about his game-winner.

“Our family has a unique story and right now the game connects us all and keeps us all super close,” Kirst said. 

Kirst’s father, Kyle, an instrumental figure in the lacrosse scene in New Jersey, died in 2015 at the age of just 47. Kyle Kirst’s four oldest boys were all members of this U.S. box training team and Connor and his brother, C.J., both made the final roster.

The two brothers get a chance to make more history on Sunday.

“For us to be a part of history is really cool,” Kirst said. “I love this game so much. For us to be the first team to do that is pretty special and we’re all just happy that we get to compete for gold.”