ONONDAGA NATION – The Haudenosaunee Nationals Men’s team defeated Ireland 21-7 in an international friendly played in front of a crowded Onondaga Nation Arena. The game was played in preparation for the upcoming 2024 World Lacrosse Box World Championships scheduled for September 20-29 in Utica, NY. The friendly added to the storied history of the two nations when it comes to international lacrosse as most recently Ireland gave up their spot at the 2022 World Games in favor of Haudenosaunee.

According to our unofficial statistics, Haudenosaunee received goals from 11 different players, led by hat tricks from Koleton Marquis, Trey Deere, Thomas Hoggarth, and Tehoka Nanticoke. Brendan Bomberry and Travis Longboat each added two goals and the defense was backstopped by a solid performance from Dustin Hill between the pipes.

In the first, Trey Deere scored the opening goal on a pass from Owen Hill to give Haudenosaunee the early 1-0 lead. Koleton Marquis would follow from behind the net as he gathered a shot from Larson Sundown and snuck one home on a beautiful diving wraparound with just under 10-minutes to play in the first quarter. Three minutes later Travis Longboat added his first goal of the game as he took a pass from Lyle Thompson and went knifing through the lane to make it 3-0 Haudenosaunee. Ireland had a power play chance on a too many men penalty on Thomas Hoggarth but the Nationals killed the man advantage. Deere would strike again with 52-seconds left in the quarter as he took a pass from Larson Sundown and faked out the goalie to finish on the short side and give Haudenosaunee the 4-0 lead to end the first quarter.

Haudenosaunee extended their lead to 5-0 early in the second quarter as Zed Williams scooped a turnover and found Brendan Bomberry in transition who finished one over the goalie’s shoulder. Ireland responded with their first two goals of the game from Patrick Corbett and Brian Gillis less than a minute apart to cut the lead to 5-2 with just over nine minutes to play in the half. Koleton Marquis added his second goal as he drove to the net and scored. A minute later Thomas Hoggarth entered the scoring column as he sniped one from the deep left side off a Trey Deere swing pass. Lyle Thompson scored his first goal on a 2-on-1 runout with Blake McDonald to make it 8-2 with six minutes to play in the second. Ireland would end the half on a 3-0 run as they got goals from Conor Foley and Luke Maloney a minute apart, followed by a power play goal by Brendan O’Sullivan to cut the lead to 8-5 headed into halftime.

Haudenosaunee would open the third on a 6-0 run to take control of the game once again. Tehoka Nanticoke started the scoring as he buried a pass from Owen Hill two and a half minutes into the quarter. Travis Longboat snatched a rebound and finished to make it 10-5 40-seconds later. Trey Deere found Owen Hill in front of the net with 10 minutes to play in the quarter and then Deere followed with his own power play goal as he buried a skip pass wide open on the backside of the crease. Koleton Marquis secured his hat trick with another diving dunk shot from behind the net to make it 13-5 with just over five minutes to play. Brendan Bomberry scored his second of the game as Hoggarth skipped a pass to a wide open Bomberry to extend the Haudenosaunee lead to 14-5. Ireland answered with a goal from the top of the arc by Conor Kelly, his first of the night. Thomas Hoggarth added his second goal of the night after a big defensive hit caused a turnover and Justin Martin found a streaking Hoggarth who buried it to make it 15-6 with less than two minutes to play headed to the fourth quarter.

Hoggarth secured a hat trick four minutes into the fourth quarter as he took a Warren Hill pass in transition and scored on the breakaway to give Haudenosaunee the 16-6 lead. A too many men penalty on Ireland led to a Tehoka Nanticoke power play goal off a skip pass from Larson Sundown. Ireland responded with a transition goal of their own from Patrick Corbett to cut the lead to 17-7. Haudenosaunee ended the game on a flurry as Nanticoke scored his hat trick on a diving wraparound dunk from behind the net with just over two minutes to play in the game. Less than a minute later Larson Sundown scored driving to the middle off a staggered screen up top. Zed Williams followed with a goal 30-seconds later and Kason Tarbell rounded out the scoring streaking open with 20-seconds to play to make the final score 21-7 in favor Haudenosaunee.

Up Next: Haudenosaunee opens their quest for a gold medal as they face USA in pool play on Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, NY.

Haudenosaunee Nationals defeat Ireland 21-7 in friendly as they prepare for 2024 World Lacrosse Men’s Box Championship

Haudenosaunee Nationals drop opening game 16-9 to Team USA at 2024 World Lacrosse Men’s Box Championship