SAN DIEGO — Rob Pannell (pictured) surpassed National Lacrosse Hall of Fame attackman Mark Millon as the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Men’s National Team history, as the United States cruised to a 19-3 victory over Israel in the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship quarterfinals Wednesday at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium.
“I grew up watching ‘Offensive Wizardry’ by Mark Millon. He’s one of the best ever to play attack, one of the best ever to wear a USA uniform,” said Pannell, a two-time All-World and three-time U.S. team attackman. “The record just means I’ve been playing the game for a long time, and I’ve been on some great teams with a lot of great players.”
Connor Kelly scored a game-high four goals and added an assist, while Trevor Baptiste (12-for-14) and TD Ierlan (11-for-12) teamed up for another outstanding night on faceoffs. The duo improved to 82.4 percent for the tournament. Brennan O’Neill (three goals, two assists) and Michael Sowers (two goals, three assists) added five points apiece.
The top-seeded U.S. (5-0) will play fourth-seeded Australia in the semifinals Thursday (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, ESPN2) with the winner advancing to the gold medal game against either Canada or the Haudenosaunee on Saturday.
It did not take long for the U.S. to strike first Wednesday. After Drew Morris made a save on Sowers, the Americans spun the ball to O’Neill on the restart. O’Neill sold everyone in the stadium on his patented shot-fake to face-dodge combo and scored just 1:18 into the game.
Trevor Baptiste won the ensuing faceoff and fed Michael Ehrhardt trailing behind him. Ehrhardt converted from inside the restraining line for the pole goal to make it 2-0 U.S.
Israel (5-1) battled back to tie the game, thanks to several acrobatic saves by Morris and a pair of crafty goals by Nate Solomon and Robert Schain.
The U.S. missed 11 straight shots at one point, but got back on track in the second quarter, scoring seven unanswered goals to take a commanding 9-2 lead at halftime. Kelly alone scored three times in the last two minutes.
The lead ballooned to 15-2 in the third quarter. Pannell punctuated the run first with an assist on Charlie Bertrand’s around-the-world goal at the 4:59 mark and then with a fast-break goal with 30 seconds left to give him 68 career points in world championship competition.
“It’s a testament to keeping his body in shape and being committed to doing the right thing on and off the field,” U.S. head coach John Danowski said. “It’s very easy to get caught up in your professional life and other things, but he’s been tremendously focused. On many levels, it’s an unbelievable accomplishment — not just the points, but a very hard thing to do over the span of nine years.”
The U.S. outshot Israel 54-5. Nine different players scored for the U.S., which had assists on 13 of 18 goals. Ryan Conrad had a hat trick and Kieran McArdle contributed a goal and three assists in the offensive outburst.
Morris finished with 11 saves in 45 minutes in goal for Israel.
2023 WORLD LACROSSE MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinal Results (Wednesday)
(1) USA def (8) Israel 19-3
(2) Canada def (10) Jamaica 20-1
(3) Haudenosaunee def (6) Japan 10-5
(4) Australia def (5) England 10-5
Semifinal Schedule (Thursday)
(3) Haudenosaunee vs. (2) Canada – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
(4) Australia vs. (1) USA – 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
